The multiple listing service that serves Charlotte and Mecklenburg County also is the primary service for six other counties, and offers select listings well beyond. You can search for a home in the region by visiting www.carolinahome.com.

The agency, Carolina Multiple Listing Services, is owned by the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. The MLS is organized into areas to make searches easier, but here are a few tips:

• There are nine large listing areas in Mecklenburg County , plus a compact area in uptown Charlotte . The large areas are wedge-shaped and stretch from uptown to the county line.

Homes listed on the site and in The Observer are organized by area, and you'll often hear locals describe a location as "Area 1" or "Area 5." You'll find the MLS map regularly in the real estate sections of the Observer and on the MLS site. Check it before beginning your search.

• Residential growth in uptown Charlotte prompted the MLS to create a special center-city area, Area 99. Center-city housing includes everything from lofts and studios to urban penthouses.

You might also hear locals refer to Charlotte 's four historic wards. They've been added as subareas. So if you see "Fourth Ward" in a listing, you'll know the home is in the northwest quadrant of the center city.

• Three lake-area listing areas include not only Mecklenburg but adjacent counties flanking lakes on the Catawba River . The lakes -- Norman to the north, Mountain Island to the west and Wylie to the south -- are surrounded by booming growth. Lake Norman (Area 13) and Lake Wylie (Area 15) have been established listing areas for years, joined recently by Mountain Island Lake (Area 42), the last to see rapid development.

• Surrounding counties are separate listing areas. For instance, Union County is Area 10.

The MLS, like Charlotte 's growth, also reaches into South Carolina : York County , which includes Rock Hill , is Area 17.

Got, Alotta, Charlotte!

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