There is a great new article in my November E-Newlsetter regarding the New Homebuyer Tax Credit.
While it may not be right for you at this time, you might have friends and family to share it with. Click here to go to my website, then click on E-Newsletter at the top.
Charleston won the number 2 spot among US cities in Conde Nast Traveler’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards. The rankings consider the best in travel, including cities, hotels and airlines. Charleston ranked first in friendliness.
Also, Travel + Leisure magazine readers ranked Charleston the top destination in the US for bed-and-breakfasts, the top spot to spend Thanksgiving and among the best places in several other categories. This survey ranks cities on food, hotels, nightlife and residents.
Charleston took second place for romantic escape, for its antiques and vintage shops, its peace and quiet, and its notable neighborhoods. Charleston placed third for relaxing retreats and most attractive people and fourth for historical sites.
And, I can add that Charleston, SC is a great place to live!
- Dave Landry
davelandry116@mindspring.com
Everyone in Charleston, come on out Sunday, November 8th from 12-5 to enjoy our beautiful Colonial Lake Park and a fun family day of activities, games, music and getting to know your neighborhood residents and businesses. The Real Estate Studio is hosting this event in honor of the Charleston Parks Conservancy and their Park Angels to support our local community. Raffles will be held for some great items and proceeds will benefit the Conservancy.
Ashley Avenue will be closed to traffic from Broad St to Beaufain St so feel free to ride bikes and walk!
One of my favorite things about working at The Real Estate Studio is that it really is a beautiful place to spend the day. Besides the fact that it’s open and bright with clean, modern décor, the exposed brick walls offer the perfect backdrop for an ever-changing array of local art. Every six weeks or so, we offer our downtown space to a different local artist or organization to exhibit new works, hang a retrospective, or organize a group showing. We don’t pretend to be a gallery. We just love supporting the art community in Charleston. This city is culturally alive, and that’s one of the things that makes it such an exciting place to live.
Next up at the Studio is painter Honor Marks, a Charleston native who paints luminous oils of indigenous wildlife and flowers. Honor says about her work, “I try to reveal the work of God that we see in the world around us. The unfurling of a leaf, the structure of a stem, the majesty of a single fading flower are all such amazing and complicated creations. As wild places disappear, we are increasingly surrounded by landscapes and places that are man-made. How will we retain a sense of wonder, awe, mystery, or humility when everything that was created by something greater than us is gone? We truly take for granted the enormity of the miracles that surround us. My work celebrates those miracles.”
We are terribly excited to show Honor’s work at the Studio. Not only do her paintings radiate the pure essence of her natural subjects, but those subjects are specific to this region. This show will offer our guests a unique perspective on our local botanicals and wildlife, and it will also introduce them to a really talented local artist. Honor is featured in the Artist Profile this month in Charleston Magazine.
Stop by the Studio between November 1 and December 9, 2009 to check out this extraordinary work. For an opportunity to meet the artist and enjoy some good company and some fine beverages, join us for the opening reception on November 5, 2009.
-Traci Magnus
This Saturday, October 24 is the 2nd Annual Follypalooza from 12p-7p. As you may have guessed, it is a music event that will feature many fantastic bands all throughout the day and into the evening. A portion of Center Street will be blocked off for the event, which will feature Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, and lots of other bands. There will also be kids activities, crafts for sale, raffles, beer to drink, food to eat, and fun to be had by all.
The most rewarding part about this fun event is that half of the proceeds go to the Hollings Cancer Center and the other half goes directly to local Folly Beach cancer patients currently undergoing treatment.
Here on Folly, we love food, music, and fun… but mostly we love our tight-knit community of family and friends. This is a wonderful place to visit and an even better place to live. Check out the festivities this weekend and experience what makes Folly Beach so special.
-Susan St. Hilaire
4 Trumbo Street, a Downtown Charleston Single, for only $550,000
So much has been written in the last week about the recent rise in home sales for the Charleston area. The local news publications and stations all covered the 7% increase (compared to September 2008) with a cautiously optimistic outlook. The first sentence of the Post and Courier article declares “Charleston has finally hit a streak of strong home sales,” but the article goes on to clarify that the first-time home buyers tax credit, which will expire at the end of November, could have bolstered the sales. The Charleston Regional Business Journal agrees. But by all accounts, including the most recent posts on this blog, the news is promising and the current climate is still ripe for savvy buyers.
Downtown, at The Real Estate Studio, many of our walk-in guests are curious specifically about the Charleston peninsula inside the Crosstown. We have a great customized software program in the Studio that allows our guests to immediately view all Charleston listings in seconds on our 50″ plasma monitors. It makes searching the available properties inside the Crosstown (or in any specific area) a breeze. If you’re not in the downtown area, simply visit our website to search.
Here are the most recent market statistics for downtown Charleston inside the Crosstown:
• There were 16 residential closings in Charleston inside the Crosstown in September, 2009 versus 9 in September a year ago.
• Through September, 2009 there have been 160 closings inside the Crosstown versus 233 last year.
• The price of the average residential sale through September was $834,722 versus $858,197 last year. That is a 2.8% decrease, the second time we have not seen an increase this year. These are macro numbers dependent on the products sold.
(stats courtesy of Dave Landry, davelandry116@mindspring.com)
Clearly this market is stronger than the US real estate market in general. This is a good time to buy real estate. There is a good level of inventory, sellers are motivated, and the interest rates are still low. If you’re in the Charleston area, stop by The Real Estate Studio, downtown at 214 King Street, to check out the best deals inside the Crosstown… or anywhere on the Charleston Coast.
