The one thing that has been warming up recently is buyers shopping for Hilton Head vacation properties on the internet.  Web shoppers are once again thinking about warmer places as temperatures hit single and negative digits around our country.  While everyone is cold right now, Hilton Head’s weekends forecast is in the 70’s.  While snow or cold bound, we have listed below information to help Hilton Head Shoppers find a warmer spot this winter. Read the rest of this entry

The sales of new U.S. single family homes fell only slightly in November in the wake of higher mortgage rates.

Meanwhile, prices on new homes continued to rise, signaling to national housing market experts that the market truly is weathering higher mortgage rates, according to a recent news article.

National Housing Market Showing Resilience, Experts Say

The Commerce Department recently reported that sales fell 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 units.

Here’s what else was revealed about recent market activity:

• November’s numbers marked a fall from October’s revised 474,000 pace, which was the highest level since July 2008.
• For November, economists had expected new home sales to be at a 445,000 unit pace in November.
• Compared with November 2012, sales were up 16.6 percent.
• Although higher mortgage rates have slowed the rate of home resales since August, activity is expected to accelerate next year.
• Experts credit this in part to employment gains.
• What’s more, experts say that a lean housing inventory is also expected to increase activity.
• For instance, in November, the supply of houses on the market decreased by 6.7 percent.
• The median price of a new home rose 10.6 percent from a year ago.
• If the housing market remained at November’s sales pace, it would take 4.3 months to clean the market of available homes, which is the smallest inventory there’s been since June.
• In October, the housing market inventory was at 4.5 months.
• For a reference point, a 6-month supply is normally considered as a healthy balance between supply and demand.
• Although home sales decreased in the Midwest and South, sales showed strong gains in the West and Northeast.

Helping You Buy and Sell Homes

The recent activity is actually encouraging, despite the fact that the sale of new single family homes actually dropped.

That’s because the decrease was actually pretty slight, meaning that the national housing market is adapting to higher mortgage rates better than even some experts anticipated.

Check back here soon for more national real estate news that affects your efforts as home buyers and sellers!

We loved 2013 and while we are sad to see it go, we are ready for 2014.  In the year ahead, it is our hope to remain humble and hungry as we continue to build Hilton Head Properties, Realty and Rentals.  Listed below are our some New Years Resolutions that we offer to our fellow property owners in the Hilton Head, Bluffton and Daufuskie areas.  We look forward to helping you achieve your goals in 2014! Read the rest of this entry

Purchasers of 2nd homes and rental properties don’t always factor the financial benefits into their purchase when weighing their buying decision.  Mortgage interest and taxes are standard deductions available to any second home owner, but what about the other deductions that may be available?  Before you proceed, the first question, is your second home or villa on Hilton Head classified as residential or rental?

Read the rest of this entry

We hope to see you on Hilton Head Island during the Holidays!  Listed below are some of our favorite things to do on the Island at this time of year.  Just click on the link to find out more.  If you need ideas for your visit or places to stay, just let us know.  We have all kinds of goodies including private chefs, bike rentals, a list of our favorite restaurants and fun things to do for your Holidays, Island Style!

10 Fun Things to do on Hilton Head Island over the Holidays

1.  Attend the Gregg Russell Christmas Concert in Harbourtown

2.  Wake everyone up for a sunrise on the beach 

3.  Invite a friend to walk or run the Jingle Jingle 5K and Health Walk

4.  Visit all Twelve amazing Christmas displays around Hilton Head!

5.  Check out the Daufuskie Artisans and Farmers Market at the Coastal Discovery Museum

6.  Take a long beach walk or big bike ride on our amazing bike trails!  

7.  Daytrip to Savannah, Charleston or Beaufort

8.  Play a game of Pickleball with the family at Palmetto Dunes

9.  Visit Olde Town Bluffton for fun, shopping and dining

10. Take a Trail Ride through the Forest Preserve with the crew

P.S.  Don’t forget to sign up for the Polar Bear Plunge

Happy Holidays from all of us at Hilton Head Properties

We wish for you a very Happy Hilton Head Holiday and A Prosperous New Year!  Please email or call us at (843)785-7111, if we can help you with anything over the Holidays or into 2019.  Thank you.

Whichever way you look at it, the real estate market is finishing strong as we wrap up 2013!

According to a recent Bloomberg report, several market indicators are showing growth and gains, which is great news for home buyers and home sellers alike!

Today, we’re going to share with you some of the highlights of this recent report. Happy holidays everyone!

US Home Sales

According to the Bloomberg article, purchases of new U.S. homes rebounded during the month of October from the lowest level it’s been in more than a year.

