Beaufort SC Real Estate Blog

Today I thought we could take a look at the 2009 Dataw Island housing market.  This subdivision is the most popular retirement community in the Beaufort area.  I looked at this area because while the remainder of Beaufort Country was hit very hard in 2008 by the real estate slump, Dataw bucked that trend.  In 2008, no community in the local MLS witnessed more closings than Dataw Island.  The island saw 34 houses change hands which was extraordinary considering the state of our market.  What's even more impressive is that twelve of the fore mentioned transactions were above $500,000.  I am certainly not saying sales were not down from the glory years of 2005 and 2006.  What I am saying is while affected, this neighborhood hasn't seen the decline that

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Cora Bett Thomas makes another move in the Beaufort SC real estate market with it's acquisition of Tideland  Realty.  While not official yet, according to reliable sources, Cora Bett Thomas Realty is in the final stages of taking over Tideland.  This is the second such purchase of anexisting real estate company in the Beaufort area by Thomas.  Cora Bett Thomas bought Town and Country in April 2009.

These moves will prove to be strokes of genius or a setback of enormous proportions.  We won't know the outcome until sometime next year when the Beaufort housing market finally rebounds. Also, don't expect agency consolidation to stop.  If print and other advertising cutbacks are an indicator, every real estate company in town is hurting.  With this many

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This past Friday the CBS Early Show had MoneyWatch dot com name their top places to retire and not surprisingly, Beaufort was on the list at number three. Editor-at-Large Jill Schlesinger called Beaufort a charming seaside town.  For you who have visited, I do not need to explain why we made the list.  For those who have yet to visit out wonderful little town, here are some reasons retirement is great here:

• Very low taxes
• Fantastic climate
• Beautiful scenery
• Excellent medical facilities (Duke Univ.)
• Great retirement communities(Dataw Island, etc...)
• Low Cost of living

If you missed the video don't worry, I have it below.

Today I'm going to share a few of the the newly listed properties at ERA Evergreen. As most home buyers know, finding a great deal often depends on maintaining a close eye open new listings.  Obviously everyone is taling about foreclosures and short sales but I still contend that keeping a close watch on new listings is the BEST way to find a great deal on that dream home.  That's how I bought my first 2 homes which I turned a hefty profit on both.  So here a few new ones from ERA Evergreen.

1311 Broad Street Absolutely charming 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home that is extremely well maintained with many upgrades...wood floors, stainless steel appliances and beautiful fenced backyard with gorgeous landscaping. If you are

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Today I'll break down some of the active listing numbers on one of the more popular communities in Beaufort SC, Cat Island.  So far in 2009 only one home has sold in the neighborhood, and it was priced at $359,000.  Looking at the current houses under contract, you will see a trend that seems to be universal in today's market:  lower end homes are what's selling.  High end properties are nowhere to be found in most market reports I do.  My prediction is you won't see Luxury properties selling again until Spring 2010.

Out of the 3 homes under contract, 2 are in Olde Tabby Park and one is in the Dolphin Point area.  For the rest of 2009 you can expect homes in Olde tabby Park to see to see the most activity as prices are generally on the lower end on the

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For a year and a half you have head me say hold tight on buying a house.  You will never hear me say the old cliché, "It's a great time to buy".  It sounds like a car salesman and I refuse to talk buyers into buying a house.  My job is to inform buyers to the best of my ability.  It is their job to decide when to buy.  What I will finally say is, buyers ready to purchase are finally seeing the light at the end of the housing tunnel.  With home sales down 23% from the already slow 2008, home prices reduced approximately 20% and interest rates still below 5.00%, the market is getting ripe.

Is it time to pull the trigger with an offer?  That depends.  Personally I believe home prices remain slightly overpriced.  That being said, make no mistake, sellers

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Today we are going to take a look at the residential real estate market on Fripp Island.  The below chart should give a fairly accurate picture of housing movement on the island.  In the charts below you can get an idea on housing movement on the island.  Fripp Island has had 110 listings hit the market in 2009, 53 have expired, 7 have sold and currently there are 5 homes under contract.  With 5 pendings, is shows sales are slightly picking up during this typically active real estate season.   

My First FusionCharts GoogleGadget

The below chart details the active residential listings on Fripp.  With the average 2009 home price at $805,013, you can expect sales to stay relatively slow on the high end properties.  I say

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Ever wonder how home buyers find the house they eventually purchase?  I found a couple survey charts released by The National Association of Realtors that might surprise you.  It seems that the internet has become the primary information source of people looking to buy a house.  NAR charts show that every year people are using the internet more and more to inform themselves on buying a home.

Highlights from the NAR Survey:

• 33% of all buyers looked online for property as the first step in the home buying process while nly 4% visited an open house first.
• 87% of all buyers used the Internet as part of their home search.
• 94% of 25-44 year olds used the internet as part of their home search and this is very important as over 50% of home buyers are in

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Today I received a Call to Action e-mail that was sent to all Realtors around the state.  I have posted this e-mail below because it not only affect Realtors, but virtually every single person in the Palmetto State.  If you own, plan to buy, or plan to sell property in the state of South Carolina this affects you in a dramatic way.  If you don't know what the Point of Sale real estate tax is, you should.  Below are some facts taken directly for the SC Realtors website.  Keep reading to learn more.

From the SC Realtors Website on "Point of Sale":

In 2006, the General Assembly enacted property tax reform that provided for point of sale property tax assessment.  Regrettably, this has created serious inequities in the real estate market.   

Point of sale

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In the June edition of American Style magazine, Beaufort was named the 12th best small town art destination in the US.  If you've visited our sleepy little town, you know why.  Amongst the quaint Mom n' Pops stores are a myriad of art galleries throughout the city.  Bay Street is home to a large number of the local galleries.  The ranking of twelfth is up two spots from fourteenth in 2008. 

Is you think the small town category is no big deal because of it might be less competitive, consider that Beaufort beat out well known artsy towns such as Aspen, Colorado; Laguna Beach, California; and Naples, Florida.  Art connoisseurs can rest assured that when visiting Beaufort SC, they won't be disappointed.

The 2009 poll marks the 12th Reader's Choice

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