Why We Love Union County Public Schools

Union County Public Schools (USPS) may be experiencing change and conflict - between challenges that come with high growth and an adversarial relationship with the county government - but there are reasons why people love these schools. 

Taken from the UCPS web site, here are some "points of pride" for the school's performance record:

• UCPS had 86 Federal Annual Measurable Objectives targets to meet. We met 100%. The state met 95.6%.
• UCPS had 184 State Annual Measurable Objectives targets to meet. We met 181/184 for a status of 98.4%. The state status was 89.0%.
• 92.5 percent of the schools in UCPS met or exceeded academic growth expectations in the 2012-13 school year. Statewide, more than 71 percent of North Carolina public schools met or exceeded academic growth expectations in the 2012-13 school year.
• UCPS posted the state’s second highest district academic performance as measured by the performance composite rates on the end of year assessments. Only one, much smaller, school district out of the 115 school districts in the state posted a higher performance composite rate.
• The 2013 UCPS graduation rate was 90.83 percent, marking the seventh consecutive year that the graduation rate has improved and the first time in state history that a large school system has had a graduation rate above 90%.
• Union County Public Schools continues to have the highest graduation rate of any North Carolina school system its size and continues to rank at the top in its academic growth and performance rate.

To look more closely at the district's or individual schools' performances, NCReportCard.org is an excellent source. Reportedly, the state moved to a new testing system last year and also changed the requirements for teachers mid-year.

Homes for Sale in Marvin Creek

Marvin Creek clubhouse
in Marvin, NC

Marvin Creek is a beautiful, all-brick neighborhood located in Marvin, NC (Union County) built by the popular builder, Toll Brothers. Nestled among picturesque horse farms, this quiet, 100-home community features many desirable amenities for homeowners, including a luxurious clubhouse, fitness center, playground, tennis courts, walking trails and a stunning pool complex including two pools, an enclosed toddler pool, water slides and a lazy river.

For your convenience, we've also setup a "quick link" to a home search for popular neighborhoods, including Marvin Creek:

* Homes for sale in Marvin Creek in Marvin, NC

Homes for sale in neighboring communities:

* Homes for sale in The Chimneys of Marvin in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in Canterfield Creek in Marvin, NC
* Homes for sale in Providence Downs in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in Providence Downs South in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in Hunter Oaks in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in The Reserve in Waxhaw, NC

We can provide free, up-to-date market reports for neighborhoods within the greater Charlotte area, including Waxhaw, Weddington and Marvin, NC. Simply contact us and let us know which neighborhood(s) you're interested in!

As a courtesy, we also provide a free web site search for any home listed by any broker and firm in the area. You can customize your home search by neighborhood, home size, bedrooms, bathrooms, schools - a whole host of criteria to fit your exact needs

Homes for Sale in The Chimneys of Marvin in Waxhaw, NC

The Chimneys of Marvin  Clubhouse
by Pulte Homes

As we posted last week, we can provide free, up-to-date market reports for neighborhoods within the greater Charlotte area, including Waxhaw, Weddington and Marvin, NC. Simply contact us and let us know which neighborhood(s) you're interested in!

As a courtesy, we also provide a free web site search for any home listed by any broker and firm in the area. You can customize your home search by neighborhood, home size, bedrooms, bathrooms, schools - a whole host of criteria to fit your exact needs.

For your convenience, we've also setup a "quick link" to a home search for popular neighborhoods, including The Chimneys of Marvin:

* Homes for sale in The Chimneys of Marvin in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in Marvin Creek in Marvin, NC
* Homes for sale in Canterfield Creek in Marvin, NC
* Homes for sale in Providence Downs in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in Providence Downs South in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in Hunter Oaks in Waxhaw, NC
* Homes for sale in The Reserve in Waxhaw, NC

The Chimneys of Marvin Home Sales in 2013

Interested in historical home sales for a specific neighborhood in Waxhaw, NC or Marvin, NC? We have free market reports for many neighborhoods in the area.

The Chimneys of Marvin is a beautiful neighborhood located in Waxhaw, NC (Union County) built by the popular builder, Pulte Homes. Nestled among picturesque horse farms, this family-friendly community features many desirable amenities, including a 4,000 square foot resident's clubhouse, a workout room, three pools with Kiddy Park, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, and walking trails.

