Hilton Head Real Estate News

Hilton Head Monthly Statistics for April 2014

2014-05-16T12:11:00.001-07:00

Monthly Indicators April 2014

The public has finally grown used to talk of a real estate market in recovery. With prices going up, people are starting to wonder if a new bubble is forming. Most metropolitan markets are somewhere between recovery and normalization. Supply is still tight but improving in some areas. What housing really needs is further job and wage growth to support healthy demand levels fueled by new household formations.

New Listings in the Hilton Head region increased 9.4 percent to 571. Pending Sales were up 3.8 percent to 358. Inventory levels shrank 5.1 percent to 2,703 units.

Prices marched higher. The Median Sales Price increased 6.3 percent to $279,500. Days on Market was down 13.8 percent to 105 days. Absorption rates improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 11.4 percent to 8.6 months.
April's job growth was above expectations. Growth is likely to accelerate through the year, but the types of jobs being created is also important. We're producing more low-wage jobs as opposed to high-wage jobs. That's not conducive to increasing the number of potential buyers. It also means less disposable income sloshing around. Even so, some local markets may pause but are unlikely to falter thanks to
suppressed supply levels and an improving sales mix. Don't confuse temporarily weak demand indicators for stagnation. copy provided by Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors.

Hilton Head Monthly Indicator ...... April 2014

I have been causally optimistics that this is going to be a good year for sales on the Island, and so far the sales data is bearing this out. We are not in a boom Sellers market, nor are we in an overtly booming Buyer's market. The market is acting like it should. If you are interested in selling it is a good time, and if you want to buy it is a good time. I would like to be your agent for buying or selling. I am an Associate Broker with REMAX Island Realty and have the knowledge and the backing of the Nations #1 Real Estate Company. For Buyer's visit my website, and Seller's get my "Free" Home Evaluation Report .... Thanks

Hilton Head Island 1st Quarter Sales Report

2014-05-15T09:23:00.002-07:00

Statistical Data from the Hilton Head
Area Association of Realtors

The sales of single family homes on Hilton Head Island are in for the 1st Quarter of 2014. Below you will find charts and graphs for:

Hilton Head
Hilton Head "OFF" Plantation
Hilton Head Plantation
Palmetto Dunes Resort
Sea Pines Plantation

As you can see for all of Hilton Head we are slightly ahead of 2013. We have slightly more new listings, and closed sales are up for the year. The month of March is in line with the year. YTD statistics for: 1) The median price is up 4.7% YTD: 2) days on market is down from 151 to 142, 3) Number of closed sales is up 8.2% 4) The percent of list price received is down from 95% to 94.4%

Hilton Head Monthly Indicators ... March 2014
Hilton Head Housing Supply Overview ... March 2014

Hilton Head "off" Plantation we are doing well compared to 2013 in the month of March and YTD.. YTD statistics for: 1) The median price is up 36.7% [$215,000 to $293,875]: 2) Days on market is down from 98 to 96, 3) Number of closed sales is up 28.62% 4) The percent of list price received is down from 98.1% to 96.7.4% Overall a very good performance for homes selling under $300,000.

Hilton Head Plantation is doing well compared to 2013 YTD. The month of March was a blimp on the radar. YTD statistics for: 1) The median price is up 10.8% [$400,000 to $443,000]: 2) Days on market is down from 129 to 118, 3) Number of closed sales is up 37.8% 4) The percent of list price received is down from 96.2% to 94.1.4% Overall a very good performance for homes selling under $450,000.

Palmetto Dunes Resort is doing well compared to 2013 YTD. The month of March did OK but YTD is much better. YTD statistics for: 1) The median price is up 33.2% [$715,000 to $952,500]: 2) Days on market is up from 109 to 170, 3) Number of closed sales is up 42.9% 4) The percent of list price received is down from 95.4% to 92.5% Overall a very good performance for homes selling under $1,000,000.

Sea Pines Resort is doing OK compared to 2013 YTD. The month of March was a comparative month for YTD. YTD statistics for: 1) The median price is up 11.7% [$575,000 to $642,500] The highlight of 2014: 2) Days on market is down from 175 to 139, 3) Number of closed sales is down 17.1% 4) The percent of list price received is down from 94.2% to 92.0% Overall a mediocre performance for homes selling under $650,000. The true highlight was the Median Price increase.

