Housing Drag?

“For Sale” sign after “For Sale” sign line many of the streets in Concord's Riverwalk neighborhood.

There are 21 homes for sale. This is one of the neighborhoods where residents publicly battled Bruton Smith's zMax drag strip. Neighbor Crystal Hill told leaders two years ago, “This noise is going to bring down the value. Pease consider it, please consider the health of our children."

Wednesday, one year after the track opened, some neighbors say it is noisy, "The dirt track is just so loud. That, you can hear in the house."

But, they don't think the track has anything to do with the "For Sale" signs. One man says, “I don't think it's got anything to do with the track. I think it's the economy right now." Another says, “I think it's the economy. I don't think it's the race track."

Realtors and residents now look at Riverwalk as an opportunity. Homes here used to sell for as much as $290,000. Now, you can get a four bedroom home for $170,000.

Keller Williams broker Lloyd Trimble says the price slashing is helping to move inventory and despite previous outrage, so is the zMax drag strip. "I even have a couple of clients who tell me they rent out their homes during race week and they go to the beach,” says Trimble.

Realtor Brandie Yandle thinks the tracks are bonuses, too and says the reason there are 21 homes for sale in the neighborhood is much bigger than noise. "This neighborhood has not been immune to foreclosures. The growth has been slow. People coming and going. But that's really the norm now,” says Yandle.

There are 21 Riverwalk homes on the market right now. Since January, 22 homes in Riverwalk have sold. Eight were foreclosures.