Market trends report for April

In April, the number of pending sales (homes that have gone under contract) are broken down into their price ranges:

Total of 281 homes in April went under contract! March's number of pendings was only 126!

$0-$100k- 107 homes
$100,001-$200k- 106 homes
$200,001-$300k- 36 homes
$300,001-$400k- 19 homes
$400,001-$500k- 6 homes
$500,001 and above: 5 homes

May's numbers so far are encouraging! Current number of pendings for homes under $200k will surpass April's numbers if they continue on their current pace!
**So far, there are 5 pending homes in the $300k-$400k price range and 2 May pendings in the over $500k price range! Sales of the higher priced homes are starting to increase, which is a key indicator of the security of buyers!

Greenville lake house

For sale in Greenville, SC. Check out the double ovens!
Asking $998,000 this 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home boasts an in-ground pool and lake views! Beautiful landscaping makes this home feel like a blooming oasis!

Real Estate and Financing

Real Estate and Financing Are PERSONAL

by Dean Hartman on April 7, 2011 · 2 comments

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Every day we are bombarded with statistics and data.  Housing starts are up, housing starts are down; more job losses, unemployment is improving; foreclosures, short sales, housing inventory, interest rate movements and much more.  It’s enough to make your head spin.
There’s an old saying that claims: “All real estate is local”. It infers that national numbers are good reference points, but that individual communities (or even pockets within communities) can have strikingly different realities.  When prices are falling nationally, there are some places where prices are holding steady or rising as an example.
I believe that even that old saying is too broad.  Buying a home or structuring the financing of a home isn’t a local phenomenon….it is a personal one.  It’s the same as the economy.  Even though we have been suffering through a national downturn, many are having their best years ever.  Unemployment, foreclosure, even homelessness are tragic statistics and things to be aware of. But, for those not in those situations, you need to make decisions that will best serve your PERSONAL goals.
To that end, it is a great time to buy a home, for the reasons touted in this space regularly:

• Low interest rates make more house more affordable
• Tremendous available inventory
• Home prices are in line with income levels once again

It is also a terrific time to sell.  I heard an agent say just last week that there is NO INVENTORY available.  He further explained that properly priced homes are selling almost immediately and the only homes on the market more than 30 days are ones that won’t sell because of unreasonable seller expectations (and agents who aren’t strong enough to deliver the truth to those sellers).  A strong statement, yes- but one worth taking into consideration as you ponder your PERSONAL situation.  And remember, sellers become buyers. They get the advantages buyers are enjoying as well.
My advice is don’t be a sheep following media hype which analyzes data that reflects the past (and not the present or future) or looks at national numbers or assumes that your job, credit standing or savings are in jeopardy.  YOU need to look at your individual life and decide for yourself.

Great information on price vs. cost of home ownership compared to renting

Rental Costs Are About to Takeoff

by The KCM Crew on April 8, 2011 · 0 comments

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We are often asked whether it is better to rent or buy in the current housing market. The answer to that question is: “It all depends”. There are certain situations where renting short term probably makes sense. It may make sense if you are retiring to a different region of the country and are not yet sure where you want to set down roots for the next 25 years. It may make sense if you have a one year employment contract which will probably require a move to another place upon termination.
However, in most other cases, renting right now makes little sense for several reasons.

• Even though prices may still soften, waiting to buy makes no sense as the cost of owning a home may still increase.
• Mortgages may soon become much more expensive than they are right now.
• Owning a home is less expensive than renting a home in 72% of major U.S. cities.
• Rental costs are about to explode.

Let’s take a closer look at the last reason. We have often said that the cost of anything is based on supply and demand. The number of widgets for sale and the number of widget buyers together create the price for widgets. That will also apply to rents. There is a much larger demand for rentals right now. The economy has forced many to leave their foreclosed homes and other buyers are afraid to plunge into homeownership.
At the same time, the supply of rentals is rapidly decreasing. Here is a graph from Calculated Risk showing the apartment vacancy rate in the United States:

When supply is rapidly decreasing and demand is quickly increasing, prices have only one place to go – and that is UP! That is exactly where rental prices are headed.

