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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

At Last

At last, Island Realty of the Lowcountry's new and improved website is up.  Go take a look at www.islandrealty.info.  The new site is very user friendly with great search capabilities.  You can search by price, location, map, zip code, home, villa or lot.  We've only been live a few days, but the feedback is positive.

So what does all this mean to you.....  as you begin your search for that beautiful home either permanent, second home or as an investment, you can do so at our state of the art site.  Whether you are in the same county or thousands of miles away, your dreams are as close as the click of a button.

If you are a seller, it means that your home will be featured on the website of the premier company in the area.  It will mean that buyers will look to our company to help them find a home, ultimately giving your home more exposure.

Also, the pictures are great.

It's all good.  Take a look, you'll be glad you did.

P.S.  If you don't have time to check out the site, take a minute and check out our new YouTube video on my YouTube channel IslandRealtyBeaufort.  

Monday, August 16, 2010

July's Market Report Overview

July's Market Report Overview
"Recovery loses steam." "Housing demand in a slump." "Tax credit leaves mess in its wake." We're bombarded with headlines like these every day. Some have merit, some don't. The truth is, the economy is now driving the housing market and not vice versa.

Pending Sales in the Beaufort region grew slightly by 1.3 percent from last July to arrive at 76.

New Listings dipped slightly by 3.6 percent since last July and overall inventory skyrocketed by 42.0 percent.

Median Sales Price dipped by 3.8 percent from last July to $179,900, and buyers were only willing to pay 88.6 percent of a seller's asking price. Market times were up by 22.7 percent over last year.

Months Supply of Inventory increased by 21.2 percent to 23.2 months, given current demand.

In summary, the housing market is trying to hold its ground until the job situation improves. Only after widespread, private-sector hiring will demand be restored to the market and prices continue to stabilize. Until then, it's a hurry up and wait game.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Top 10 Reasons to Use Island Realty of the Lowcountry


Okay, so this time, I borrowed from the Letterman show and his nightly list of top 10 something. The truth is, to be successful a company needs to know what their competitive edge is.  I  have listed below10 competitive edges. You can probably think of more. Please add to the list as you see fit.



Top 10 Reasons to Use Island Realty


1.    Best support staff around.
2.    We are a local firm giving us highly personal dedication, not detached attention as some regional and national companies are.
3.    Our agents make what can be a difficult process pain free and easy (particularly important if you are sitting 800 miles away trying to purchase a home… trust me, I've been there).
4.    Our agents live where they work and work where they live, we care about the area.

5.    Superior market knowledge.

6.    Great web presence (consistently in the top listings on major search engines).

7.    2 great locations (Coosaw Point & Harbor).

8.    Open 7 days a week.

9.    Our agents (most experienced, successful, knowledgeable, ethical & easy to work with.

10.  We have and have always had the highest production volume on both Fripp & Harbor since the day      we opened in August 2002.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Happy 50th Birthday "To Kill A Mockingbird"

What a great thing to celebrate….. the 50th birthday of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Truly a great book on so many levels and each time I read it, I discover something new. Please note, I have read this book at least a dozen times since first reading it in the 8th grade in 1973. Trust me, it is well worth the time to get to know Atticus, Scout, Jem, Miss Maudie, Tom Robinson, Dill, Calpernia, Boo Radley and not least of all a southern town called Maycomb. Meet a man of honor who lives what he believes and teaches his children this same lesson. Take a hard look at the grave injustice of ugly racism up close and personal in this riveting tale of a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. Watch some great kids as they struggle with the pain of well… growing pains. Go to your library or get it from Amazon. You'll be glad you did.


One last thought..... Sadly Harper Lee never wrote another book.










Thursday, July 8, 2010

Sales – June 1 – 30, 2010

Just thought you might find it interesting to see what sold last month. Things are looking up!!!!!


 


 

Fripp Sales June 1 – 30, 2010

Homes

Address

List Price

Sold Price

514 Remora Dr

$379,000

$310,000

750 Bonito Rd.

$379,900

$365,000

21 Fiddlers Point

$525,000

$450,000

512 Remora Dr - short sale

$525,000

$526,000


 

Lots -- 0


 

Harbor Island Sales June 1-30, 2010

Homes

Address

Ask Price

Sold Price

E210 Cedar Reef Villa

$162,500

$160,000

70 Harbor Drive N

$538,000

$538,000


 

Lots -- 0

   


 

Coosaw Point Sales June 1-30, 2010

Homes    -- 0

Lots

Address

Ask Price

Sold Price

131 Coosaw Club Dr. $99,000 $86,500


 

While not the "boom times" of '05-'06 it is certainly not the dark days of 2009 and that makes me happy.


 

See you again soon.


 

Cindy Byers

cindy@islandrealty.info

www.islandrealty.info

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Real Estate as an Investment

Sometimes the media is just not your friend. I'm serious. Think about it, if the story is not sensational it won't make the news. When was the last time you read or saw a story along the lines of, "Family Lives Well, Works Hard, Behaves Ethically and Lives Happily Ever After"? The phrase "If it bleeds it leads" was coined for that very reason. Even sadder though is that all of this reporting of news is ultimately to sell the advertising associated with the media outlet.

Enough on that, the real purpose of the post is to tell all those naysayers out there that spewing forth comments like, "real estate is a crummy investment" that I disagree. Not only do I disagree emotionally, but I disagree factually. Check out the following chart.

Pretty sobering don't you think?