Many Myrtle Beach real estate buyers must have seen the articles in The Wall Street Journal or Forbes because on a daily basis those who had been on the fence are coming over to the buying side. 

Retirees, young families with children, and those wanting a vacation home have been able to find a fantastic deal and if they wanted a mortgage a fantastic interest rate.  Homes for sale in Seasons At Prince Creek West were perfect for those wanting an active 55+ community and for a large young family a great home that was a Short Sale will now be theirs.  Even the condos for sale have seen an increase in buyers since some mortgage companies are willing to lend for a second home.

In regard to the Short Sale I mentioned above it took many months before the seller's lender took any action and the buyers ended up having to pay a little more than the Asking Price on the listing but since only 15% of Short Sale purchases ever make it to closing they are still very happy about their new home.

Sometimes you find a community or neighborhood that may offer everything on your wish list and Prince Creek seems to be one of those places.  The 2700 acre master-planned community has natural lakes, cypress trees, large park areas, and walking / bike trails but there is more within the various distinct neighborhoods. 

Seasons at Prince Creek West is a gated active 55+ neighborhood that has an indoor and outdoor pool, clubhouse, exercise facility, and lawn care is provided for homeowners.  

Stone Gate has European country-style ranch villas that are set up in a building of four units but each looks like a single family home.  This neighborhood has a clubhouse, pool and lawn care is provided to homeowners.   Palm Bay, Creekhaven, and the gated Collins Creek Landing are also neighborhoods within the Prince Creek community located in Murrells Inet, South Carolina.

The "Survivor Tree" is a pear tree that was planted on the site of the World Trade Center in the 1970s.  A month after the attack of September 11, 2001, the tree was unearthed from the rubble.  It was charred, broken, and without limbs and leaves, but one man saw life.

The tree was taken to a nursery in the Bronx where, with loving care, it came back and even survived being uprooted and blown over in March 2010 during a storm.

The "Survivor Tree" has now returned home to a place of honor at the World Trade Center's 9/11 Memorial.

Tidewater Plantation is a golf course community with ammenities for everyone. The pools, hot tubs, clubhouse, fitness facility, restaurant, tennis courts, and oceanfront beach cabana make this gated community the prime place to build a dream home when you are ready. For those who like an established treed landscape Tidewater Plantation is the place.  Located in The Bluffs section of Tidewater Plantation Lot 604 has a tranquil view of a pond and the convenience of a swimming pool next door.

Prices for Myrtle Beach real estate have dropped over 34 percent since the peak of the boom in 2006.  However, prices have only dropped 1 percent since 2009 which mean things are turning. 

Here is another example of why waiting to purchase Myrtle Beach real estate may not be to your advantage:

If you have 20 percent to put down on a house that is selling for $300,000 and you get a mortgage at 4.5 percent, the monthly payment would be $1,216.  If you wait until the seller drops the price to $285,000 but the mortgage interest rate has gone up to 5.5 percent the monthly payment would be $1,295.  That is $79 more per month and $28,440 additional over the life of the loan. 

Recently I helped my clients find a home that would be perfect for them but it just happened to be a foreclosure. That would not have been a problem but the fact that the fireplace footer had caused the entire brick fireplace to pull away from the house was a problem. We thought the Bank would have the structural damage repaired. The lender my clients were using for a mortgage said they would not lend for a house that had structural damage so my clients were waiting to make an offer after the repairs. After several weeks I phoned the listing agent to see how the repairs were going and was told that the Bank had decided not to make the repairs, wanted to lower the asking price, and were looking for cash offers.

After having a house listed for sale for over a year and dropping the price to rock bottom the seller finally agreed to offer a Lease-Purchase as one of the purchase alternatives. A couple who had experienced financial problems several years ago which had hurt their credit made an offer immediately. They had loved the house but had not been able to obtain a mortgage even though they had a 20% downpayment. Their credit should be clear by the end of the lease term but since the seller already did a background check he is prepared to do owner financing if there is a problem. The buyers put down 15% and each month a portion of their monthly payment is credited toward the purchase price. The money down and credited portion are not refundable so the buyers are not apt to walk away.

There are so many people who have lost their home for one reason or another. If that reason was not their fault, like those who lost their job, they deserve a chance once they are working again. If you or someone you know is trying to sell a house or condo and it has been on the market for awhile without any offers, consider a Lease-Purchace.

Myrtle Beach real estate market news for homes, condos, and land that has sold within the past thirty (30) days.

 Only 57 of the 382 Myrtle Beach Homes that closed (sold) in the past 30 days were Foreclosures.

Only 43 of the 345 Myrtle Beach Condos that closed (sold) in the past 30 days were Foreclosures.    April 25, 2011 - May 23, 2011 data from the CCAR MLS system shows that Foreclosures do not dominate the real estate market in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina or the surrounding areas. 

For more information on the number of short sales and auctioned real estate see my Myrtle Beach Real Estate and More Blog. 

Home Buyers from other states look at real estate in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area, and like everywhere else they have been, looking for the fantastic foreclosures, short sales, or distressed property.  Recently I have been working with some that want to buy a home but have a long list that the house must contain in addition to a price far below comparables.

Yesterday I did a MLS search of Myrtle Beach homes for sale for a Buyer entering all the "must have" requirements of the home interior and yard.  Of the thousands of homes currently listed for sale in the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors (CCAR) MLS system, one home made it through the search.  When I emailed the listing she added an additional "must have" requirement of "close to the beach".  The one home that met all requirements except the last is a home located about forty miles from the beach.  When I suggested she may want to remove one or two of her requirements she was shocked because she said she saw homes on the internet that had everything on her "must have" list and she thought that my search would have provided her with details on those homes.  Since I know many public sites are rarely up-to-date I had her give me information on one home she had seen previously.  I looked through the MLS and that home  sold and closed almost a year ago.      

The Buyer has decided to reconsider her "must have" requirements for a home and we will view several homes when she comes to Myrtle Beach in a few weeks.  She realized that she can get more for less as long as the requirements were within reason.

Losing your job and not being able to make your mortgage payment may not mean foreclosure in at least eighteen states with the hardest hit housing and job markets. The US Treasury Department's Hardest Hit Fund allocated $7.6 billion to the states - South Carolina and North Carolina are now using some portion of these funds to offer up to $3,000 per month for up to 36 months in mortgage payment assistance to help unemployed homeowners avoid foreclosure. Contact the state agency listed below if you need this sort of help:

South Carolina: http://www.scmortgagehelp.com/

North Carolina: http://www.ncforeclosureprevention.gov/

Other states on the Hardest Hit Fund list are Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.  Although not a state Washington, D.C. is also on the list of fund recipients.