The overall statistical picture for residential homes on the island is a good for 2014, what's in store for the next 3 quarters I will not predict. I am optimistic, but in the end the numbers will tell us. The overall performance for my indicators: All of Hilton Head, Off Plantation, Hilton Head Plantation, Palmetto Dunes and Sea Pines is a good one. The homes under $450,000 are still selling, and the price is only going up. The higher priced homes in Palmetto Dunes and Sea Pines are still selling, but not with the same pace as the lower priced homes. However, that is simple economics. It still is harder to get a jumbo mortgage, compared to a Fannie Mae loan. Cash is KING in the higher priced markets, better deals and it shows in the receiving side of list price to sales price in the higher priced properties.

I do believe it is a good time to buy and I am your the right agent for you. The "Island's Resort Specialist"

go to my website for the latest listings, or if you are interested in selling your home get my Free Home Evaluation Report.

"NEW" Tower Beach Club

2014-05-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

The "NEW" Tower Beach Club for Sea Pines Property Owners is now open. They have done a nice job with the improvements. It still has an open air pavilion for casual use or private functions (contact CSA to
Reserve pavilion)

The Pavilion has locker space underneath for rental to property owners for a nominal fee. keep your beach stuff at your locker for an easy trip to the beach. They also have included (2) two picnic areas with grills and tables for an evening of burgers, or whatever you might like to grill. Make sure you take bug repellent for an evening cookout.

There are swings near the pavilion and of course restrooms. The restrooms have been redone and are clean and ample, outdoor shower area, to clean up and wash down beach chairs and other such items ..... grandkids. The "new" Tower Beach Club along with the New Plantation Club and Sea Pines Resort Beach Club only enhance Sea Pines, and as such our property values.

Although, I do have a BIG but, I had lobbied for a swimming pool at the new Tower Beach Club, but the board voted it down. There shallow minds and foresight only had them thinking about leaves and maintenance cost, not property values. Jake Lee a long time architect worked with the board and told me their is room for a pool. So we as property owners might like to get on the pool bandwagon and get a pool built.

Copyright Charlie B Fraser 2014

Charlie Fraser is a local real estate broker with REMAX Island Realty. If you are interested in selling your home or villa please visit my Free Property Valuation Report site and find out a range of what your property is worth.

The New Plantation Club is Open!

2014-04-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

The new "Plantation Club" is open, Sea Pines Company, had a reception on April 3rd and will be having a Ribbon Cutting today April 4th. I have been watching the construction and I like what I saw last night at the new club. A couple of images of the new club. Images of new Clubhouse from Sea Pines Resort's facebook page.

The new pro shop, locker rooms, and ballroom all add to a great experience for golfers, guest and residents. There is ample outdoor seating for those nice spring and fall day's, you can have the "dog day's" of summer. I'd rather be fishing.

Riverstone Group and the Goodwin family are spending a considerable amount of money on the Sea Pines Resort properties, and I am grateful. All it does for us residents is maintain our property values and hopefully increase them.

The Liberty Oak restaurant looks like it will also be the culinary delight for everyone, the appetizers were delicious. The restaurant will be a nice place to have a refreshing beverage after golf, or lunch or dinner.

The next project to open is the Beach Club, see my blog for the beach club
http://hiltonheadrealestatenewsletter.blogspot.com/2013/07/sea-pines-resort-and-tale-of-woe-of-23.html and then the Harbour Pro Shop is going to be rebuilt between this spring and the RBC Heritage in 2015.

My blog about the passing of the old clubhouse to the new
http://www.hiltonhead4sale.com/blog/new-out-old/

Old picture of the Plantation Club

The following video is from pictures I took prior to the reception honoring the memories of the old Club House. There were a number of speaker, but "Happy" was the best. If you don't remember Happy then you missed out on the true days of Sea Pines. I think Happy worked for Sea Pines close to more than 40 years until he retired. Sorry I don't have any pictures of him in this video.

