Real Estate Blog of Myrtle Beach

Over the last twelve months, the median sales price of single-family
homes in the region has decreased by 0.6 percent, while prices of
condominiums have declined by 3.7 percent. During the same period,
the number of sales in these two segments decreased by 7.9 percent
and increased by 6.6 percent, respectively.

The range with the strongest year-over-year growth in sales was the
$150,000 and under range, where sales have increased by 6.5 percent
in the last year. The weakest showing was in the under $250,001 to
$300,000 range, where sales have declined by 13.5 percent.

The inventory of single-family homes has decreased by 0.5 percent
from a year ago to 5,364 while the number of available condo homes
has decreased by 6.4 percent to 5,513 units during the same period.
That amounts to 20.7 months of supply for single-family homes and
19.7 months of supply for condos.

A quick recap of what is going on by the numbers, I concentrate in Myrtle Beach Real Estate so I am going to give you the states numbers and then break it down even further for our local maret.   This will give you a clear picture of what is going on.State Totals
Units
March year over year up 19.7%
Qtr 1 Year over year up 16.3%Median Price
March year over year down -0.9%
Qtr 1 Year over year up 1.7%

Myrtle Beach Market-Coastal Carolinas
Units
March year over year up 41.5%
Qtr 1 Year over year up 44.4%

Median Price
March year over year down -3.3%
Qtr 1 Year over year down -3.6%

Myrtle Beach Market Single Family Homes-Coastal Carolinas
Units
Year to Date year over year up 18%

Median Price
Year to Date year over year down a whopping -$111 thats right just over a Benjamin down

Snapshot
So what does all this mean. It means the Myrtle Beach Real Estate Market is moving, things are selling. The meadian pricing of single family homes has not gone down too much year over year and the days on marketare still hovering in the 136 day range.   Our overall pricing had gone down -3.6% for all sectors. The state average is up 1.7% and we are down -3.6%……. Our volume is up 44.4% and the state is up 16.3%.

Things are selling and the “deals” are leading the pack.   Our Team is standing by ready to assit you, your family, and friends.

I just got done reviewing a new way people are searching for real estate.   There is no question they are using the internet and then finding a realtor to purchase. This new search in the Myrtle Beach area is available in the early stages but will grow quickly.

In a nut shell, you can search for real estate by specifically chosing a neighborhood. Go to Realtor.com, Trulia, or Zillow, and type in “Barefoot Resort, North Myrtle Beach, SC.” You’ll not only see the homes that are for sale there, but Trulia and Zillow display the names of hundreds of other neighborhoods on an interactive map of the city, and make it easy to build searches around those neighborhoods.

I see this as a great tool for the buyers who are looking in a specific area and then have narrowed it down even further to a specific community.

Which housing markets are the best bets to recover first? They present their annual list of the 20 healthiest housing markets in the country.

See for yourself The Real Estate Market in Myrtle Beach, SC is #15

Housing economists have long held that the housing rebound, when it comes, will be uneven. The markets that benefit first will be the ones with the strongest core dynamics; places where house prices never got out of hand, cities where a diverse and progressive employment base drives job creation, towns that continue to draw population despite the economic recession.

Now that the housing recovery is nearly upon us–most economists expect a full-fledged recovery to begin this year–it’s time to figure out which markets will be the front-runners. Based on last year’s performance, especially the level of building permits pulled in the fourth quarter, it’s already clear that some markets are poised to grow at a faster pace this year than others in 2010.

Read more on this from the source….

I am going to add the article from the national outlook and give you my input on the local Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Longs and surrounding area on the real estate market. I will compare what we have been doing simply because in searching for real estate you need to micro analyze.

Weather your a buyer or seller, having the local market area statistics make all the difference in making an informed decision, espically when buying in the Myrtle Beach real estate Market. I will put my 2 cents into this article in bold so you can compare the Myrtle Beach real estate market to the national outlook.

Business
Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010
Home sales rose in ’09
Prices down, market still weak, experts say

WASHINGTON — Sales of previously occupied homes rose in 2009 for the first time in four years, despite a December slump caused by a tax credit that had caused many buyers to complete sales earlier.

