Lately the news media has indicated we may be at or near the bottom of the housing market crisis nationally. Since all real estate is local, why don't we take a look at what's happening in Crowfield Plantation, Goose Creek, SC, as we head into the fall of 2009.

OVERVIEW
Most agree that the height of the market was at the end of 2005 (I bought my first house in December 0f 2005, how's that for timing?). We saw a leveling off in 2006, and 2007 marked the beginning of what we now know as a spike in inventory and drop off in prices.

THE FACTS
In the summer of 2005 in Crowfield Plantation there were 107 homes sold. The median price of a single family residence was $229,000, and homes were on the market an average of 30 days. Jim Reese, our company manager, says back then if you put a sign in a yard it would sell.

Fast-forward now to our current summer, 2009. Forty homes sold with a median price of $212,900. Homes were on the market an average of 113 days. This represents a 60% decline in volume compared with the summer of 2005 and about a 7% decrease in the median price, with an increase of 83 days on the market. Essentially there are fewer homes selling for less money in more time.

These numbers shouldn't be any surprise. We already know the market's been challenging over the past few years. The big question now is are we starting to come out of it?

Let's take a look at last summer's numbers to see how this year compares.

In 2008 there were 29 homes sold with a median price of $245,000. Homes were on the market an average of 109 days. Notice that from last year to this year sales were up nearly 140% in volume. Good news, right? Sounds like it, but look at the median sales price. It came down from $245,000 to $212,900, which is a 13% decrease in price. Days on the market have increased slightly; it took four days longer to sell this summer than it did last summer.

THEORY
I believe there are several reasons for Crowfield's decrease in median sales price and increase in sales volume. Last summer move-up buyers came into the market to take advantage of competitive pricing, large inventory and great rates, while first-time home buyers avoided the market because prices had fallen so quickly in such a short amount of time. This year the $8000 tax incentive lured first-time home buyers into the market. Those buyers became the majority of the market, which reduced the median sales price and increased the number of overall sales.

My theory is supported by the fact that actual pricing hasn't changed that much in Crowfield Plantation from last year to this year. Last year we were averaging $106/square foot; this year it's closer to $104/square foot—hardly a 13% decrease in price.

CONCLUSION
So the question remains: are we at the bottom of this? If we simply look at the inventory trend from the last few years, we see that it peaked in November of 2007 with 145 listings, whereas the highest inventory month in 2009 was August, with 125 listings. Obviously we can't predict the future, but this shows us that inventory has decreased overall, activity has picked up, and as we all learned in grade school, supply and demand drive prices. If the inventory trend continues to go down and sales continue to increase and all else remains the same, prices will stabilize and then start to rise... so it's looking like the answer is a very quiet yes.

One way to make your listing stand out from the crowd in this market is to offer incentives to prospective buyers. It’s become standard here in the Lowcountry for sellers to give buyers a free home warranty at closing or pay their closing costs. Always the market leader, Carolina One Real Estate has unveiled a new program to help its sellers up the ante in buyer incentives and stand out even more: six months of paid mortgage payments for buyers in the event of job loss.

Carolina One has partnered with The Rainy Day Foundation and Creative Alliances to offer HELP, a mortgage payment protection program. When a qualified home buyer purchases a Carolina One listing where the seller has agreed to participate in the program, the buyer will be covered by the program for a period of two years after closing. During that time, up to six monthly mortgage payments (no more than $1800 per month) will be paid on behalf of the buyer should the buyer become involuntarily unemployed and is eligible for unemployment benefits.

This is just one more reason to buy and sell with Carolina One, Charleston’s real estate market leader. For more information on this program, please call me at 843.574.3193.

Used to be – and I say that with all my two years of real estate experience – use to be that once a buyer and seller agreed on price and terms, closing would follow about 30 days later. However, now that short sales, foreclosures, government assistance programs, and bad credit have become more the norm than the exception, closing dates are getting pushed further and further out. In my own business, for example, three closings scheduled for early June have all been postponed to later in the month.