Island Packet articles about the old and new "Plantation Club"

http://www.islandpacket.com/2014/04/01/3036054/sea-pines-opens-new-golf-club.html

http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/08/28/2189079/sea-pines-resort-eyes-new-12m.html

http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/12/31/2872028/new-sea-pines-golf-club-nearing.html

Ocean 15th Hole

These pictures are from the very early days of Sea Pines Plantation the true "OLD PLANTATION CLUB" and our 1st head pro, Wally Palmer, at the Ocean Course.

Hilton Head Real Estate Statistics

2013-09-23T09:30:00.001-07:00

Lowcountry Real Estate Statistics

Please find links to local statistics for Hilton Head, Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes, Hilton Head Island, Forest Beach and Mainland(or Bluffton, SC). If you need more information please email or call me .... thanks Charlie

July 2013 Reports

Housing Supply Overview
Hilton Head Monthly Indicators
Mainland Market Update
Sea Pines - HOMES
Sea Pines -VILLAS
Forest Beach - HOMES
Forest Beach -CONDOS
Palmetto Dunes - HOMES
Palmetto Dunes - CONDOS
Hilton Head Plantation
Hilton Head Island - HOMES
Hilton Head - CONDOS

Sea Pines Resort ... and the Tale of Woe ... of 23!!

2013-07-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

Sea Pines Resort & the "Beach Club"

The Island Packet has had numerous articles about the new beach club, at what was once the Turtle Lane Club, and now The Beach Club at Sea Pines Resort. I don't understand what these 23 residents are so upset about? CSA has plans to renovate the "Tower Beach Club" which from looking over the plans are going to make that facility a very nice place for RESIDENTS ONLY. The plans for the new Beach Club at Sea Pines Resort are first class; they increase parking, and enhance the overall amenities of Sea Pines. Golf Club at Sea Pines Resort, the old Plantation Club, is currently under construction and it too is going to be 1^st class. So what is the fuss? I am not sure but I do know that 23 residents do not warrant the attention they have gotten.

Golf Club at Sea Pines Resort

I am a real estate agent on the island, and in every private community with any age that keeps it amenities fresh there exists a direct correlation between property values going up or down. This also applies to condominium property owners associations (POA or Regime). I for one am very excited
about all three projects: Golf Club at Sea Pines Resort, Beach Club at Sea Pines Resort, and the"Tower Beach Club". Next year they might even decide to do something with Harbour Town Golf Links, who knows?
If you would like to explore buying or selling a property, I have the knowledge and experience. Call me 843-290-0807.

Charlie B Fraser @ copyright 2013

Please take the time to review the articles below: click on the link

Hilton Head Property Search

Island Packet Articles about Appeal
July 25th article
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/07/24/2593843/hilton-head-board-member-says.html
July 16th article
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/07/16/2579981/sea-pines-resort-hires-charleston.html
June 28th
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/06/28/2560260/sea-pines-residents-appeal-proposed.html
June 14th
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/06/14/2541511/town-oks-sea-pines-beach-club.html
Golf Club at Sea Pines Resort
http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/08/28/2189079/sea-pines-resort-eyes-new-12m.html

Sea Pines Resort's plans for New Golf Club and Beach Club

and other upgrades to the resorts amenities.
https://www.seapines.com/development/
https://www.seapines.com/development/#Beach-Club

Fair and Balanced (unnamed author with a blog about Sea Pines)
http://seapinesbehindthegates.blogspot.com/2013/07/checking-fact-checker-again.html

Hilton Head Resort Properties on Rebound

2013-07-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

I sometimes feel like Chicken Little screaming from the rooftops that the "sky is falling” Well guess what, properties values are going up on Hilton Head and inventories are coming down. So, if you think you have been waiting for the bottom of our market, you missed it!!!

