Every real estate deal feels terrific. After all, this is what Realtors set out to do each day, isn’t it? We try and help our clients buy and sell property for the best possible terms.So, I feel pretty good today. My partner in the office, the wonderful and indefatigable Kim C., and I just helped a nice couple from up north purchase a deep-water homesite, in one of Beaufort’s best neighborhoods, for  40 cents on the dollar.  The purchase price was $235,000. The seller’s had paid $480,000.This is not to gloat over the misfortune of the sellers, but rather to celebrate a victory in helping our clients find a wonderful investment property on the water, at a price which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.That is something we can feel very good about.

Every real estate deal feels terrific. After all, this is what Realtors set out to do each day, isn’t it? We try and help our clients buy and sell property for the best possible terms.So, I feel pretty good today. My partner in the office, the wonderful and indefatigable Kim C., and I just helped a nice couple from up north purchase a deep-water homesite, in one of Beaufort’s best neighborhoods, for  40 cents on the dollar.  The purchase price was $235,000. The seller’s had paid $480,000.This is not to gloat over the misfortune of the sellers, but rather to celebrate a victory in helping our clients find a wonderful investment property on the water, at a price which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.That is something we can feel very good about.

Sometimes, it is hard to fathom the opportunities which keep rearing their heads in the Beaufort real estate market.

We continue to sound the drumbeat that there are truly historic real estate opportunities available (right now!!!) in the Beaufort, SC area, no matter what you are seeking.

Looking for a deep-water homesite? There are deep-water homesites once priced in the mid $400,000 range which have recently sold for $215,000. Condo home? There are condominium homes which recently sold for under $40,000 that sold for $112,000 four years ago. In the market for a single-family home? There are single family homes which have sold in great neighborhoods for half of what they would have five years ago.

And, if you need any more proof, consider the condominium home, on New Street in historic downtown Beaufort’s Old Point, District which just sold for $204,000. This condo home was purchased for $355,000 in 2004. When this New Street condo home hit the market in late May, it went almost instantly under contract. You need to be ready to pounce on this kind of opportunity.

It would be difficult to overstate just how outstanding this   purchase was for the new owners. The Old Point has long been downtown Beaufort’s most sought-after district. It is a neighborhood so quaint, charming and historic that it has been the setting for Hollywood flicks like The Big Chill, The Prince of Tides, and The Great Santini, along with a few other more forgettable movies.

The Old Point has homes which date back to Colonial times. It is a moss-draped trip back through time that sits in a bend in the Beaufort River. It’s difficult to enter the Old Point and not imagine, just for a second, how nice it would be to have a home in this historical district.

Just a few years ago, the conventional wisdom among many Beaufort real estate agents was that the days of Old Point homes selling for under $400,000 were over. And yet, here we are, at or close to the bottom of the market, and a condo in Beaufort’s premier historic district has just sold for 57 percent of what it did seven years ago.

And this is not the only deal to be had. Far from it. In fact, there are pending deals which will knock your socks off, the particulars of which we are unable to discuss until they close. But, I assure you, you will be amazed at some of the buyer pick-ups which will be closing in the weeks ahead. So stay tuned for more incredible stories of buyers finding their dream property in the Carolina Lowcountry.

I know we sound like a broken record sometimes, but the opportunities are out there, plain and simple. There are properties available which can be had for incredible prices. These sellers, whether it’s a bank or an invidual, have taken the first step by putting the property on the market. After that, my friends, it is up to you, the buyer, to take the next step.

I have been selling real estate in Beaufort since 1998, so I know there are many, many people around the country who have been dying to find a home or homesite in Beaufort, whether as a primary home, retirement home, investment home, or vacation home.

As always, don’t hesitate to let us know if you have questions about the Beaufort, SC real estate market, or Beaufort itself.

A $3900 homesite sale on Dataw Island was just one of the highlights of the real estate year, through May 31. As we look at the first five months of the real estate year, there are some signs of recovery, although I wouldn™t make any plans to do any house flipping just yet.

We in the real estate business have long maintained that the foreclosure homes and short sales must be thinned from the market, so that price stability can be returned to the market, and a recovery can begin.

And, despite the grim economic news we continue to hear, there is some encouraging local real estate news.

Through the end of May, there have been 421 home sales generated through the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service, at a median sales price of $175,000, which was also the median sales price through May 2011. Although the median sales price is identical to the figures from the same time period in 2010, this $175,000 allows buyers to buy about 8.5 percent more house this year.

