Tagged : 8

Today’s market benefits two groups of buyers:  first-time buyers, and buyers moving up.  It is an excellent market to buy, especially if you don’t have a current home to sell.  For this reason, we’re seeing a lot of first-time home buyers opting to buy instead of rent.  Since these first-time buyers are not having to make contingencies to sell a home before buying another, they are able to use that negotiating power elsewhere (price, for example). 

Even if you have a home to sell, it’s a very good time to move up.  It may take a little while to sell your current home, and you won’t get for it what you would have gotten even a year ago.  But, remember that you’ll also be paying considerably less for the home you’ll buy if you’re moving up.  For

We’re just writing to let you know that we’ve added a new section to our website!  With the strong buyers market that’s resulted in the Charleston area, auctions are becoming more popular.  In response to this growing trend, we’ve incorporated Charleston real estate auctions into our website to better serve our clients.  We will be adding more information to the page in the coming weeks – as many of you know, we update the website on a daily basis.  But, we wanted to go ahead and tell you about this new addition.  Feel free to check it out using the link below!    

The real estate market is open to more fluctuation than many other kinds of markets. That being said, the real estate market is also one that has shown remarkable stability over time and the ability to appreciate even in the toughest of times. Many investors have made their fortune prospecting on the real estate market. As this fact becomes more publicly known, the country has developed a love affair with the concept of investing in real estate as opposed to other realms of investment like the stock market or mutual funds. This is not to say that there isn't a tidy profit to be seen from those other markets, but real estate has continually proven to be one of the most prolific and rewarding investment options.

Several factors can influence real

With home flipping becoming as popular as it has in the past several years, interested investors and DIY'ers are forever seeking the perfect real estate market to flip homes. Several markets around the nation have been tapped into with great success. Although we have not seen as many home flips this past year, we saw quite a few in the previous years. Many of these homes that have been renovated for flipping have been what is referred to as “cosmetically fixed,” which means that mostly the visual aspects of the home have been improved. However, the calling card of a truly well done home flip is the updating of the home's vital systems, like the electrical and plumbing.

In an area like Charleston SC many of the older homes have a great location or

Around the summer of last year, the Charleston real estate market (like many others around the country) experienced a drop in home prices.  Fluctuations are natural in real estate markets and anything else that is economically based.  Most of us are familiar with the charts that have a wavy line that steadily rises with a pattern of high points (called crests) followed by low points (called troughs).  The Charleston real estate market had experienced such a rapid increase of home prices in the eight years before that a drop in the market was predicted months before it started to happen.

Most real estate experts agree that this is the lowest point – the trough – of real estate prices.  Some experts even believe that prices are starting to go up again

The James Island SC real estate market is as strong as it’s been in the past, especially since there is not an excessive supply of homes and a continuing demand of buyers like there is in Mount Pleasant.

The benefit with this real estate market now is that many sellers don’t know the market is stronger in James Island compared to the rest of Charleston.  In other words, a lot of the sellers don’t know that they can get as much money for their houses.  So, sellers are still willing to negotiate their asking price drastically because of their misinformation.  It seems like we only hear about a cooling real estate market.  However, in many areas like Charleston, SC the real estate market is beginning to warm up again.   

When it comes to starter

Mount Pleasant is one of Charleston, SC’s hottest real estate markets because it has the best public schools in Charleston County and some of the nicest all-inclusive neighborhoods in the Charleston area.  The good school districts and the great home selection in Mt. Pleasant have created a high demand of buyers. 

This high demand has always yielded higher-than-average prices for the Charleston area.  However, in this new real estate market Mount Pleasant has become an even better value for home buyers.  In this past year, inventory (meaning homes for sale) in Mt. Pleasant has exceeded demand.  The demand is as strong as it’s ever been.  But, with the large number of sellers, buyers are able to negotiate tens of thousands of dollars off the asking

Many people choose Charleston as their getaway destination.  Some people want a second home in Charleston so that they can have a home near the beach, so that they can have a home near family living in Charleston, so that they can have a private place to stay for business trips, so that they can have an investment that will provide plenty of enjoyment, or so that they can use the home first for vacations and then for retirement in the coming years. 

If you’re looking into buying a second home, try to get a good location.  This is especially important if you plan to use it as a vacation home.  If you want a home near the beach, look in areas that are actually close to the beach, like Folly Beach, James Island, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Mt.

People moving to Charleston, SC often have questions about where to live (or where to invest). As a real estate agent, I always ask them, "What are you looking for?" In order to help people who are relocating to the Charleston area, I have organized my suggestions into 7 answers.

1) Folly Beach is a great investment because there will pretty much always be a great demand of people who want to live at the beach.  Folly Beach is the most popular beach in the Charleston area, especially for college students and young professionals.  Add this popularity with its proximity to downtown Charleston, and you will find that Folly Beach is a great rental area.  

2) James Island is a little more affordable than Folly Beach, and it is even closer to