Mortgage rates are still low, and there is still inventory available, however low. With less inventory the axis does swing back to a "sellers’ market" So, please contact me and let me help you find the best property for your needs. After all I am "the Island's Resort Specialist"

Charlie B Fraser
Cell 843.290.0807 cbfhhire@gmail.com

Reprinted from Bloomberg News
To contact the reporters on this story: Prashant Gopal in Boston at pgopal2@bloomberg.net
John Gittelsohn in Los Angeles at johngitt@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net
Rob Urban at robprag@bloomberg.net

U.S.Vacation Home Rebound Lifts Hilton Head to Hawaii

By Prashant Gopal and John Gittelsohn

June 14, 2013

They bought the two-bedroom condominium in an oceanfront golf resort for $429,000 in April. Values this year in the Hilton Head area jumped 11.1 percent from the first five months of last year and sales rose 9.3 percent, according to the South Carolina Association of Realtors. Prices are still down by about a third from 2007, near the real estate market’s peak.
“We knew several other people were looking at it and it wouldn't last long,” said Leslie Tyree, 44, a lawyer who first saw the home two weeks before the closing. “We realized if we are going to do this at some point we might as well do it now.”
The surging buyer confidence underpinning the year-old rebound in U.S. property prices -- driven by mortgage rates near record lows -- is spilling into seasonal communities from Lake Tahoe in California to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.
Vacation-home demand relies on discretionary spending and typically lags behind the broader housing market by about one or two years, indicating secondary properties are on the cusp of a recovery, according to Jeff Meyers, a housing-research consultant with Beverly Hills, California-based real estate firm Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc.

Markets Strengthen

“We’re starting to see a lot of resort markets really strengthen,” Meyers said. “Prices going up in the core markets has a big influence on what people do with their vacation homes and their ability to purchase them.”
U.S. home prices rose 12.1 percent in April, the biggest jump since February 2006 and the 14th consecutive year-over-year increase, according to CoreLogic Inc. That’s helping more Americans feel optimistic about their futures, with the Conference Board’s consumer-confidence index climbing to a five-year high last month.
Asking prices in vacation areas have advanced more slowly. On a per-square-foot basis, May median prices in primary markets jumped 7 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 1 percent increase in areas where at least a quarter of properties were seasonally occupied, according to Trulia Inc. (TRLA)
List prices were up 1.6 percent in the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, 1.4 percent in Dewey Beach in Delaware, and 8.9 percent in the Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead areas near Los Angeles, the housing-data company said.

Increases Accelerate

“A vacation home is not most people’s first purchase as we emerge from a recession,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist of San Francisco-based Trulia. “But if the recovery continues we could see the price increases accelerate.”
Second-home sales climbed 11 percent last year to 553,000, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors. That compares with the peak of 1.07 million in 2006. There will be a “meaningful upward movement” in vacation-home transactions this year and into 2013, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors group, said June 7 at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Atlanta.
Sales of getaway homes may increase to 650,000 by 2015 and then plateau for several years at about 600,000, according to Chris Fair, president of Vancouver-based Resonance Consultancy Ltd. The firm produces biannual reports of spending on travel and leisure by affluent Americans, defined as families with incomes above $150,000.

Emerging Destinations

Beach and mountain retreats near growing cities or those with long histories are likely to see the fastest rebound, Fair said, such as Lake Tahoe, south Florida, Hawaii and Martha’s Vineyard, off the Massachusetts coast.
“It’s the ‘A’ destinations that are going to recover faster than emerging destinations,” Fair said. “There were many projects that were launched in areas that were not the traditional vacation destinations in hard-to-get-to places, and those are the ones that are going to take the longest and may not ever recover to the peak prices.”
Places such as Central Oregon and the Florida Panhandle where there was a lot of overbuilding and limited populations within driving distance are likely to struggle to revive holiday-home sales and prices, he said.

Nationally, second-home sales will be limited because the U.S. population aged 45 to 54, the prime buying market, will decline by about 8 percent from 2010 to 2020, he said.

Demographics Driven

“We certainly don’t see a return to highs that we saw in 2005 or 2006, when it was over 1 million,” Fair said. “We’re unlikely to see that level of sales for the next 10 to 20 years, largely just driven by the demographics.”
Changes in mortgage rules may also curb demand. The Senate Finance Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means are considering altering the tax code, including possible limits on mortgage interest deductions for non-primary residences.
In some vacation areas, prices have already begun to follow or even exceed surges in primary markets. With Los Angeles-area home prices up 30 percent in the 12 months through May, the California desert getaways where Liberace, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope owned weekend estates are following with a jump in values and a revival of construction, said Michael Hilgenberg, an owner of broker Keller Williams International franchises in resort towns including Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead.
Prices rose 24 percent in Palm Springs and 25 percent in Rancho Mirage in the 12 months through May, according to DataQuick, a San Diego-based research firm.

