Efforts to Preserve Charleston Win National Recognition (Again)

The National Trust for Historic Preservation presented its Preservation Honor Award to the Historic Charleston Foundation for work in developing the Charleston Preservation Plan.

Groups want Congress to boost and extend a home-buyer tax credits

Worried that rising mortgage rates could damp the prospects for a housing recovery, a business group is making a new push for Congress to boost and extend a home-buyer tax credit.

$6 billion available for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program

Home prices are at their most affordable in many years, which has opened up home ownership to many who had been locked out during the housing boom. And now, the federal government — and many states – are launching plans to hook up buyers of repossessed properties with very attractive terms.

Charleston City Slicker

If you have an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, here’s your chance to experience Charleston, S.C., like never before. Charleston City Slicker ($9.99) uses iPhone’s location services to guide you through what many consider the greatest historic district in the U.S. City Slicker has produced over an hour of high-definition video documenting 20 points of [...]

Ghostly Gourmet and Spirits: An Evening with the Spirits

The Daily Journal publishes “On the Menu” every Tuesday. (Subscribe here.) The column provides the latest news from the Charleston area’s extensive culinary community.
Here’s an excerpt from this week’s column:
“Ghostly Gourmet and Spirits: An Evening with the Spirits” features a prix fixe menu of Poogan’s typical Lowcountry cuisine, including fried green tomatoes, buttermilk fried chicken [...]

Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

It’s a buyers market and first-time home buyers are eligible for new tax breaks, according to this Wall Street Journal article.
The article explains the tax break, who qualifies, and briefly discusses using an individual retirement account (IRA) to fund a down payment on a home.

Inc.com Says Charleston SC Area’s Business Climate Good

Charleston, North Charleston and Summerville climbed up the list of the best cities to do business, according to a recent ranking by Inc.com magazine.
The three-city metropolitan area ranked No. 6 of 30 midsize cities, up from 15th last year. Communities in South Carolina benefited from growth in tourism, logistics, manufacturing and technology, the magazine said
Inc.com [...]

Charleston SC Area Condo Prices Spike

According to Charleston Business Journal’s Daily Journal, median home prices for the Charleston region remained flat for July 2008 at $215,000, following trends set in the first half of the year.
The sale price of condominiums and co-op units were bright spots, according to the article. “The median sale price was $375,000 last month, compared with [...]

Lawmakers debate new homeowners write-off

A potentially far-reaching change in real estate tax policy may be in the making.
The federal housing and foreclosure relief legislation “would permit millions of homeowners who do not itemize on their federal tax filings to claim a deduction for at least a portion of their local and state property taxes. Though the House version of [...]

Havens for Vacation Home Buyers: Isle of Palms & Sullivan’s Island, S.C.

This New York Times article, “Near Charleston, Two Spots Where Life is Quiet and Quieter,” features Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island, S.C. and the pros and cons of buying a second home there.
Who’s buying? “Property owners on the two islands run from couples with young children to empty nesters planning to retire there. The [...]