There is more good news for real estate in the Charleston Trident area! Both the Post and Courier and The Charleston Regional Business Journal are reporting real estate sales for the month of September, 2009, saw an increase of 7% year over year.
The breakdown is:
• Berkley County saw 135 transactions closed for a 9% increase. The median sale price was $150,000.
• Charleston County had 259 transactions close which translates to an 11% increase. Charleston County saw improvement in sales in Mount Pleasant below Hwy 41 and in Carolina Bay in West Ashley. The median sales price was $214,000.
• Dorchester County had 164 sales, remaining stable. The median price was $154,000.
The $8,000 Federal Tax Credit for first time home buyers may have been the reason for increased sales. Time is running out for first time home buyers to take advantage of this incentive since it is set to expire on November 30, 2009. October could see another increase in sales as a result.
This is a great market for buyers to take the advantage. Inventories are still over 10,000 units in the Tri-County and the median sales prices for the area are continuing to trend down. Combine that with reasonable mortgage interest rates and the fist time buyers tax credit. It might be your best time to get into real estate, or move up to the home you always wanted.
If you have questions about the market, or just need more information, call us.
- Mark Fuchs 843-364-9509
- Patricia Fuchs 843-425-095
As we have all been holding our breath and waiting and wondering what is going to happen with our local real estate markets, something slowly but surely has been happening at Folly Beach. Properties are actually moving….changing hands. What is that you say? Real estate selling on Folly Beach? No way! Can’t be true!
Well the facts are the facts. Since September 1st we have seen a steady and consistent number of properties going under contract and more importantly getting to the closing table.
• 14 Properties have gone “active/contingent”
• 4 Properties are in a “pending closing” state
• 9 properties have closed
Although these numbers might seem nominal or trivial the fact is Folly Beach is finally seeing $1,000,000+ properties moving. Oceanfront, 2nd Row properties and spectacular river/marshfront properties are driving our market. Six (6) properties either just below or well above the 1 million dollar price point have either closed or are days away from doing so.
How long will this trend last is anyone’s guess, but the activity is a welcome blessing for all of us. Not just real estate agents but property owners alike. People are beginning to feel and have hope again. Overall our market, like almost every other around the country, has and still is declining. Prices continue to fall across the board but the activity is the most positive sign that 2009 has brought thus far.
I call it the “domino effect”. Buyers have been nowhere to be found…just sitting on the sidelines and waiting. Sellers would chase the market and lower and lower and lower their asking prices, just trying anything to get noticed. But then the 1st property goes under contract and then the 2nd & 3rd and now we see more buyers jumping in….Hence the “domino effect”. It is almost like buyers were waiting, not wanting to be the 1st to jump in and test the waters but now other buyers are realizing that this might be the time. Prices have not been this low in 5 years, interest rates are still at an all time low and inventories are still strong….A perfect recipe for hopefully the buying mini-frenzy to continue. Only time will tell, but I know that I am hoping that there are still many fall leaves….I mean Folly properties to fall.
-Adam Killermann
“Charleston’s Real Estate Guy”
akillermann@dunesproperties.com
The National Trust for Historic Preservation presented its Preservation Honor Award to the Historic Charleston Foundation for work in developing the Charleston Preservation Plan.
Charleston, founded in 1670 and South Carolina’s first city, passed the nation’s first historic preservation ordinance in 1931. The award cites work on an updated plan to govern future preservation.
According the The State, “The plan was developed after a year of work including 11 focus groups and a citizen’s advisory committee as well as 33 workshops and meetings that generated 1,500 public comments. The city council then approved it unanimously.”
~ Mary A. Sicard
As an Agent and property owner on Isle of Palms since 1991, clients who are looking to move to the area ask me about the mix of vacation rentals to permanent property owners.
Below is a perfect recap from The Island Eye News of the Isle of Palms Council meeting as they tackle the growing concern of quality of life on IOP. A number of years ago, an island group of year-round residents called Save IOP was concerned with the ever increasing amount of rentals and the impact on the neighborhoods. We all know that a balance between the two are ideal, and the island residents, Mayor and Town Council are addressing this issue.
“The Isle of Palms short term rentals meeting on September 16 was a far cry from the meetings of two and three years ago, when every mention of the words “short term rentals” caused at least a sharp word or two to fly and at worst, sparked a full on red-faced debate. Today, however, the formerly contentious topic was approached with cool aplomb by both the City Council and the Planning Commission, all of whom walked through the issues step by step under the statistics-assisted guidance of Mayor Dick Cronin.
To keep things simple, Mayor Cronin divided the topic into two sections: zoning issues and livability issues. Under zoning, the Mayor reported that the average size of new homes built on the Isle of Palms is between 3800 and 4051 square feet, and of the 17 new homes built last year, not one of them was built as a rental. This is surprising compared to previous years, where the building of rental homes peaked at 50% of new home construction in 2003 and approached that number again in 2006 with 43% of new homes being built as rentals.”
Read the rest of the full article HERE.
- Jack Hurley
jack@alljack.net
Mary A. Sicard
Traci Magnus
Rebecca Narkiewicz
Betty Poore
Randolph Walker
islandmitch
Susan St. Hilaire
mccurdy444
jackhurley
davelandry
Kristin B. Walker
James Schiller
Vince Perna
Mark Fuchs
Adam Killermann