The median square footage for homes sold thus far in 2011 is 1752 percent, about 8.5 percent more than that 1612 median square footage from 2010. This means that the median buyer is paying $96 per square foot for a Beaufort area home, down about 10 percent from the $107 cost per square foot through the first five months of 2010.

Nobody can say the opportunities are not out there. My last three closings have involved foreclosures in some of the nicest spots in Beaufort “ Mossy Oaks, Lady™s Island, and Shell Point. These homes all sold for under $125,000.

Some of the really noteworthy sales so far this year “

**Two Hilton Head efficiency condos for $10,000 or less, which closed on 1/2/2011 and 4/18/2011, respectively.

**Deep-water home in Wright™s Point, one of Beaufort™s best waterfront communities, for $475,000, on 4/20/2011. This home could have sold in the million dollar range just a few years ago. To put things in perspective, note that a much smaller, non-waterfront home in Wright™s Point sold for $416,000 on 4/20/2011.

**A beautifully redone, tidal creek home in Burton, minutes from downtown Beaufort, sold for $105,150 on 3/17/2011. This home sold for $245,000 in 2007.

**A 1-bedroom condo in Mossy Oaks sold in January for $19,500.

**A homesite on Dataw Island, one of the premier golf communities in South Carolina, sold in February for $3900. Hard to go wrong with that one.

Yes, the opportunities are available.   According to statistics gleaned from the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service, 155 of the 421 the referenced home sales were either bank-owned foreclosures or short sales, a situation in which the homeowner has maintained ownership of the property, but is trying to sell the property for less than the mortgage owed the bank.

This shifting real estate market has changed the way people purchase homes. A few years, 80-plus percent of homes were bought using conventional loans. So far this year, less than half (about 47 percent) of homes were purchased using conventional loans. Meanwhile, cash purchases have increased in recent years from a very tiny percentage of all transactions, to more than a quarter in 2011.

Please note that these figures do not include homes sold viat the Hilton Head MLS, a different entity.

For more information on the Beaufort, SC real estate market, please don™t hesitate to call 843.263.6886, or email keith@explorebeaufortrealestate.com.

As we look at the first five months of the real estate year, there are some signs of recovery, although I wouldn™t make any plans to do any house flipping just yet.

We in the real estate business have long maintained that the foreclosure homes and short sales must be thinned from the market, so that price stability returned to the market, and a recovery can begin.

And, despite the grim economic news we continue to hear, there is some encouraging local real estate news.

Through the end of May, there have been 421 home sales generated through the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service, at a median sales price of $175,000, which was also the median sales price through May 2011. Although the median sales price is identical to the figures from the same time period in 2010, this $175,000 allows buyers to buy about 8.5 percent more house this year.

The median square footage for homes sold thus far in 2011 is 1752 percent, about 8.5 percent more than that 1612 median square footage from 2010. This means that the median buyer is paying $96 per square foot for a Beaufort area home, down about 10 percent from the $107 cost per square foot through the first five months of 2010.

Nobody can say the opportunities are not out there. My last three closings have involved foreclosures in some of the nicest spots in Beaufort “ Mossy Oaks, Lady™s Island, and Shell Point. These homes all sold for under $125,000.

Some of the really noteworthy sales so far this year “

**Two Hilton Head efficiency condos for $10,000 or less, which closed on 1/2/2011 and 4/18/2011, respectively.

**Deep-water home in Wright™s Point, one of Beaufort™s best waterfront communities, for $475,000, on 4/20/2011. This home could have sold in the million dollar range just a few years ago. To put things in perspective, note that a much smaller, non-waterfront home in Wright™s Point sold for $416,000 on 4/20/2011.

**A beautifully redone, tidal creek home in Burton, minutes from downtown Beaufort, sold for $105,150 on 3/17/2011. This home sold for $245,000 in 2007.

**A 1-bedroom condo in Mossy Oaks sold in January for $19,500.

Yes, the opportunities are available.   According to statistics gleaned from the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service, 155 of the 421 the referenced home sales were either bank-owned foreclosures or short sales, a situation in which the homeowner has maintained ownership of the property, but is trying to sell the property for less than the mortgage owed the bank.  

This shifting real estate market has changed the way people purchase homes. A few years, 80-plus percent of homes were bought using conventional loans. So far this year, less than half (about 47 percent) of homes were purchased using conventional loans. Meanwhile, cash purchases have increased in recent years from a very tiny percentage of all transactions, to more than a quarter in 2011.

Please note that these figures do not include homes sold viat the Hilton Head MLS, a different entity.

For more information on the Beaufort, SC real estate market, please don™t hesitate to call 843.263.6886, or email keith@explorebeaufortrealestate.com.

