Holy Moly look at all the buyers!

We had over 413 tours of our properties just last week.  In fact, we have had over 15,000 tours of our properties since we started these programs.  The bottom line is we are getting our properties exposed to more potential Hilton Head buyers than ever before!

How many toured your property last week?

Our clients receive a tally of how many people went into their property via the world wide web every week.  They also receive a total count of tours that viewed their property since it was originally listed.  By testing and measuring, we have found that it takes approximately 200-300 online tours before a property sells.  If you are getting a steady stream of tours, your property will sell!

We market Hilton Head Properties creatively!

We would love to show you our marketing programs and design one for you.  We are constantly looking for new ways to test and measure our effectiveness and the tour program is just one way we provide results for our clients properties on Hilton Head Island.  If you would like to find out what exactly we can do for you, please call us direct at 800-932-3652 (or via email)  and we can sit down or schedule a phone appointment.  Our marketing programs are outside the box and are producing results and sales for our Hilton Head sellers.  We look forward to hearing from you…All the best,  Robbie Bunting & Jane Hyers

If you own a second home(or villa) on Hilton Head Island, and want to travel to other places far and wide, 3rd Home now allows you to deposit a few weeks of your home/villa with other like minded vacation home owners around the world.  This allows you to now travel the using the down time in you second home on the Island.   3RD Home is agreat idea for any second home owner and offers the most luxurious reciprocal program available today. 

No Membership fee for our friends! 

http://robbiebunting.3rdhome.com/

3RD HOME is a “first-of-its-kind” vacation network where members can turn their single destination second home into a global pass-key to gain access to new properties and destinations worldwide.  Now families can turn their vacation homes into an all-access global pass by simply leveraging their second home investment and participating in this network exchange opportunity.

Happy Traveling….Robbie Bunting

Listed below are some of the conversation turning points we have had with our Hilton Head sellers, purchasers and fellow agents in 2010.  Of course, this is a new language that we have had to learn to react to the changing market.  All bets are off next year as the pendulum shifts to a buyers market or somewhere in the middle. Read the rest of this entry

In order to get a good property at a great price it is important to be in close contact with your Realtor on Hilton Head Island.  We are seeing deals pop up and sell quickly.  If you are a prospective Hilton Head purchaser and want to catch a rippin good deal,  the key to getting a great property at a great price is to have your Realtor call you as soon as they find something that matches your present or future needs.  Agents can also e-mail New Listings “ASAP” through a free Link by your MLS Realtor.   Read the rest of this entry

I was driving down the William Hilton Parkway yesterday and spotted the first sign that our selling season will soon come to an end.  The pumpkin patch mobile home pulled into position across from Harold’s Diner.  Soon the green and white tent will go up and we will all be thinking a little more about the holidays and a little less about real estate.  After they sell all the pumpkins, out come the Christmas trees but, between now and than Hilton Head Island will offer Chamber of Commerce Weather which in turn attracts great buyers.  Read the rest of this entry

Hilton Head Island is a be-back city. 

Face it, most of the Hilton Head buyers live somewhere else.  With an annual population of only 35,000, Hilton Head’s primary buyer pool exists in it’s 2.5 million annual visitors.  These are the be-backs that will return either every week, every month or every year until they buy something.  Of course, Real Estate Agents on Hilton Head Island want these be-backs to know that if they cannot find as nice home as they saw on their last visit, or they cannot negotiate as much, or the interest rates are higher, don’t blame it on us! Read the rest of this entry

The way you live in a home is different than the way you sell it!

These days marketing strategies are more important than ever for home sellers. With homes on the market in greater numbers and prices at an all time low, sellers need a competitive edge to put themselves ahead of the competition. Staging a home before it goes on the market is essential in making it the best product for potential buyers. Staging a home can range from a few decorative changes to furnishing vacant spaces.  Any attention to enhance a home for the market will improve its selling potential! Read the rest of this entry

A note from Paul Griz, CPA about Short Sales and Taxes

Whenever a debt of a taxpayer is forgiven by a lender, whether the debt is credit card debt, home mortgage debt, or other debt, the forgiven debt, i.e., debt relief, is generally taxable to the taxpayer.  With regard to short sales or foreclosures, if you have reached an agreement with your mortgage lender in which the lender has agreed to forgive your mortgage, you will be subject to income tax consequences.  The lender will typically issue either Form 1099-C “Cancellation of Debt” or Form 1099-A “Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property” in the year of the asset sale.  In other words, you should receive one of these forms from your prior lender in the year of the closing of your home.  At that point, the debt forgiveness is reported to the IRS as income. Read the rest of this entry

In the 25 years of selling real estate on Hilton Head Island, I have seen buyer cycles come and go.  Although this cycle may appear longer or deeper than the others, it too shall pass.  One thing I have found in these cycles is that the very best real estate deals are often struck when the news in the papers is really, really bad.  That said, the recent NYT article “Widespread Fear Freezes Housing Market” triggers another good reason to buy real estate on Hilton Head.  While it may have made every buyer and seller shudder, one agent said it perfectly when he stated “Do the opposite of what they say in the newspapers when you buy and sell real estate on Hilton Head Island and your timing will always be good”…and the local numbers support the reasons why! Read the rest of this entry