Specifically, home sales of these new homes jumped 25.4 percent to a 444,000 annualized rate. This was only a month after that figure was down to 354,0000, which was the weakest it’s been since April 2012.

Experts say that this signals that home buyers are beginning to adjust to higher mortgage rates.

Aiding this increase in home sales is the fact that there have been employment gains across the board, as well as stock price increases.

Here’s what else the report revealed about national housing market activity:

• Home purchases decreased 6.6 percent in September from a 379,000 annualized pace in August.
• The median home sales price showed a year-over-year decrease of 0.6 percent to $245,800 in October.
• Home purchases rebounded in all four U.S. regions during the month of October
• The biggest increase in home purchases was in the Midwest with a 34 percent increase.
• The supply of homes decreased from 6.4 months to 4.9 months during the month of September
• There were 183,000 new houses on the market by the end of October, which is down from 190,000 during the previous month.
• New construction accounted for about 7 percent of the residential market in 2012.
• Meanwhile, applications for building permits increased by 6.2 percent to a 1.03 million annualized rate, which is the most it’s been since June 2008.
• That’s compared to a September pace of 974,000
• There were 2.13 million previously owned homes for sale by the end of October, which is down from 2.17 million during the month of September.

National Real Estate News at Your Fingertips

As you can see, our national real estate market is becoming more active as residents everywhere become increasingly optimistic about the state of the housing market.

This bodes well for 2014 predictions for the national housing market!

Check back on January 1 as we continue to discuss real estate market activity that affects you!

After you have signed the contract of sale on you Hilton Head property you need to prepare for the inspection.  Unless you sold your property with no repairs or CL-100 requirements and crossed out and initialed paragraph’s 4 and 5 in your contract, you are bound to convey your property and its systems in “good working” order.  Inspectors are hired by purchasers to review the systems and the house and report what they see.  They are not allowed to put a new light bulb in, they simply report that the light was not working.  Therefore we would suggest to any seller to follow the checklist below before the inspection.   Listed below are our suggestions for simple maintenance and repairs before the inspector arrives. Read the rest of this entry

Looking back over the past 12 months we saw about a 10% appreciation across the board in real estate pricing.  Banks started loosening up their lending restrictions and there has even been a trend of buyers diversifying into homes from their stock portfolios.  Christmas party chatter this year will reinforce buying real estate.  With all this good cheer, what does not make sense is why a buyer today would make an offer lower than the average list to sell price when the property is priced correctly? Read the rest of this entry

There are different types of buyers that flow into the Hilton Head real estate market market at different times of  the year.  While these buyers can show up anytime, there is definitely a trend here.  Based on our buyers behavior patterns, this is the real estate that we typically sell at different times of the year.

Read the rest of this entry

As real estate experts, we’re always looking for market indicators to suggest whether the market is favoring sellers or buyers.

We look at a variety of factors, including average list price,  median sales price and price per square footage.

Another indicator we look at is the days that a home spent on the market before it ultimately sold. And if the latest data is any indication, this metric is certainly starting to favor home sellers!

Why Home Sellers in the US Should Be Optimistic

According to the most recent real estate data, properties listed in September 2013 spent an average of 86 days on real estate websites, compared with 116 days last year!

This suggests that homes are selling nearly a month quicker than they did this time last year.

Here’s what else the most recent real estate data reveals:

• Properties listed in all 30 of the largest metro areas in the country sold quicker in September when compared to last year.
• Those homes in the San Francisco Bay area were listed for the fewest number of days at 48, followed by Sacramento with 59 days and Dallas with 60 days.
• Comparatively, in 2010, homes listed were on the market an average of 119 days.

Experts say that a declining inventory of homes for sale has attracted more eager buyers to the market, resulting in fewer days on the market for homes for sale.

Historically low mortgage rates, an improving economic climate and depressed home price values are further encouraging this activity.

Canadian Real Estate Market Faring Well Too!

Although data on average days on the market was not immediately available, other real estate indicators suggest that Canada’s real estate market is faring just as well!

Here is some recent encouraging data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association:

• Although the number of newly listed homes decreased by 0.8 percent from September to October, the Canadian housing market remains in balanced territory.
• The national average sale price increased 8.5 percent year-over-year in October.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) increased 3.5 percent year-over-year in October.
• Between September and October, national home sales declined by 3.2 percent.
• Meanwhile, actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was 8.3 percent higher from October 2012 to October 2013.

The Ultimate Source for Real Estate News

Check back here soon for more updates on how the national real estate markets in the United States and Canada are faring!

And for expert help on your own home-buying or home-selling goals, please contact us today!