The first quarter of 2011 is in the books for Beaufort, SC, and buying opportunities continue to abound throughout the Lowcountry.

We have learned to never say never in this business, but you have to wonder how much better the buying conditions are going to get.   Interest rates continue to be available for under 5 percent, and the median home price in Beaufort slipped to $160,000 for the first quarter of 2011.

Some of the first quarter sale prices would have been hard to comprehend a few years ago, starting with the $6,597 sale of a Hilton Head Island condo. Hilton Head Island is in the area South of the Broad River, and is one of the premier resort areas in the Southeast.

The least expensive home sale North of the Broad, where the city of Beaufort is located, was a $21,500 sale in Seabrook, a beautiful, rural community about 12 minutes from downtown Beaufort, just past Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

According to stats gleaned from the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service, 229 homes sales were notched between January 1 and March 31 of this year. This is a 3.5 percent increase from the 222 homes sold during the same time period in 2010.

This is the second straight year that home sales have been up in Beaufort, a good sign of impending recovery. In 2009, there were 153 first-quarter home sales.

Prices dipped about 6.4 percent, to $160,000 in the first quarter of this year, from a median sales price of $171,500   during the same time period in 2010. The median home sale in 2009 was $182,579, so we have seen an overall decrease of about 12 percent the past two years.

The depreciation is reflected in the median cost per square foot, from $101 in 2010, to $89 in 2011, about 12 percent. The median cost per square foot figure for 2009 was   about $118.

The most expensive first-quarter sale was a $1.22 million ocean front home on Fripp Islnad, which would not have seemed likely a couple of years ago. And, make no bones about it, this home is located on the desirable southern end of the island and his its own private beach access.

The median home sold so far this year via the Beaufort MLS looks like this “

$160,000 sales price

1638 square feet

Built in 2000

3 bedrooms

2bathrooms

When a buyer’s real estate wish list includes  ”waterfront” and “privacy,” chances are their search will lead them at some point onto St. Helena Island.

Perhaps more so than just about any other area in Beaufort County, property buyers tend to associate St. Helena Island with “waterfront property.”

Although there are certainly plenty of buildable parcels on Lady’s Island, Port Royal, Burton, and in the downtown Beaufort area, St. Helena is a large, rural island with an abundance of raw land and waterfront vistas, so this is where many buyers seeking waterfront building sites begin their search.

And if you are looking for waterfront property, St. Helena has plenty to offer. There are currently 49 deepwater and tidal creek homesites available on St. Helena Island, ranging in price from $89,000 to $3 million.

If you are looking for a community with excellent amenities and a security gate, you may want to consider Dataw Island, which was developed by Alcoa beginning in the early 1990s. Polowana Island, maybe the best deep-water boating community in Beaufort, sits right across the street from Dataw Island and features large, multi-acre tracts.

Bermuda Bluff, overlooking Port Royal Sound and the Intracoastal Waterway, is another gated option.

If you are seeking something a little more laid back, St. Helena boasts lovely rustic communities like Dulamo, Tansi Village, Coffin Point and Land’s End.

St. Helena Island is bordered by Cowan Creek and Harbor River on two sides, and Port Royal Sound and St. Helena Sound on the other two sides.

Countless creeks and rivers thread through St. Helena Island, making it a true boater’s paradise.

From just about anywhere on St. Helena Island, you have easy access to the beaches of Hunting Island, the most visited state park in South Carolina.

For   more information on available properties on St. Helena Island, visit www.ExploreBeaufortRealEstate.com.

Many newcomers to Beaufort, SC dream of living in Historic Downtown Beaufort, an area teaming with 200-year-old mansions, and immense historical significance which dates back to Colonial Times.

When my family was searching Beaufort for a home in the mid-1990s, we drove through the Old Point and dreamed of living in this neighborhood made famous by Beaufort native son Pat Conroy. We dreamed of being able to walk downtown for dinner at the shops and restaurants of Bay Street, Beaufort’s best-known thoroughfare. The Old Point is probably the most consistently sought-out area in Beaufort.

The downtown area is the land of The Great Santini, and The Prince of Tides, two Conroy stories which have immortalized Beaufort, SC in both novel and on film. There was only one Santini, and there is only one Beaufort.

Thanks to the current housing market, there are seemingly endless real estate opportunities in Beaufort’s Historic District which weren’t there a few years ago. Did you know you can purchase a property, 3.5 blocks from Bay Street, for under $79,000? Yes, it needs plenty of work, but — take my word for it — some of the swankiest mansions and homes in downtown Beaufort were darn-near uninhabitable homes when I moved to the area in 1996. Now, they are showplaces.