One of my client couples, more than qualified to purchase the home they found, struggled to get financing for the home because we couldn’t find a bank that offered a loan product to match the timing of their occupancy (18 months after closing). Once we found a lender with the right loan product, the inspection revealed a laundry list of repairs that had to be made on the property. Buyer and seller agreed to extend the closing date four days to accommodate the repair list. This may not sound like a big deal – four days – but when you’ve got everyone making arrangements to meet a specific date and then the date gets changed, it causes a chain reaction that affects just about every aspect of the move for both the buyer and the seller…

Someone’s gotta check with the lender to be sure the rate lock won’t expire, which could cost the buyer a boatload of money they don’t have. Gotta check to make sure the termite letter hasn’t expired, which lasts only 45 days. Gotta call and rearrange the movers, and cross fingers their schedule lines up with the new moving day. Gotta get the attorney’s schedule and make sure they have a time available to close on the new date that also matches up with the buyer’s schedule, the seller’s schedule, the bank’s schedule, and the schedule of two real estate agents. Gotta call the utility companies – again – to reschedule the on and off dates, which may or may not carry a fee. Gotta alert the home owner’s insurance companies on both sides that there’s been a delay. Gotta make sure the seller’s employer – and the seller of the house they’re buying – will wait. Gotta make sure the buyer’s buyer will wait if they had a house to sell, since they too will have to rearrange a million things on their side. Gotta extend leases, extend POD contracts, reschedule friends who said they’d help unload the truck. And on and on.

Contract to closing on that house: 4/15/09 to 6/5/09, or 51 days.

Another closing that’s been delayed is a short sale. (Big surprise.) These typically take some time, so we allowed for that in the purchase contract. Contract date was 4/22/09, original closing date was 6/8/09. Buyer and seller were happy as clams about the deal, they moved forward with inpsections and repairs and the loan, etc. Meanwhile I hired a short sale specialist to negotiate with the bank since I know it takes just about all the energy a person has to harrass them enough to get a response, much less approval on a short sale. I also helped my seller complete his hardship package, and launched an endless campaign of market reports, data analysis, showing trends, solds comparisons, neighborhood traffic, and more to convince the bank the offer we presented was the best they could hope to get. We received approval from the bank last week, which didn’t give the buyer’s lender enough time to complete the loan for closing on the 8th. We are now set to close on June 16. Not bad for a short sale, but we still had to really hold the buyer’s hand to keep him from shopping for another house since his family is out of state and his apartment lease is set to expire next week with the original contract. Here again, moving closing 8 days doesn’t sound like much, but it was.

Contract to closing on that one: 4/22/09 to 6/16/09, or 55 days.

The third closing I’ve managed to hold together involves a foreclosure (so a bank), a first-time home buyer, and a state housing assistance program. The buyer’s budget was low and she was looking for a great deal (who isn’t?). We found a nice house owned by Citigroup and made an offer. This bank has been great. They replaced all the carpet for us, they painted, tore down wallpaper, serviced the HVAC unit, fixed the hot water heater, etc., etc. Because of the state program we knew when we wrote the contract that the closing date needed to be at least 60 days out. We wrote it on March 31,2009 to close on June 1, 2009. We completed our inspections, the lender moved forward with the loan, we completed the state’s list of paperwork to comply with the grant money procedures, and then we waited. May 6 everything was done on our end, including the lender’s appraisal, and we’re still waiting. Similar to a short sale situation I’ve called the program director, I’ve e-mailed her, I’ve called the lender, the attorney, the buyer is a wreck, and there was NO ANSWER as to when the state could complete their inspection so we could get the grant money and close. Closing date came, and finally we learned the inspection will be Thursday morning. We filed an extension (I’m getting real good at that) with the bank, hoping to get them to hang in there with us just a little bit longer. We’re set now to close June 12, but with no response yet from the bank, we’ll see.

Contract to closing on that one: 3/31/09 to 6/12/09, or 73 days.

Funny thing is, none of these three closings have actually happened yet! They could all get delayed again. Let’s hope not, but they could. Good thing I’m still calling and e-mailing everyone like a mad woman. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about this crazy real estate business, Yogi Berra said it best: “It ain’t over til it’s over.”

Since January I've been working with a client on getting his house sold. It's a short sale. I know those are bad words for a lot of folks, so I apologize for hurting tender eyes by using them. But it is what it is.

My guy bought his house with his wife when they had two incomes, he was younger, and she was alive. While his wife was sick with cancer, my client had to retire from his job to take care of her. His income nearly cut in half when he did that. He refinanced his house to help pay her medical bills while she was sick. After she died, she left a heap of bills he had to pay - the company she had leased her car from demanded he pay the remaining balance on her lease contract!

Now his health is deteriorating so that he can't maintain the 3500 square foot house, he's down to one income, and the bills keep coming in. We got an offer on his house at full list price and submitted it to his bank with his hardship letter, income info, etc. His income information shows he's about $200 short from being able to pay his bills each month. The bank has reviewed the file and determined he is selling "by choice" and that they will require him to take a note back after closing for the balance of the loan, which will be roughly $126,000.

I am shocked and amazed at the same time on this one. If the man is unable to make ends meet because of circumstances that happened after his purchase and refinance, how is that not considered a hardship?