Bottom Line

Is now a good time to rent? We think not. You can buy a home today at a discounted price and get a 30 year mortgage at a historically low interest rate. You can set your housing expense for the next thirty years. On the other hand, rental costs are poised to increase for years to come.

Foreclosure Friday for 04/08

In the Spring Haven subdivision in Taylors, this 3 bedroom, 2 bath home built in 2008 is one of the newer foreclosures in Taylors. The square footage is 1800-1999, and asking price is $119,900.

Prince (the artist formerly known as), donates $250k to Columbia nonprofits

Prince donates $250K to Columbia nonprofit group

By: The Associated Press 04/05/11 9:04 AM
The Associated Press

Recording artist Prince is making a $250,000 donation to a nonprofit group that aims to make sure all children in a Columbia neighborhood graduate from college.
Prince's drummer and Columbia native John Blackwell Jr. made the presentation Tuesday to Eau Claire Promise Zone officials.
The 501c3 Eau Claire Promise Zone is a 12-neighborhood area that is part of the nationwide "Promise Neighborhoods" movement, modeled after the work of Geoffrey Canada and his Harlem Children's Zone.
Prince and the New Power Generation performed shows in Columbia, Charleston and Greenville last month.

Want a home with a lake view?

The greater Greenville region of the Upstate of South Carolina alone has 183 homes with lake views currently on the market! These homes range anywhere from $2,900,000 to $115,000. There is sure to be a home with a fabulous lake view in your price range!

Looking for a lake home in the Upstate?

This beautiful lake home sits on 31 acres, and boasts over 7,000 square feet!

Owner's Title Insurance: What does it do for me?

From the WSJ:

Why Buy an Owner's Title Insurance Policy?

By JUNE FLETCHER

Q. I'm buying a home and the lender insists that I buy a title insurance policy before it will give me the loan. Now my real estate agent tells me that I should buy a policy for myself, too. This seems like overkill. The house I'm buying is only five years old, and the sellers are original owners. Is the agent right, and if so, why do I need this insurance?
--Hillsborough, Calif.
 
A. Imagine that you've bought and settled in to this house. One day, a woman knocks on your door and says that she and her husband had split up shortly before he put the house on the market, and that he forged her name on the deed. She says the sale was invalid and that she's still the owner—and she wants you out. You and the woman go to court where she proves that her story is true. She gets the house back, and you are evicted. Meanwhile, the husband has vanished with the money from the sale.
Or imagine that you discover after closing that there are "clouds" against the title, like liens for unpaid contractor bills (called "mechanic's liens"), legal judgments or taxes. Or perhaps you learn that a former owner has a life estate in the property.
Any of these situations could happen to the buyers of any house, even relatively new ones purchased from original owners. That's why most lenders won't fund a mortgage unless the buyer purchases a title insurance policy to protect it (but not you) from losses due to such claims. And that's why I believe that you should have a separate policy, too.
During a title search, a professional examiner searches through public records, either in person or online, looking not just at the chain of ownership but also at other issues that might affect whether title can be cleanly delivered to a future owner, such as undisclosed leases or restrictive covenants that affect how a property can be used. In many cases, should a problem be found, the title company will quietly fix it. Once the title is clean or "marketable," the underwriters will issue a policy that essentially says that it will defend the policyholder's title in court should anyone challenge it.
The lender's policy is attached to the mortgage, so should you refinance, you will have to purchase them another one. The owner's policy is attached to the property, however, so you won't have to buy another one as long as you own the home. Whether the seller or buyer pays for an owner's policy is typically a matter of local custom, but it can be negotiated as part of the purchase. Since costs vary widely, it pays to shop around for the best rate.
To be sure, some people argue that because public records can be searched so easily by computer these days, title insurance is a rip-off. They maintain that because the incidence of claims is so low, the cost, which can top $1,000 in some areas (paid in a one-time premium at closing), is unconscionable. Indeed, citing high costs, Iowa has created its own title guarantee program. Other states have launched investigations into title insurance companies that give kickbacks or other inducements to agents who recommend them.
Despite these problems, I think an owner's title insurance policy is a necessary evil. Sure, it's not very likely that a wronged spouse or a long-lost heir is going to turn up at your doorstep, but if you are unlucky enough to find yourself in that situation, you will be very glad that you have that policy.

