Moving to Rowan County, North Carolina

Looking to relocate? Rowan County just may be the perfect place for you to live. After chatting with several local realtors here in Salisbury I was excited to share with you what they had to say! 

Cathy Griffin, Century 21 Towne and Country

Cathy Griffin is a local realtor with Century 21 Towne and Country. She has been selling houses now for 33 years in Rowan County and surrounding areas.

There were several questions that I asked each person that I spoke to and the first one was… is it a sellers’ market right now?

Cathy feels like the market is neutral. “Sellers are getting good prices and buyers are leveraging good deals by having closing costs included. Prices are down a little bit. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

My next question… let’s say I am looking to relocate to the area tell me why I should consider Rowan County?

“Charlotte is the #1 Hottest City right now, but nobody really wants to live there. We are 45 minutes from there, 2 hours from Raleigh, an hour from Greensboro, 35 minutes from Winston Salem, and 20 minutes from Concord.”

Cathy shared that Ed Straub, a geologist from Pennsylvania contacted her years ago and said he had researched several years where to relocate, and he “pinpointed” Salisbury out of the entire United States. He said climate, economy, and geographics were just a few of the things he was looking for. He ended up moving to a home on Old Mocksville Road where he lived until he passed away.

I first saw Cathy on House Hunters on HGTV. The show was titled “Tight Budget in Salisbury” and was filmed in 2015. The couple that Cathy helped was working with a budget of $100,000.00 and she was able to find them a home. The producer of the show dubbed Cathy “Paul Deen without the butter.” She remains friends with the producer to this day and the producer says that coming to Salisbury was the most “hospitable” town she has visited. Cathy’s famous quote “Paints Cheap Baby” was even printed on a t-shirt for her to wear.

Cathy has been with Century 21 Towne and Country during her entire career selling homes and told me she hopes to do so till the day she dies. She is #1 in sales in North Carolina and has been for 10 years and is 7^th in the whole United States with Century 21 Towne and Country. If she can help you find a home to relocate to here in Rowan give her a call at 704-637-7721 or visit her office at 474 Jake Alexander Boulevard, West in Salisbury, North Carolina. I promise you’ll enjoy the conversation!

Marie Leonard-Hampton Real Estate Services

I got in contact with Marie because she is a member at Soful Yoga and Wellness at Railwalk where I teach, and I hear her on the local radio station as well with her ads. Marie has been selling Rowan County for 27 years and said it has been “a very good career.”

I asked her the same question about it being a seller’s market and she said the market was a “sellers” market with more buyers out there looking.  “The homes in the $200,000.00-$300,000.00 range are the fastest movers.” Of course, we all know that interest rates have ticked up.

My next question, of course, is if I’m looking to relocate to the area tell me why I should consider Rowan County.

Marie said “Rowan County is strong! We are a bedroom community from Charlotte, Concord, Lake Norman, Mooresville, and Troutman. You can see how strong our market is by the tax evaluations.” She added that “there are plenty of places to live and that you can still find parcels of land you can afford.”

I asked Marie if she remembered the first home she ever sold and she told me “It was a house in South Fulton that sold for $27,000.00 and today it would be worth $300,000.00.” She ended with it being a “Great investment in Rowan County!”

If you would like for Marie to show you your next new home you can contact her at Marie Leonard-Hampton Real Estate Services by phone at 704-239-3096, email her at mleonardhampton@gmail.com, or visit her at her office location at 228 Statesville Boulevard, Salisbury, North Carolina.

Melissa Yates, Lantern Realty and Development

I got in touch with Carla Rose, Chief Executive Officer of Salisbury Rowan Realtors and she gave me the contact information for Melissa Yates.

I called Melissa and she was kind enough to speak to me on a Friday night. Melissa has been in the real estate market for 5 years now and she has already been called by the Salisbury Post as ‘Realtor of the Year’ in 2021. I told her a little about what I was doing and asked her the same questions.

Is it a seller’s market? Melissa said she felt the market was neutral. “The market is slim right now with maybe 3 weeks inventory of number of homes for sale. I should have 6 months’ worth. However, this is how North Carolina is right now. Neutral.” She stated that the “economy and inflation” played a part in the housing market.

Of course, my next question was… let’s say I am looking to relocate to the area tell me why I should consider Rowan County?

According to Melissa when she has someone looking to relocate, she goes to the Rowan Chamber of Commerce and they give her a packet that has community events, the newest Salisbury Magazine, outreaches, information on the North Carolina Transportation Museum, and tourist attractions. I told her that maybe talking about “Your Rowan” would be helpful because we have a lot of information county-wide as well.

She said she shares some personal experiences of Rowan County being that she was born here and has stayed here. She is a graduate of West Rowan High School and Catawba College with a business degree.  She added “when it was time for house hunting, Rowan County was our pick for many reasons. We loved the affordability, cost of living is lower than the national average, perfectly positioned in the great state of North Carolina where you can easily escape for a mountain retreat or head to the beach for a weekend getaway.”

She also will ask people about what they are interested in such as living downtown, whether can they work from home, or whether they are looking for farmland so that she has a better idea of the people she is working with.  She takes a “people-first” approach and is “dedicated to her client’s real estate needs”.

Melissa is currently chair for the Pass The Plate Event which is a huge fundraiser for Rowan Helping Ministries on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the Salisbury Country Club at 747 Club Drive. Tickets are $70.

You can contact Melissa Yates with Lantern Realty and Development at 704-239-3835 or email her at melissayates4u@gmail.com. Her website is www.lantern-realty.com

Call the movers now!

So now that you have read all the above… doesn’t it make you want to relocate to our area of heaven?  We have great access to the interstate for commuters, great events like the Cheerwine Festival and the Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival, we have a great symphony, Bell Tower Green, Amtrack runs through Salisbury, Dan Nicholas Park, Yadkin River Trailhead, golf courses (with the Salisbury Country Club having a Don Ross designed course), entertainment, Piedmont Players, Lee Street Theatre, Polar Express, The North Carolina Transportation Museum, yoga studios and fitness gyms!  Plus, our ever-growing surrounding towns.  Go ahead… call one of these realtors!  Rowan County is just waiting for you to call us home sweet home!

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