After a slow finish in 2001, Charlotte's residential real estate market should see gradual improvement for 2002, Realtors agree.

With the shock of terrorist attacks, the number of contracts on Charlotte-area properties fell 2 percent in September from the same month in 2000, said Lorraine Shalvoy, marketing director for the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association.

Activity rebounded in October and November, with the region recording 13 and 15-percent jumps respectively from a year earlier.

In the first quarter, sellers should expect existing homes to stay on the market longer, Shalvoy said. (January typically is the slowest month.)

Also in early 2002, higher-priced homes will move more slowly than moderately priced houses, Realtors say.

Shalvoy's statistics show homes priced $500,000 to $1 million are staying on the market 8 to 13 percent longer than a year ago.

Until flat demand gives way to an expected spring pickup, she said, sellers will need to adjust their prices.

"People will have to face the reality that we were in a boom market in 1999, and they will not get as high a price as they would have two years ago," Shalvoy said.

The housing market slowed in June after a strong first half, said Scott Lindsay, who concentrates on uptown for First Charlotte Properties Inc. Sluggishness was evident by Sept. 11, said William McBroom, who shows suburban houses for Realty World Professionals.

A development to watch for in 2002 is the First Union-Wachovia merger, which should bring more home-seeking bank executives to Charlotte, said Chuck Graham of Newton Graham Consultants.

Carol Shull Huffman of Cottingham-Chalk & Associates Inc. said she continues to see newcomers seeking homes in the $150,000 to $300,000 range.

"The market is also strong when it comes to first-time buyers at $80,000 to $150,000," Huffman said.

Another 2002 indicator will be the status of US Airways, "an ill company that has a lot to do with Charlotte economics," said Graham

Dan Cottingham, owner and partner in Cottingham-Chalk & Associates, said he can "smell, hear and feel a rebound in the making," for high-end homes.

Buyers in the $500,000-plus market are driven more by the stock market than interest rates, he said.