Still, prices plunged more than 12 percent last year – the sharpest fall since the Great Depression. The price drop for 2009 – to a median of $173,500 (the Myrtle Beach Market was $177,670)- showed the housing market remains too weak to help fuel a sustained economic recovery. Total sales for 2009 were nearly 5.2 million, up about 5 percent from 2008. I agree with this in a way to say that it is still weak because of the job shortages, foreclosures, short sales etc. but no where in the nation will have an economic recovery until this is “cleaned up” and the inventory of distressed properties are filtered. This could take some time, fortunatly for buyers this is a great opportunity to buy in the Myrtle Beach area.   For sellers in the area we are finding that if you price it correctly it will sell.

Concerns remain that the housing market will weaken after March 31, when the Federal Reserve is set to end its program to buy mortgage securities to keep home loan rates low. Once that program ends, mortgage rates could rise. Keyword “could” Adding to the worries, a newly extended homebuyer tax credit is scheduled to run out at the end of April. My gut tells me they will offer some type of incentive to purchase.

The numbers “clearly indicate that the rebound in housing demand observed so far has been largely supported by government programs,” Anna Piretti, senior economist at BNP Paribas, wrote in a research note Monday. Here in Myrtle Beach we have been fortunate to see 4 months of continued growth in sales. What I am seeing is investors, first time home buyers, and people who are looking to take advantage of the price levels that are out there.  

The poor December showing occurred after Congress extended the tax credit, easing pressure on buyers to act quickly. The credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homeowners had been due to expire Nov. 30. But Congress extended the deadline and expanded it with a new $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who move. The Myrtle Beach and Grand Strand real estate market eked out a small increase in sales in 2009 thanks to a burst at the end of the year, including a 24 percent jump in single-family homes and a 57 percent jump in condominium sales in December compared with the same period in 2008, according to statistics compiled from the Multiple Listing Service.

December’s sales fell 16.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million, from an unchanged pace of 6.54 million in November, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Sales had been expected to fall by about 10 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The report “places a large question mark over whether the recovery can be sustained when the extended tax credit expires,” wrote Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics.

The median sales price for December was $178,300, up 1.5 percent from a year earlier and the first yearly gain since August 2007. But some of that increase could be due to a drop-off in purchases from first-time buyers who tend to buy less expensive homes.

Sales are up 21 percent from the bottom a year ago. But they’re down 25 percent from the peak four years ago.

A healthy real estate market is needed to help the economy continue recovering from recession.

Last year, first-time buyers were the main driver of the housing market. But their role is   shrinking.

They accounted for 43 percent of purchases in December, down from about half in November, the Realtors group said.

The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell about 7 percent to 3.3 million. That’s a 7.2 month supply at the current sales pace, close to a healthy level of about six months.

Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist, cautioned that the recovery will depend on whether the economy starts adding jobs in the second half of the year.

Total sales for 2009 closed out the year at 5.16 million, up about 5 percent from a year earlier. More buyers are shopping around this month than in a typical January, said Kevin O’Shea, an agent with Homes of Westchester Inc. in White Plains, N.Y.

“There are indications that the economy is coming back, and that makes buyers feel more secure to purchase,” he said. If you have any questions about the Myrtle Beach Real Estate Market just drop me a line or email jdmac@southern-coast.com

Realtor.com has hit a home run! A little late to the game but they finally released their iPhone app “ and survey say¦ it™s actually good! ( I could not agree more I have been test driving it all morning and it works, works, works!

Until now, many poeple including myself have been using Zillow™s app as the location based search tool. Drive by a house, pop it up and see what the home was listed for. Problem was, not every home was on Zillow. (Of course, the opposite could be true about FSBO on Zillow and not Realtor.com¦) At least I could get data without calling.

Now, Realtor.com released a slick app that works great. Check out the video below and the quick hits from their site. Download it and play around. Good stuff.