Unfortunately, my client is going to give up, move out and let the bank have the house if this short sale doesn't go through... and each day it's looking more and more like it won't. The bank will likely slap him with a huge judgement after the fact, and they will likely put the house on the market and not get a penny more than we've got on the table now. In this case, NOBODY will win. What a tragedy.

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Last week I helped my buyer client write an offer on a bank-owned, foreclosed property. We set the expiration of the offer at 5:00 Friday afternoon (last Friday). We wrote the offer on Tuesday (last Tuesday). The bank set the listing price. The bank should know what they are willing to accept for the property, right? This is not a short sale, so there should be MUCH LESS red tape to cut through to get the ball rolling, right?

That was my thinking when we wrote the offer.

Well, here it is, Tuesday, seven days after we made the offer. Two business days after the offer expired. The listing agent/team works exclusively with banks and warned me when I sent the offer that the banks don't look at offer expiration dates but that they (the listing agent/team) would respond to me as quickly as they could get the bank to respond.

Don't look at offer expiration dates?

Now I know the banks have mountains of paperwork these days between foreclosures that need listed, late mortgages that are going to sale, restructures, refinances, short sales, etc., etc., etc. I don't envy them at all. But that doesn't give them a right to make up their own rules as they go along!

My attorney friends tell me the banks don't want the houses - they would prefer to collect the money they loaned for the house instead. Well here is a perfectly good offer on one of the houses they don't want - and they have let the offer expire.

Unfortunately, my buyer really wants the house, so there's little we can do but wait. Withdrawing the offer won't get us the house, making a new offer will start the clock ticking all over again, and walking away won't get us the house. So we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Are you waiting for the market to bottom out? What will you do if the interest rates shoot up as prices fall? Will you really be able to take advantage of the lowest prices if the money you have to borrow for the house costs more?

The Washington Post today reported that mortgage rates are at their lowest rate on record for the second consecutive week. (See the article: http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=62841288842&h=2Itbj&u=cBrXG&ref=mf)

But while the real estate market has definitely picked up in the last 30 days with activity from first-time home buyers, move-up buyers are still sitting on the fence, waiting for prices to fall even lower than they are now.

Let's look at the damage this can do and why a lower rate can stretch your dollar further than a lower price.

According to this chart, which was put together by a fellow agent with my company who also teaches mathematics at the College of Charleston, if you can afford a monthly mortgage payment of $1231.43, you can afford a $200k house at a rate of 6.5%. But look at what that same payment could buy at 4.5%. In the far right column of the highlighted row we see that the same payment of $1231.43 can buy a $243k house. That's a lot more house!

So let's turn that around. Suppose you have your eye on a house that is priced today at $243k, but you want to wait to see if it drops $10-20k. It may eventually drop, but it may take that seller 6 months to decide to do it. OR you may decide to make an offer at $10-20k below the asking price and they may turn it down for a couple months. Either way, precious time is wasted as the cost of borrowing money starts to go back up. Six months down the road let's say the seller sells the house to you at $229k. You got a great deal, $14k off the list price, but what's your payment? Exactly the same as it would have been if you'd bought the house today!!!

Or let's say you wait a whole year and the seller gets so desperate to sell that he drops the price from $243k all the way down to $200k. WHAT A DEAL!!! But guess what: Your payment is still the same as if you'd bought the house today at full price, because the rate by then has climbed up to 6.5%.

Folks there is never going to be a better time to buy real estate than now. Prices are down, rates are down, invntory is up. Real estate agents have been preaching this for several months now, and it's not going to last forever. Better to jump in than to look back and say shoulda, coulda, woulda.

When a real estate agent calls the home owner of an expired listing or a FSBO, invariably the home owner will ask the agent if he or she has a buyer for the house. The agent will usually say they don't know if they have a buyer for the house because they haven't seen the house yet. Which makes sense and has a lot of truth to it. However, I'd like to suggest this question is irrelevant to the phone call, because a listing agent's roster of buyers reflects the agent's listing inventory.

Let me explain. If I have a $300k listing, I will get $300k buyers. If I have a water front listing, I will get water front buyers. Here's why: Buyers who don't have a buyer's agent will call listing agents to get more information about the houses they're interested in. When those calls come in, it is the listing agent's job to then build rapport with the caller and build interest in the house so they'll want to take a closer look at it.

Agents who acquire a large listing inventory usually end up hiring a buyer's agent to answer their listing phone calls. There's just no way to keep up with all the prospects and inquiries that come in on a multitude of properties. So you may hire Susan as your listing agent, thinking she does a lot of sales so therefore must have a lot of buyers, but Susan doesn't actually have any buyers - her buyer's agent has them all. And her buyer's agent is always busy showing property, so she may never actually see Susan's new listing.