Buy Two

Attractive prices and historically low mortgage rates spurred Alon Antebi, an orthopedic surgeon who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita, to buy two vacation homes this year. In April, he paid $775,000 for a 3,400-square-foot (316-square-meter) mountain log cabin in Big Bear. In May, he bought a 4,800-square-foot dockside retreat in the coastal city of Oxnard for $2 million.
Antebi, 42, negotiated a 10-year mortgage at 3 percent from Wells Fargo & Co. for the Big Bear house, on which he made a 50 percent down payment. He got a 3.25 percent rate on a 30-year loan from Bank of America Corp. for the Oxnard house.
Antebi, a father of two children ages 8 and 10, is also considering buying a third getaway home within driving distance.
“I wanted a place in the mountains and the beach,” he said in a telephone interview. “I did it because I want to enjoy life, but it just happened to be the right time, where interest rates are really good.”

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe, about 190 miles (306 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, was among the first resort areas to bounce back from the recession as the Bay Area’s technology industry fueled fortunes among young families.
At Martis Camp, a ski and golf resort northwest of Lake Tahoe, 73 properties sold this year through the first week of June, compared with 117 in all of last year, said Brian Hull, director of sales at the golf and ski resort. Typical buyers are technology or finance executives in their mid-40s who pay $900,000 per lot and spend $2.4 million to build, he said.
“We sold OK through the whole thing,” Mark Kehke, president of Martis Camp’s developer, DMB Pacific Ventures, said in a telephone interview. “Things were definitely better in ’11 and ’12 and we’re doing even better this year.”
In Hawaii, vacation-home demand has recovered as investors from the U.S. mainland and Asia return after a five-year slump, according to Kevin Miyama, president of the Honolulu Board of Realtors. Home prices in the state soared 17 percent in April from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic.

Luxury Market

“What’s really kind of picking up is the luxury market,” Miyama said.
Luxury property sales surged at the end of 2012 in Martha’s Vineyard, a summer retreat for President Obama and actors Larry David and Ted Danson, and the Hamptons, where radio talk show host Howard Stern and comedian Jerry Seinfeld have homes. The rush, prompted by an expected jump in capital-gains taxes at the start of 2013, may have pulled forward transactions that would have happened this year.
In the first quarter, the median sales price in the Hamptons fell 5.1 percent to $740,000, reflecting a drop in higher-priced sales, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. In the year through April, Martha’s Vineyard prices rose 8 percent and sales fell 24 percent, reflecting a drop in inventory, according to Warren Group, a real estate tracker.

Berkshire Mountains

“The fourth quarter was one of the best in several years in terms of local activity, which ultimately cleaned up a lot of the inventory,” said John O’Connell, broker and owner of Vineyard Realty Group in Edgartown, Massachusetts. “Options are limited.”
Prices are picking up in the resort towns of the Berkshires in Massachusetts, where inventories are shrinking, said Chapin Fish, broker at wm. Brockman Real Estate in Great Barrington. Sales in Berkshire County fell 9 percent for the first four months of the year and prices climbed 13 percent, according to Warren Group.
There were enough properties on the market in the southern part of the county in April to last 21 months, down from 29 months a year earlier and 42 months two years earlier, according to the Berkshire County Board of Realtors.
“More started moving for us but we still have a lot to go,” Fish said. “The real premium homes above $1 million are slow. For the lower-priced homes, it has been crazy busy.”