Below is some home sales information for The Chimneys of Marvin in Waxhaw, NC. Please contact us for more detailed information regarding the latest market conditions in this community.

Homes for sale in The Chimneys of Marvin.

Click on the images below to zoom.

Jobs in Charlotte, NC

Charlotte, NC
Photo by Julie Legge

There has been a lot of recent jobs news in the Charlotte, NC area.

* Lowe’s to hire 25,000 seasonal workers for its busiest time of the year (Charlotte Business Journal). April through September is the "busy season" for home improvement stores. The company is currently interviewing for 25,000 short term employees, including approximately 700 jobs in 30 Charlotte-area stores. It's rival, Home Depot, has also announced it plans to hire 80,000 workers nationwide. (See "Home Depot looks to hire 80,000.")

* Publix has begun the hiring process for its upcoming Matthews store. The grocery chain plans to have 150 employees at this store, including new hires. Applications are also being accepted for the store's Indian Land, SC and Fort Mill locations. The company says it could bring more than 2,000 jobs to the Charlotte market in total. More information can be found at www.publix.com/careers.

* The CBJ put together a lengthy list of Charlotte-area engineering firms that plan to hire engineers in 2014.

* Wellmore has announced plans for a new retirement community in Tega Cay, SC. According to the CBJ, "The retirement community is expected to create nearly 130 jobs in health care and management, with site work and landscape design contracts awarded to local firms. It is slated to open in summer 2015." Other area retirement communities are under construction (Brightmore of South Charlotte in Ballantyne) or planned (Waverly at Providence and Ardrey Kell Roads) in the area, and could bring additional healthcare jobs.

This list barely scratches the surface of the jobs news in Charlotte. For comprehensive coverage on area jobs news, The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce has a news page dedicated to "recent relocations and expansions." This page compiles local articles from the major news sources on the topic.

Charlotte area makes national and state "best of" lists

Charlotte, NC
Photo by Julie Legge

We've noticed that the Charlotte area is being ranked nationally by some big names - and against some big city competition. Here's a run-down of some of these lists:

* Charlotte: #8 for America's Fastest Growing Cities by Forbes (2/14/14).

The magazine "assessed the estimated rates of population growth for 2013 and 2014, year-over-year job growth for 2013, and the rate of gross metro product growth—a.k.a. the economic growth rate–for 2013. We also considered federal unemployment data and median salaries for local college-educated workers, courtesy of Payscale.com. The result is a list of the 20 fastest growing metro areas in America in terms of population and economy."

* Charlotte: #10 for Happiest Cities to Work In The U.S. by CareerBliss.com (2/11/14).

The job-hunting web site considered "opportunity for growth, relationship with boss and colleagues and working environment in at least 100 reviews by employees."

* Charlotte: #3 Best Buy Cities: Where to Invest in America by Forbes (12/26/14)

To come up with their list, Forbes and Local Market Monitor ranked cities with a population over 575,000 on population growth, relatively low home prices, and growth of the local jobs economy.

* Ballantyne: #5 Most Popular Neighborhoods of 2013 by Realtor.com (12/16/13).

The web site search engine, operated by the National Association of Realtors ranked Ballantyne as the #5 most searched zip code in America for 2013.

* Marvin, NC: #1 Best Place to Live in North Carolina by a Yahoo! News Writer (1/6/11)

This is one of our favorite articles because Marvin truly is a great place to live! The Yahoo! news group looked at three main factors when choosing their list: "(1) median household income (adjusted for cost of living); (2) educational attainment (% of residents 25 years and over who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher); and (3) property crime rates per 1,000 residents (burglary and automobile thefts)."

CBJ: Mortgage rates rise

According to the Charlotte Business Journal, mortgage rates rose last week, the first increase in a month.

Quoting the CBJ article, "Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC) says 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.28 percent in the week ending Feb. 13, up from 4.23 percent last week. A 15-year fix averaged 3.33 percent, unchanged from last week. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 2.55 percent this week, up from 2.51 percent."