Fortunately for Susan and the home owner, Susan's buyer's agent will know everything she needs to know about Susan's listing because more than likely it will be in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Of course since it's in the MLS, EVERY agent will know all about Susan's new listing, so really any agent in the MLS has the same opportunity and chance to sell that listing. There is no advantage, then, to hiring Susan as the listing agent for the house just because she *might* have a buyer.

My point is this: Don't hire an agent to list your house just because you think they might have a buyer for your house. Even if they have several listings in your price range and therefore several buyers in your price range, the chances of them having THE buyer for your house the day they list it is slim to none (though it does happen every so often).

Instead, hire your listing agent based on whether or not they are able to build rapport quickly (remember - they need to be able to capture your buyer on the phone!) and the strength of their marketing plan (will your house come out and hit an out-of-state buyer over the head?). Nothing else really matters. If your agent can build rapport and uses a stong marketing plan, you can bet they also have the rest of the package, to include integrity, communication skills, follow-through, market knowledge, negotiation strategies, and so on.

200 Pinehurst Avenue, Summerville, SC 29483
2543 Square Feet, 4 Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, 0.39 Acres

$317,440 - Call Stephanie 843.870.0890

The designer in you will appreciate all the fine details of this home. Bulky trees and shrubs have been removed to show off the splendor of this house and allow the morning sun to come streaming in. This house sits ready to impress with fresh paint, sparkling clean brick sidewalks, and manicured lawn.

A large foyer with gleaming hardwoods and classy, understated palm wallpaper greets you inside the front door. From there you can enter the Master suite, the separate dining area, or walk up a couple steps to the front living room. All feature tasteful, upgraded carpet that will pamper your feet.

The master suite is a private retreat that features his and her closets, a jetted tub, and ceramic tile.

The dining room has a built-in bookshelf and recessed lighting. From the dining room enter a large family room through French doors, where you can sit by the fire or step out onto the back patio. The family room is a great space for entertaining, playing with the kids, or relaxing away from the hustle and bustle in the rest of the house. This room also features three large closets. Imagine having a place for everything in your new house! Laundry room has its own space here as well.

Now back to the foyer. Walk up a couple steps to the front living room, which centers around an amazing bay window that has pane glass and a refinished wooden seat. This room also has a fireplace and separate sitting area that could be a small office or breakfast nook. The kitchen is a couple steps up from the dining room and adjacent to the living room. It is spacious and updated with ample cabinets and counter space, fairly new appliances, and a peninsula that begs for dinner parties. There's an electric cooktop with very nice tile backsplash and a wall oven that sits below a built-in shelf perfect for your cookbooks. Beside the kitchen is a butler's pantry to store your seasonal dishes and fine china.

On the second floor is a landing with another set of built-in bookshelves and space for a chair and lamp or extra dresser. You'll also find three bedrooms, an extra walk-in closet, and two bathrooms. The bedrooms have wood flooring and their own closets. Two of the bedrooms are joined with a jack-and-jill bath. The hall bath has original tile work and updated fixtures.

The large yard has a kids playset and storage shed that will convey.

This house has a termite bond and a one-year AHS home warranty for your peace of mind. The seller will pay $5000 toward the buyer's closing costs with preferred lender.

Stephanie Davis, Carolina One Real Estate
http://www.agentinthecreek.com

Rare Find! This beautiful brick home located in desirable Crowfield offers a quality of life that is rarely found in town! This spacious home has dual Masters, one of which is downstairs, beautiful hardwoods in formal Living Room and formal Dining Room, plus extra large kitchen has tile floors, Silestone countertops and an abundance of cabinets. The breakfast area is large enough for a full size table!! There is a hearth room next to the kitchen that is very cozy and has a fireplace.

Upstairs there is a very large Family Room that has hardwood floors and Bar with a wet sink and refrigerator! This room has an attached deck overlooking a gorgeous back yard! The Master Suite is very nice and Master bath has His & Her sinks, silestone countertops, a garden tub as well as a large walk-in closet. The fourth bedroom is huge and is tiered fom the bed area!

This unbelievable home is located on a large lot with a side loading attached 2 car garage as well as a detached one car garage!! Entertain friends and family inside and out. There is a large tiered deck with wooden bridge overlooking the yard and a very nice patio! This home is truely a gem!

102 Stowmarket Dr.

$299,250 for 3039 Square Feet
4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms

Call Stephanie for more information: 843.870.0890.