Property Demand

The Tyrees jumped into the Hilton Head market because they wanted to own a piece of oceanfront property before bargains dry up. When their family isn’t using the condo, Scott Tyree plans to offer weekends at the house as a bonus for the best employees at his law and real estate firms, Leslie Tyree said.
Demand for properties on the island, known for its golf courses and white-sand beaches, surged during the housing boom as Americans borrowed to buy second homes. After the crash, foreclosures spiked as homeowners who stayed current on primary properties allowed vacation homes to go delinquent, Hilton Head real estate attorney Tom Brooks said.
Foreclosures in the first quarter dropped 39 percent to 542 compared with the same period in 2010, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, California-based data provider. The average number of days on market for a Hilton Head area listing fell 9.7 percent this year to 123 days compared with the first five months of last year, according to the South Carolina Association of Realtors.
The Tyrees’ agent, Lea Allen, has been selling in the market for more than two-and-a-half decades and said it’s the busiest she’s been in years. Her annual income plunged from about $100,000 in the worst year of the housing boom to about $30,000 in the leanest years of the crash, spurring her to start teaching yoga for additional income.
She earned $60,000 in May alone.
“It’s exciting -- it feels like you have your job back,” Allen said. “I don’t have to teach yoga any more. I get to go and enjoy yoga.”

Charles Fraser's Contribution to ULI

2013-06-29T08:44:00.003-07:00

My Uncle Charles, grandfather, and my father were wonderful men. They all understood what it was to be a steward of the land, to do the right thing, treat people with dignity, and most important what family was. My grandfather, my father Joe, and my Uncle Charles were blessed to have very strong wives supporting their efforts.These are the attributes that only a family member will experience. Many friends of the family witnessed their lives, and are an integral part of it. The five men that contributed to this article and video are but just a small part of it. My father Joe is the last of his generation, and a wonderful generation they had. My father is a remarkable man, and I am blessed to have been able to work with him for the past 25+ years.

Charlie B Fraser

Charles and Mary Fraser

Charles Fraser’s Legacy to ULI

All copy and pictures are property of Urban Land Institute

by Trisha Riggs
June 25, 2013

Sea Pines Plantation around 1968, at the site of what is now the
18th hole, Jack Nicklaus, Donald O'Quinn Sea Pines Vice President for Land
Development, Charles Fraser and Pete Dye, designer of
Harbour Town Golf Links.

Charles Fraser; and Dye. In 1973, during a speech to the Atlanta chapter of the Financial Analysts Society, Sea Pines Company owner Charles Fraser speculated on the ramifications of America’s oil crisis for the resort industry. He described the company’s sensitivity to rising gas prices, including a variety of on-site offerings at the Sea Pines communities minimizing the need for vacationers and residents to drive once they arrived. It is our current assessment that our communities and operations can be adapted with reasonable comfort to the high-priced energy world ahead, and that any dislocations of our markets will be temporary and offset within a few months by new marketing strategies, transportation planning, and facility construction attuned to slower auto speeds and costly fuel. We will work harder. . . . The company will accelerate plans in each of these communities to have available 20 mph electric cars as an important means of guest, convention, and resident movement . . . along with shuttle buses. We will push for prompt use of any technological breakthroughs in solar heating, wind power generation, better insulation, and other means of coping with the energy crisis.
Fraser’s commitment to development practices that preserved the environment and conserved energy distinguished his communities—

Developers who jump to the conclusion that an area is ripefor a major, second-home development without living on or nearthe site for a year cannot understand a community. It’s crucialto see all the seasonal changes in climate, insects, and paceof life before investing in a location."—Charles Fraser, Urban Land, August 1995

from Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head to Palmas del Mar in Puerto Rico—as cutting edge. To those who worked for him, embracing the unconventional was the standard for working at Sea Pines—a pursuit typical of a man who learned from others’ work and ideas and kept abreast of every trend and phenomenon that might affect real estate. With an inclination for hiring the young and entrusting them with much responsibility, Fraser employed many budding real estate professionals who eventually became accomplished leaders in both the industry and ULI, including four who became ULI chairmen: James J. Chaffin, chairman of Chaffin Light Management in Okatie, South Carolina; J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman emeritus, Trammell Crow Residential, Dallas, Texas; Harry H. Frampton III, managing partner, East West Partners–Western Division, Avon, Colorado; and Peter S. Rummell, principal, the Rummell Company, Jacksonville, Florida.
A highlight of ULI South Carolina’s annual meeting at Hilton Head was a panel featuring Chaffin, Terwilliger, Rummell, and former ULI trustee James W. Light, chairman of Chaffin Light Management in Basalt, Colorado, who also worked for Fraser in Sea Pines’ early years. Each reflected on his experience during a panel moderated by former ULI trustee and Fraser protégé Diana Permar, president of Permar Inc. in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

