Newsletters by Everett Ballenger
December 2011
New Homes Sales
Nationally sales of new single-family homes declined 8.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 283,000 units in October. It was the fourth time the sales rate has dropped in the past six months. New home sales were just 2.9 percent above August's pace of 275,000 units — the lowest level on record dating back to 1963! Click to read entire article.
November 2011
Third Quarter 2010 vs 2011 Residential Sales
In a way Beaufort County was spoiled for over a decade, with the large amount of marketing and promotions paid for by the owners and investors of the many real estate developments. Over the years they spent many millions on promoting their communities, and by extension, promoting the whole of Beaufort County. When the real estate downturn really started to take hold, many companies, as a part of survival, had to pull in their financial horns and severely cut back on marketing dollars.
October 2011
Real Estate Inventory and Sales by Price
Too much inventory on the real estate market has been deemed to be one of the major contributing factors in regards to the price depreciation we have seen over these last 5 years or so. Overall the housing inventory is down on 2010, and if one goes back to the same period in 2009, we are down from 748 single family homes to 605, almost a 20% reduction. From 2010 to 2011 we are down nearly 15%...so quite healthy “absorption rates” in (Realtor) jargon.
September 2011
A Look At the Total Real Estate Market
In this series of article, we normally look at only residential property in the five areas north of the Broad River - Beaufort, Mossy Oaks, Port Royal, Burton and Lady’s Island. This month, in an effort to present a more comprehensive picture and detect any emerging trends of the real estate market in our area, we will look at all of Northern Beaufort County to include Fripp and Harbor Islands.
August 2011
First Half 2011 Real Estate Review
So far 2011 has been a strange year, and considering what real estate has been through since the summer of 2006, that is saying something! The first three months of 2011 were appalling. I do not know what happened to our market.
July 2011
WHO ARE TODAY’S REAL ESTATE BUYERS?
So who are these brave souls-that despite all of the negative media we are constantly bombarded with…still buy real estate? Are they nuts? – do they need to see a shrink?
Well no they are not nuts! People buy houses today, for mostly the same reason they always have. The reasons are numerous, but buyer demographics may have changed a little since the real estate downturn.
Click to read entire article
June 2011
THE IMPACT OF FORECLOSURES & SHORT SALES ON THE LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKET
This month we take a look at what percentage of the single family homes in the five main areas we normally cover, sold in 2010 that were “short sales” and how many were ”foreclosures.” I know quite often there is foreclosure information in this newsletter but I thought a more detailed look would be worthwhile.
Click to read the entire article.
May 2011
FIRST QUARTER REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS FOR 2010
A recent newspaper article, citing the South Carolina Association of Realtors data, indicated the general Beaufort area had enjoyed a 37% jump in residential sales in the first quarter of this year and the Hilton Head area a 64% increase... Click to read the entire article.
April 2011
General Real Estate News and Updates
As it is a little too soon to analyze the first quarter real estate numbers, we decided to take this opportunity to share some general real estate news and provide updates on subjects reported in past articles.
In the December 2010 issue of the LIBPA newsletter, there was an article about the changes at the “old” Coosaw River Estates. The new company (Manor House) had a grand opening at “Somerset Point” in January, and we thought it would be informative to find out how the project is moving along.
March 2011
A Review of 2009 vs 2010 Residential Real Estate Sales
This month we take a look at residential sales in the five main areas we normally cover in this article. Realtors often get asked where they feel the real estate market is today. Often the reply is “we are bobbing along the bottom of the market” That analogy is probably very close. Another way I would offer is “like sailing in very light airs”. Anyone who has sailed in such conditions will know what I am talking about. The wind shifts from all directions, with no real purpose. The present real estate market is just like that.
February 2011
Year End Review of the 2010 Real Estate Market
This month to gain a more complete picture of the 2010 local real estate market we will look at all sales to include both land and commercial property - not just residential and the activity in ALL of Northern Beaufort County, not the five areas we normally address. Since Lady’s Island, in the past, has served as an indication of the direction of the future market I have included a look at how the overall northern Beaufort County real estate market fared in 2010 and also how Lady’s Island fared...
January 2011
Judicial Foreclosure
The judicial foreclosure process is one in which the lender must file a complaint against the borrower and obtain a decree of sale from a court having jurisdiction in the county where the property is located before foreclosure proceedings can begin. In Beaufort County...
December 2010
DOES THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOUR HOUSE HAS BEEN ON THE MARKET REALLY MATTER?
The amount of time a home has been on the market or Days On The Market (DOM) is often a parameter of interest to both buyers and Realtors alike. It can have a significant effect on the offer which a potential buyer might make. The logic behind this is the longer a property has been on the market, the more likely the seller will be willing to take a lower offer and one can understand this line of reasoning. In this regard one must exercise a bit of caution in that usually the time a home has been on the market does not, in itself, really tell us that much and can often be misleading. Click to read more...
November 2010
Review of Residential Sales 2009 Vs 2010 (Third Quarter)
This month we take a look at third quarter residential real estate sales for the five areas we normally cover. The market seems to have slipped back a little in the third quarter. For the first half of 2010, overall we were ahead of last year, but since this August the market has slowed somewhat. Click to read more...
October 2010
REAL ESTATE INVENTORY AND SALES BY PRICE RANGE
This month in an effort to show in the area of Beaufort County north of the Broad River what price ranges of homes are selling and at what pace they are being sold we provide a comparison of what is listed to what has sold in the first eight and half months of this year. The good news is the overall inventory is down 4.3% and only three price brackets saw an increase in inventory. Click to read more...
September 2010
A LOOK AT THE TOTAL REAL ESTATE MARKET
In this series of article, we normally look at only residential property in five of the most popular areas north of the Broad River. This month, in an effort to present a more comprehensive picture and detect any emerging trends of the real estate market in our area, we will look at all of Northern Beaufort County to include Fripp and Harbor Islands. In addition to residential data are all classes of real estate, such as undeveloped and commercial property. The following charts compares the total northern Beaufort Count real estate market for the first 8 months of 2009 to the same period in 2010. Click to read more...
August 2010
2010 Real Estate Review
After experiencing four years of the real estate “correction” one almost expects all real estate statistics to be doom and gloom! But the market did feel a little more active in the first half of 2010. Our office has definitely seemed busier and I was hoping that this was same for all local real estate offices. So it was with some eagerness and anticipation that I was waiting to see how the first half of this year was shaping up. Would we finally see a light at the end the tunnel that was not a train coming in the opposite direction? Click to read more...