Golf's Ultimate lottery prize: Master's Tickets!

 *For the first time in Masters History, single day passes are available....but are limited!

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Feelin' lucky?

For the first time in 47 years, Augusta National next spring will make available a select number of daily tournament tickets through a new program wherein fans can apply online for a shot at what traditionally has ranked as the toughest ducats in sports.

Here's the catch -- it's literally a one-off deal, though it won't likely affect the application appetite much. Unlike annual Masters badge holders, who have weekly tickets that are passed along in the family for generations, the new policy will allow selected applicants to purchase single-day passes only. It's similar to the protocol the club uses for distribution of practice-round tickets for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Of course, the odds of getting the congratulatory email from the club might not be terrific. The new policy is sure to draw millions of applicants and only a lucky few will be selected via what the club described as a random draw.

The club is moving all of its ticket sales online at Masters.com. Those hoping to win the lottery for a live tournament round must apply by June 30 for next spring's event. Practice round passes have been circulated through a random draw since 1995. The deadline ro register for a chance at securing practice-round tickets is July 30.

"Moving the entire application process to our official tournament website is a safe and convenient way for those wishing to apply for daily practice round tickets," Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said in a statement. "We are also pleased to provide a limited number of tickets for the individual tournament round days, which, up until now, have only been allocated to our series badge holders."

In the lottery draw, the maximum allocation for daily tournament tickets is two for any one day and four for any single day for practice round tickets. Tournament week begins April 2 next year. If picked, tickets for practice rounds are $50 and daily rounds are $75.

When asked for more detail, Payne would not divulge the number of tickets that will be made available for Thursday-Sunday tournament play. The club does not announce attendance figures and did not specifically state how many live-round tickets would be made available. Thus, it's hard to speculate on an applicant's odds of being selected for a live round.

"We have actually cut down on the number of people here over the past few years," Payne said of the attendance. "You could say the practice rounds are a needle in a haystack, because we have always had far more applications [than tickets available]. But still, it's the first time in 47 years [for a chance]."

Half-teasingly asked whether the process would be truly random, Payne said, "Yes, sir."

WSJ: Mortgage Rates Tick Up

Mortgage Rates Edge Higher
By DREW FITZGERALD

Mortgage rates ticked up again in the latest week as inflation concerns eased somewhat, according to Freddie Mac's weekly survey of mortgage rates.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.86% in the week ended Thursday, up from 4.81% the previous week but down from 5.08% a year earlier.
Mortgage rates generally track U.S. bond yields, which move inversely to prices. Rates have climbed recently, in March hitting the highest point since last April after slumping most of last year when Treasurys rallied amid economic uncertainty.
Freddie Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said low rates "have benefited from relatively benign inflation reports" of late, while distressed property sales continue to pressure house prices.
Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.09%, up from 4.04% in the previous week but down from 4.39% a year earlier.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.70%, up from the prior week's 3.62% but down from 4.10% a year earlier. One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs were 3.26%, up from 3.21% but down from 4.05%, respectively.
To obtain the rates, the mortgages required an average payment of 0.7 point, except for the 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs, which averaged 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

Upstate SC golf courses

Spring is in full "swing," get yours on at your local golf course!!