"Charles had a voracious appetite for knowledge," said Chaffin, who described receiving endless stacks of "must read" files from his boss. "He was constantly tearing articles out of magazines; reading fed his creativity. He was inspired by what he saw and read. He was always digging for new information, and he made sure we saw it and were prepared to use it." Light recalled Fraser sending him on intelligence-gathering missions to James Rouse’s master-planned community of Columbia, Maryland, and to Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, developed by ULI founder J.C. Nichols. Fraser "was avid about getting out and seeing what else was going on," Light said. "He would ask people their opinions, and his ideas would evolve from that."

"Charles knew that good ideas can come from anywhere," Rummell said. "He would really pay attention; he listened to everyone. He taught us that new ideas don’t come from traditional sources and that you don’t just blindly go where the last person was."

Terwilliger noted Fraser’s curiosity. "Charles was never satisfied with doing something the way it always had been done," Terwilliger said. "He instilled in all of us the importance of being curious, to be expansive in the way we think, to get out there and find out what the new ideas are."

Fraser’s impact on real estate could be compared to the imprint that late Apple chief executive Steve Jobs had on communications, Terwilliger said. By designing communities with bike paths and minimal tree cutting, Fraser "created something people had not seen before. He conceived of what the customer would want before they knew they wanted it," he said.

Light said Fraser’s focus on the mission he established for the company was an inspiration. "Charles was absolutely clear about what he was doing with Sea Pines. He wanted buyers to know what he was committed to, that he was setting aside a substantial amount of land [more than one-quarter of the acreage at Sea Pines Plantation] for open space. The environment was part of his product. That clarity of mission made it a very appealing place to work."

Fraser introduced his employees to ULI by insisting that they attend the institute’s major events, particularly the annual fall meetings, instilling a loyalty that they passed on to their own staff members. "Charles was passionate about ULI, and it was expected that if you worked for him, you would join ULI. It became part of our DNA," Rummell said. "He saw ULI as a window into what was going on in other places. It was an efficient way for him to hear about what other people were doing."

"Charles was a sponge," added Chaffin. "ULI was the one place he could go to soak up knowledge and put it into practice."

Urban Land Institute video

Charles Fraser: Hilton Head Visionay

Tail Stalker Fishing Charters

2013-06-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

If you didn't know by now, I guess you will after this blog. I have a passion for fishing, and the last two years I have hired captains to run my Everglades 24 for hire. This year a young man who grew up with my son Elliott, Allick Inglis, is running the boat for me. He is a "River Rat" after my own heart. He grew up in the marshes and creeks of the lowcountry, and he would get Elliott to tag along with him as he went. So, if you live here on the island or are visiting, give us shot, because Allick can catch fish.

Redevelopment of Shelter Cove Mall

2013-04-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

Shelter Cove Towne Centre

Kroger officials break ground at Hilton Head mall redevelopment

Charlie Fraser, Associate Broker Remax Island Realty

The town finally gets it, we need major investment in our infrastructure on the island, the private communities are doing their part, but the town has not been doing the same job. If anything they have made it harder to improve properties. I must give Major Laughlin kudos for pushing for having a better vision for the island in regard to renovating properties. Now they need to relax some tax burden to attract more businesses to the island.
Below is the article from the Island Packet, and some conceptual plans for the Shelter Cove Town Centre.

By BRIAN HEFFERNAN — bheffernan@islandpacket.com

Developers released more details Wednesday about the Kroger Marketplace that will anchor one end of Hilton Head Island's new Shelter Cove Towne Centre, formerly the Mall at Shelter Cove.

New mall tenants were not identified, but an official with the company negotiating with prospective businesses said "advanced discussions" are under way.

The 87,588-square-foot Kroger will be the largest grocery store on Hilton Head, according to information distributed at a groundbreaking. The store will feature a Starbucks coffee kiosk; Murray's Cheese shop; a restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating; fresh sushi; a walk-in beer cooler; a "growler filling station," where people can fill up jugs with draft beer; a resident wine expert; a drive-through pharmacy; and an outdoor bicycle-repair station.

