CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Drive down any street in Charlotte and you're guaranteed to find a few "for sale" signs.
The proximity of the signs is a sign of the times, but experts say the times are changing.
"We are very pleased," said Mark Bardo, vice president of Allen Tate.
Charlotte's leading real estate agency is celebrating a 41 percent increase in home sales this April over last.
According to the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association, the entire Charlotte area saw a 25 percent increase and a 17 percent increase from March to April.
The average price of homes stayed around $200,000.
"I think the tax incentive played a good role for first-time buyers. When they added in the repeat buyer tax credit we saw a flurry of activity," Bardo said.
But that tax incentive ended April 30 and still, Allen Tate Realty has seen a 27 percent jump in sales in the first part of May.
"Simply people buying homes," Bardo said. "We are expecting to see a lot of relocation business continue."
Businesses regularly expand or relocate here, bringing in people who need a place to live. Within the last few months, Siemens announced 825 new jobs, Zenta announced 1,000 new jobs and Electrolux 738 new jobs.
And, Bardo says, once people come to Charlotte they don't seem to want to leave.
"Most of our sales are within the Charlotte region -- people moving and selling within the region. We expect that to continue to be strong," he said.
"I think it would be good to take a sigh of relief compared to where we've been, but remember that we've got some ways to go before we get to our 2006 heights," Bardo said. "But we are well beyond, I believe, the bottom of the market in 2008, 2009."