City	Course	Phone	Photos	$Coupons	Site	Course  Specialse
Campobello	Links O'Tryon	(864)52LINKS	All 18	$105/4WD $135/4WE
Ninety Six	Star Fort	(864)543-2757	All 18	$WebSpecial	Y
Greenville	Bonnie Brae GC	(864)277-9838
Greenville	Verdae Greens	(864)676-1500	All 18
Williamston	Brookstone Meadows	(864)964-9966
Fountain Inn	Carolina Springs GC	(864)862-3551
Tigerville	Cherokee Valley GC	(864)895-6758
Spartanburg	Cotton Creek GC	(864)583-7084
Greenville	Cross Winds G Ctr.	(864)233-6336
Greenville	Donaldson GC	(864)277-8414
Greenville	Hillandale GC	(864)250-1700
Greenwood	Lakeview Golf Club	(864)277-2680
Campobello	Links O'Tryon	(864)52LINKS	All 18	$WebSpecial
Spartanburg	Oak Ridge CC	(864)582-7579
Seneca	Oconee CC	(864)882-8037
Spartanburg	Peach Valley GC	(864)583-2244
Pickens	Pickens CC	(864)878-6083
Anderson	Pine Lake GC	(864)296-9960
Duncan	River Falls	(864)433-9192			Y
Williamston	Saluda Valley CC	(864)847-7102
Easley	Southern Oaks	(864)859-6698
Ninety Six	Star Fort	(864)543-2757	All 18	$WebSpecial	Y
Greenville	Summerset GC	(864)834-4781
Pickens	Table Rock GC	(864)878-2030
Pickens	The Rock at Jocassee	(864)878-2030
Gramling	Village Greens	(864)472-2411
Clemson	Walker GC	(864)656-0236
Greer	Willow Creek GC	(864)848-4999	2,5,8,12,16		Y
Pendleton	Woodhaven GC	(864)646-9511

Foreclosure Friday x2 for 04/01

Absolutely gorgeous home over 4600 square feet! Foreclosure asking $529,000.....let's get a deal!!!! This home is in The Columns at Roper Mountain subdivision. High class!

Greater Greenville

Number of homes currently available: 5670
Number of homes currently under contract "pending": 600
Number of homes that sold (closed) during the month of March: 520!

*The 80 home increase between the number of homes sold last month, and the number of current pending homes is encouraging! Home sales are picking up into the spring months!

Interest rates continue to oscillate around the 5.00% range.

Foreclosure Friday 04/01

No April Fool's Day pranks here....this home is in the highly sought Rockbrooke North subdivision in Greer!

4BR/2BA hardboard and stone ranch on fenced, cul-de-sac, 0.48 acre lot. Home features Architectural roof, attic storage, two car attached garage with bonus

room above garage, screened porch, fireplace and some hardwood floors.

4BR/2BA hardboard and stone ranch on fenced, cul-de-sac, 0.48 acre lot. Home features Architectural roof, attic storage, two car attached garage with bonus

room above garage, screened porch, fireplace and some hardwood floors.

4BR/2BA hardboard and stone ranch on fenced, cul-de-sac, 0.48 acre lot. Home features Architectural roof, attic storage, two car attached garage with bonus

room above garage, screened porch, fireplace and some hardwood floors.

4 bedroom and 2 bathroom, hardboard and stone ranch on a fenced cul-de-sac, 0.48 acre lot. Home features Architectural roof, attic storage, two car attached garage with bonus room above garage, screened porch, fireplace and some hardwood floors!

Any questions can be directed to Jacqueline at 843-437-6917, or jmims@kw.com

Home pricing predictions showing an expected increase as soon as next year!

Double Dip or Double Your Money? … or Both?

by The KCM Crew on March 28, 2011 · 3 comments

in For Buyers,For Sellers,Pricing

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Last week, MacroMarkets LLC announced the results of the March 2011 Home Price Expectations Survey, compiled from 111 responses of a diverse group of economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists. Many media sources reported on the survey’s comment about a projected ‘double dip’ in prices. What the media didn’t aggressively cover was the other projection in this same report. Today we want to shed light on both portions.