There are two low-maintenance condos in the Old Point available for under $300,000. One of these, which was purchased for more than $350,000 just a few years ago, is available for $225,000. From this location, you can walk — and take your time doing so!!! — to Bay Street in about two minutes.

I am not ashamed to admit that, a few years ago, I thought the days had passed when you could purchase a home in the Old Point for under $400,000, regardless of the amount of work required.

Yes, opportunity abounds in Historic Downtown Beaufort. For more information on these opportunities, visit www.ExploreBeaufortRealEstate.com. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day.

Despite an historic combination of affordability and low interest rates, October 2010 was a month of frustration for those involved with the the Beaufort, SC, real estate market, as pending and closed sales figures dipped from October 2009.

The Beaufort Mutliple Listing Service recorded 55 home sales in October of this year, compared with 73 home sales for October 2009, a decrease of 24.7 percent. Pending sales also dipped, with 134 homes under contract at month’s end, compared with 202 for October 2009, according to information provided by the Beaufort County Association of Realtors (BCAR).

Fewer pending home sales for October will likely result in fewer closed sales in November, and possibly December, year to year. Indeed, a preliminary peek at November 2010 suggests that home sales will be down about 10 percent from November 2009. More on that next month.

As we mentioned, October 2010 was a challenging month desite a combination of historically low interest rates, and a very high affordability index for the Beaufort, SC real estate market. (Of course, any reference to low interest rates has to be delivered with a caveat that banks have tightened up lending standards from recent years, making it more difficult to obtain a conventional loan.)

Still, the opportunities are there for buyers. In October 2010, Beaufort buyers enjoyed an affordability index of 163, which means the median family income in the area was 163 percent of what would be required to qualify to purchase the median priced home. The affordability index was up 14.7 percent from the November 2009 figure of 142, according to BCAR stats.

Homes closing in October 2010 also took longer to sell than those closing in October 2009. Homes closing this October spent an average of 215 days on the market, up 16.3 percent from the 185 days on market for homes closing in October 2009. Days on the market begins with the signing of the listing paperwork, and ends the property is transferred to the new owner.

Overall, year-to-date, the sales pace for 2010 continues to surpass that of 2009, with 673 homes closed at the end of October 2010, a 36.5 increase over the 493 homes sold by the end of October 2009.

Although sales figures are up, most real estate observers will probably not point to a recovery until prices stabilize. That has not happened. The median sales price in October 2010 was $177,000, down 8.5 percent from the $193,400 median price of October 2009. Year to date, the median sales price for 2010 was $175,750 through October, compared with $192,500 for the same time period in 2009.

There were 21.7 months of inventory on the market in Beaufort at the end of October 2010, about the same as the 21.9 months   at the end of October 2009. The inventory is the estimated amount of time required to sell every home currently on the market were no new homes to be added to the inventory.

You might visit Beaufort, SC, a hundred times and never find your way to Land’s End. The casual visitor to Beaufort will visit Bay Street, Hunting Island, the Beaufort Waterfront Park, and the other popular points of interest.
Land’s End is a bit more off the beaten path. That’s not to say that Land’s End is far away. No, it is about 25 minutes from downtown Beaufort. It’s just that Land’s End is a destination, not a place you will accidently stumble upon.
And this is exactly what attracts many real estate buyers to the area. Land’s End is what you might imagine Beaufort being like 40 years ago. It is very peaceful and secluded.
Located on St. Helena Island, Land’s End is just across Port Royal Sound from Hilton Head Island.   Land’s End has it’s own beach area, and some of the prettiest oak trees you’ll find in the Lowcountry.
Real-estate wise, Land’s End runs the gamut. There are currently 7 homes available via the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service in Land’s End, from a $69,900 double wide on Seaside Road, to a $449,954 home with a private dock overlooking Port Royal Sound.
The median asking price is currently $199,000.
There have been two home sales in Land’s End so far in 2010 — a $265,000 home with a waterview, and a $550,000 fixer upper with deep-water access.
If you are looking for homesite opportunities in Land’s End, there are plenty, from $29,900 all the way up to an extremely (and I mean extremely) overpriced homesite with an asking price of $1.5 million. More realistic sellers in Land’s End are asking $295,000 to $389,000 for deep-water homesites.
Through the years, real estate buyers from the upstate of South Carolina have frequently purchased second homes in Land’s End, because it is an easy three or so hour drive from home, making Land’s End a perfect place to take a long weekend.
For more information on Lands End, or the Beaufort real estate market, visit www.ExploreBeaufortRealEstate.com.