As Joel points out on his post, now is more important than ever to make sure your sites are optimized for mobile. I couldn™t agree more.

Here are some of the specs from the Realtor.com website (I have added my thoughts in parenthesis)

Not only can you instantly access over 4 million homes for sale with the touch of a button (that™s huge), whether you are driving or walking through a neighborhood, you can also see:

Homes for sale nearby your current location with your GPS enabled iPhone (babam! huge¦finally¦)

Open house times, dates and locations (see where the open houses are)

Homes for sale on a map, even the neighborhood you™re standing in, instantly (yeah baby!)

Multiple photos, property details and pricing on nearly any home for sale (Everything is at your finger tips)

More homes for sale than any other real estate site in America (this is true)

Information you can trust “ because it™s the official listing site of the National Association of REALTORS ® (Well, if you say it™s official. really¦I trust everything that™s on the interwebs)

Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

Strand sees uptick for four months in a row

By Monique Newton – mnewton@thesunnews.com

Grand Strand real estate eked out a small increase in sales in 2009 thanks to a burst at the end of the year, including a 24 percent jump in single-family homes and a 57 percent jump in condominium sales in December compared with the same period in 2008, according to statistics compiled Tuesday from the Multiple Listing Service.

December marked the fourth month in a row with increased sales in the Grand Strand real estate market. Area Realtors say they’re encouraged, but say it may take many months before there is complete recovery for the area.

“Everybody that I talk to that was involved in real estate along the Grand Strand was extremely busy in December. There’s so much opportunity out there,” said Marvin Heyd with Prudential Burroughs and Chapin Realty Inc. “I think we’ve reached where we need to be and we’re going to see some growth in our market.”

The sales weren’t quite as dramatic as the year-over-year difference in November, when single-family home sales were up 65 percent and condominium sales up 69 percent, but a real estate analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors said that wasn’t surprising.

“I think the Christmas season, closer to the end of the year, you always have a little bit of a slowdown, and I think that the condos are where the greatest price benefits are,” said Tom Maeser.

The median price for condominium sales was $120,000, down 20 percent in December from the previous year, while the median price for residential homes was $177,670, according to the data. Because the median household income in the Myrtle Beach area will qualify a family of four to purchase a $150,000 home, “that means our median income can’t afford our median house,” Maeser said.

Despite this, the four months of upward sales are causing Alex Holbert, president of the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, to move from cautiously optimistic to excited.

“Right now, we’re still on the tail end, the ninth inning or late in the fourth quarter, for the buyer’s market, and then I think we’ll start to see it swing back,” Holbert said.

The success, he said, is due to low interest rates, low prices and the first-time home buyer tax credit, which was originally set to expire at the end of November, but was extended through April 30 and expanded to add a $6,500 credit for most people who buy a new primary residence. People who have owned a home for at least five consecutive years in the past eight years are eligible for the $6,500 credit, and people who have not owned a home in the past three years are considered first-time buyers.

Maeser said it could be mid-2011 before there is true stability in the real estate market along the Grand Strand.

A buyer’s market exists if there is a six-month or more supply of homes in inventory and a seller’s market when the inventory holds less than a six-month supply, Maeser said. Right now, there’s about a 20-month supply of single family homes and 23-month supply of condos, he said.

A “phony marketplace” has been created by the number of foreclosures and short sales – a sale when a seller negotiates with the lender to sell a house for less than what is owed on the mortgage to avoid foreclosure, Maeser said.

“Once they go away and you’re back to a free market and no outside influences like that, you’re going to see an increase in pricing again,” he said.

Contact MONIQUE NEWTON at 626-0310.

REALTOR.com ^® Marketing System for Agents
Press Release – Featured Homes^TM Marketing System^SM

Weichert Realtors – Southern Coast‘s J.D. MacNair FEATURES HOMES SEEN ABOVE ALL OTHERS ON #1 REAL ESTATE SITE¹, REALTOR.COM ^®, IN THE COASTAL CAROLINA AREA

North Myrtle Beach, SC, January 11^th, 2010 – J.D. MacNair  of Weichert Realtors – Southern Coast features homes seen above all others in the area of the Coastal Carolinas on the internet’s #1 real estate site,¹ REALTOR.com ^®.