Double Dip

There is no doubt the survey looked negatively on house prices through the rest of 2011. Robert Shiller, MacroMarkets co-founder and chief economist said:

“Overall, the sentiment among our expert panel regarding the U.S. housing market outlook continues to deteriorate. Now they are expecting only a weak recovery, and even that is not until 2013. This uninspiring view must be influenced by the persistently weak market fundamentals – high unemployment, supply overhang, an unabated foreclosure crisis, and constrained mortgage credit.”

Terry Loebs, MacroMarkets managing director commented on the dreaded ‘double dip’.

“Many more experts are now projecting a double-dip after witnessing the double-dead cat bounce that came in the wake of expired government stimulus programs. In December, only 15% of our panelists were projecting that a new post-crash low would materialize for national home prices. Now, just three months later, almost 50% foresee a double-dip happening this year, and not a single panelist expects national home prices to recover to the pre-bubble trend in the coming 5 years.”

However, the longer term view of home prices was much more optimistic.

Double Your Money

The experts projected that by the end of 2015 home prices would attain a cumulative level of appreciation of almost 10% (see chart below from the report).

This means, if you purchased a house today with a 10% cash down payment, you could double your cash in five years; even taking the projected double dip into consideration.
Shiller also noted that there continues to be significant dispersion among the panelists regarding their individual home price forecasts:

“A few respondents do see a real recovery, predicting prices up 20% or so by 2015.”

If that happens, you would have TRIPLED your cash.

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling in the next 12 months, you should do it before the projected ‘double dip’. If you are thinking of buying and you plan to live in the home for at least five years, your financial investment will be fine.

Are we carving out the bottom of the real estate market in Upstate, SC?

Real Estate: GOLDen Opportunity of This Decade

by Steve Harney on March 30, 2011 · 3 comments

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Everyone wants to comment on the current real estate market. They want to talk about how now is not the time to buy a home. Some even argue owning a house has never been a great investment. Most say it will be a long time before real estate again begins to appreciate. It all sounds so familiar to me. It was just a decade ago that many made the same arguments about gold as an investment.
Gold had dropped from over $400 an ounce to $250 an ounce (a 40% decline) from February 1996 to August 1999. People ran from gold as though it was a plague.
Lord William Rees-Mogg, the current Chairman of The Zurich Club, in 1997 said:

“No investment has been so thoroughly exploded as gold; most people think that there will no more be another gold boom than there will be another boom in tulip futures in The Netherlands.”

Two years later in 1999, Don Wolanchuk author of the Wolanchuk Report explained:

“Everybody hates gold. You can’t have a bottom until everybody is out. And everybody is out of the gold sector.”

Everyone knows what happened next. The proclamation of gold’s death was rather premature. Gold rose from $250 an ounce to over $1,400 an ounce in the next twelve years. I see the same situation with real estate today. I am not predicting that real estate will see the same levels of appreciation. I do believe however that the market will rebound strongly.
Those who continued to believe in gold as an investment were rewarded. Those who continue to believe in real estate as a sound investment will also be rewarded.
Here is what Adam Hamilton wrote in October 2000 in an essay titled Is Gold Dead?

The road for gold investors has been long and parched in the last five years.  They have wandered through a seemingly endless desert, occasionally tempted by what proves to be an illusory mirage.  Many have fallen beside the sun-cracked path, their white bones picked clean by buzzards and gleaming in the sun.  Nevertheless, a brave contrarian core continues to march forward.  They have studied history, currency, gold, investments, economics, and finance.  They understand the timeless value of gold, the cyclical nature of the markets, and the vagaries of human psychology.  They realize it is darkest before the dawn, and the journey most difficult right before the homestretch is reached.  Gold is in an INCREDIBLE position, and it will have its day.  Nothing goes up in price forever, and nothing goes down in price forever.  Investments are cyclical.  Gold is NOT dead, it is simply biding its time, waiting for its next earth-shattering mega-rally.  The spoils that go to the few remaining gold investors when that day inevitably arrives will be fantastic.  The stunning victory will quickly blot out the painful memories of the long struggle…

You could replace the word ‘gold’ with the words ‘real estate’ throughout this essay and it would apply today.