J.D. MacNair and his Team offers the REALTOR.com ^® Featured Homes^TM Marketing System^SM, for his clients, so that when potential home buyers search for homes in North Myrtle Beach, Little River and surrounding areas, they will see J.D. MacNair clients’ properties prominently displayed first with color photographs. This high value, premium placement provides more exposure, which in turn creates increased demand and help sell homes for more.

In making the investment in the Featured Homes^TM Marketing System^SM, J.D. stated, “I want to ensure that the properties I market have optimum shelf positioning online. What makes me different from other agents is how I help differentiate my properties from the other homes they compete against. My Featured Homes^TM property appears first not only on REALTOR.com ^®, but also MSN.”

Featured Homes^TM is just one of the many ways J.D. is leveraging recent trends of home buyer online behavior to his clients benefit.

Home sellers interested in finding out how to feature their home on REALTOR.com ^® and MSN should contact J.D. MacNair at 843-663-6056 or email jdmacnair@gmail.com

¹ comScore Media Metrix , Monthly  2008

Myrtle Beach housing market on the rise

Posted: wnRenderDate(‘Friday, December 18, 2009 6:17 PM EST’, ”, true); Dec 18, 2009 6:17 PM EST <br><br>By A.J. Ross

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) “ Home sales around the Myrtle Beach area are up 85 percent compared to this time last year, according to new research by the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors (CCAR).

CCAR CEO Laura Stroman Crowther says overall homes sales across the Grand Strand are up 3 percent this year. The report further shows this positive trend is extending throughout the entire Palmetto State, with Hilton Head leading home sales with and increase 122 percent since last year.

“It is just very nice to see that we are having some positive activity in the market,” Crowther said. “Interest rates are low, prices are very good right now, and you can buy a lot more for your dollar than you could a few years ago.”

Hammond Smith, a sales agent with Century 21, says he’s notice the same positive upswing.

“I think the country has certainly had some tough times, but we’re definitely seeing some upward trends,” he commented. “Here at the Market Common, we’ve definitely seen an uptick in not only traffic but sales; we had five contracts in the month of December and that’s not bad at all.”

With the federal government extending the tax break for first time homeowners, local realtors say they hope to see this trend continue.

“We’re just finding that people are beginning to understand the quality of life that we have here in Myrtle Beach, and they really would like to make Myrtle Beach home,” said Crowthers.

The report from the Realtor’s Association also shows that more homes are staying on the market for shorter periods of time.

“We’re seeing also a lot of cash buyers in the area,” explained Crowthers. “Short sales and foreclosures definitely are a major player in the market right now, but I would say the interest rates being as low as they are and the tax credit incentive is a huge indicator of what could happen down the line.”

Copyright 2009 WMBF News. All rights reserved.

As seen in this months Issue of USAIRWAYS Magazine………………………………

In the beginning, there was the beach. Not just a juncture of ocean and sand, but more than 60 miles of wide, pristine shoreline bordered with sand dunes and sea oats. Today, the magnitude of leisure activities”golf, shopping, amusement parks, botanic gardens, entertainment, art”have transformed the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area known as the Grand Strand from a seasonal beach town to a world-class vacation destination.

Keys to the City of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and the Grand Strand

A visitor could travel to the Myrtle Beach area a dozen times, and each would yield a distinct vacation, all within a reasonable budget.

The Focal Point

History runs through this city on a hill like the river that sustains it.

Business

Beaches mean big business, but tourism is not the only economic sector with a sunny forecast.

The Focal Point

Brookgreen Gardens™ Nights of a Thousand Candles is a can™t-miss holiday event.

Best Of

Best Golf Hole, Best Shopping, Best Beach Bar, and much more!p

Did You Know?

Vanna White got her start on the Grand Strand appearing in beauty pageants such as œMiss Sun Fun? Get in the know with fun trivia nuggets about the area.

History