THANK YOU, all Vets....but especially today, Thank You to Vietnam Veterans.

On this day in 1975, South Vietnam surrendered to the North, reuniting Vietnam. If you know a Veteran of the Vietnam War, honor them today by thanking them for their service.

Learn About the Vietnam War

Between 1945 and 1954, the Vietnamese waged an anti-colonial war against France and received $2.6 billion in financial support from the United States. The French defeat at the Dien Bien Phu was followed by a peace conference in Geneva, in which Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam received their independence and Vietnam was temporarily divided between an anti-Communist South and a Communist North. In 1956, South Vietnam, with American backing, refused to hold the unification elections. By 1958, Communist-led guerrillas known as the Viet Cong had begun to battle the South Vietnamese government.
To support the South’s government, the United States sent in 2,000 military advisors, a number that grew to 16,300 in 1963. The military condition deteriorated, and by 1963 South Vietnam had lost the fertile Mekong Delta to the Vietcong.  In 1965, Johnson escalated the war, commencing air strikes on North Vietnam and committing ground forces, which numbered 536,000 in 1968. The 1968 Tet Offensive by the North Vietnamese turned many Americans against the war. The next president, Richard Nixon, advocated Vietnamization, withdrawing American troops and giving South Vietnam greater responsibility for fighting the war. His attempt to slow the flow of North Vietnamese soldiers and supplies into South Vietnam by sending American forces to destroy Communist supply bases in Cambodia in 1970 in violation of Cambodian neutrality provoked antiwar protests on the nation’s college campuses.
From 1968 to 1973 efforts were made to end the conflict through diplomacy. In January 1973, an agreement reached and U.S. forces were withdrawn from Vietnam and U.S. prisoners of war were released.  In April 1975, South Vietnam surrendered to the North and Vietnam was reunited.
CONSEQUENCES:
1.  The Vietnam War cost the United States 58,000 lives and 350,000 casualties. It also resulted in between one and two million Vietnamese deaths.
2.  Congress enacted the War Powers Act in 1973, requiring the president to receive explicit Congressional approval before committing American forces overseas.

It was the longest war in American history and the most unpopular American war of the twentieth century. It resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and an estimated 2 million Vietnamese deaths. Even today, many Americans still ask whether the American effort in Vietnam was a sin, a blunder, a necessary war, or a noble cause, or an idealistic, if failed, effort to protect the South Vietnamese from totalitarian government.
A succinct history of the Vietnam War
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/subtitles.cfm?titleID=71

Declaration of Independence, Democratic Republic of Vietnam. September 2, 1945
http://www.vwip.org/articles/declar01.htm

Documents relating to the Vietnam War
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/vietnam.htm

$445,000 in 2008 to $160,000 in 2011!!!

This beautiful, never lived in home in the Griffin Park subdivision of Simpsonville was originally listed at $445,000 when it first came onto the market on 09/25/2008. As of just 10 days ago, the price had been reduced from there to $160,000!!!

Two other foreclosures in Griffin Park: Neither of these homes have been lived in.
235 Austin Brook: Appraised for $323,000 in 2009! Now asking $199,900!

This home on Hatcher Creek is asking $199,000 and has several "green" features, including bamboo floors!

Contact me if you'd like more information, or would like to see any of these foreclosures!

Foreclosure 03/28

This home hit the market as a foreclosure this morning. It's a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home with 2000-2199 square feet, and sits on a quarter of an acre! Asking $189,900 this home is brand new and has never been lived in! It is in the wonderful Copper Creek subdivision in Simpsonville.

Contact me if you would like to see it!
843-437-6917