The development is a joint venture between Kroger Real Estate and Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial, a commercial development and real estate brokerage services company based in Augusta, Ga.

The Kroger is expected to open in early December, said Don Barnett of Kroger Real Estate. Collins and Arnold Construction of Atlanta will build the store.

"We see opportunity in the growing year-round population of this beautiful place ... and in the millions of visitors that return year after year," Kroger chief financial officer Mike Schlotman said.

Mayor Drew Laughlin called the development "a vote of confidence in the future of Hilton Head Island."

The Shelter Cove Towne Centre will be an outdoor mall, with several single-story shops, cafes and restaurants between Kroger on one end and Belk department store at the other. The shopping center will be bisected by a walking area that will have views of Broad Creek and lead to a relocated Shelter Cove Community Park. The town plans to split the cost of building the estimated $4.5 million park with the developers, but will pay no more than $2.25 million if the project exceeds its budget.

The 42-acre mall project, estimated to cost $74 million, will include 290,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and will be built in three phases, according to the release.

The grocery store, adjacent retail shops and restaurants on the northeastern half of the mall, and a Kroger gas station on the southwest end of the property will be built first.

The second phase includes building the shops on Belk's side of the mall and the park. A third phase -- still needing town approval -- would add 210 apartments east of the mall with views of Broad Creek.

The center is expected to create more than 450 jobs and generate $5.1 million in annual sales-tax revenue, according to the release.

No other stores or restaurants were confirmed Wednesday as mall tenants, but they could be announced in two to three months, said Matt Mills, senior vice president of Blanchard & Calhoun. The firm is in "advanced discussions" with several businesses, he said.

It's Alive !

2012-12-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

OK …. that sounds like a scary B rated horror show on the ScyFy channel. What it really is, is my “NEW” website …. hiltonhead4sale.com.

I hope you find a website that is easy to use and has the information you need to search for a property on Hilton Head or the greater Bluffton area. It is easy to search for oceanfront homes, golf view homes, marsh views, or for an oceanfront condo. Easy search for communities like Sea Pines Resort or Palmetto Dunes.

The site has information and listings on all the major communities on the island and in Bluffton. The site is a work in progress, and I will be adding information on an ongoing basis. For now, it is basically ready for anyone searching for a property. It is also a good place to research what is out there FOR SALE if you are considering listing your property.

Please enjoy, and sign up for a personal search that will notify you of any changes, just let me know your level of interest and that will determine how often you hear from me, because if you are like me “You don’t like pushy salesmen” I try and find a balance between the two.

Beaufort County reopening bidding for flyover project

2012-09-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

Beaufort County reopening bidding for flyover project

By CASEY CONLEY
cconley@islandpacket.com
843-706-8147
Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Beaufort County has gotten the green light from state and federal highway officials to reopen bidding for the Bluffton Parkway flyover bridge project.

Minor issues with contract language have been fixed, and the county expects to seek bids as soon as Friday, said Rob McFee, county director of infrastructure and engineering.

"The (bidding) will be open for 30 days. We will open and review the submitted bids the first week in October," he said, adding that the contract will go to the lowest "responsive and responsible bidder."

The flyover bridge project would start at Bluffton Parkway's intersection with Buckingham Plantation Drive and extend over the marsh between The Gatherings and Buckingham Landing. Ramps would connect either side of U.S. 278 leading to the foot of the Karl S. Bowers Bridge to Hilton Head Island.

Six contractors submitted proposals in June for the project, which is expected to cost about $31 million. However, those bids were returned unopened after S.C. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration officials required the county to change language in the contract.

That delayed the project by at least a month, but work is still expected to begin this fall.

McFee said the project will not result in daytime road closures on U.S. 278.

Brent Rewis, DOT program director in the Lowcountry region, said the revisions were necessary to ensure the contract met federal rules.

"These ... guidelines are required when federal funds are being used on a project. Some of these guidelines (and) procedures are different from how Beaufort County typically lets projects," he said in an Aug. 10 email.

Rewis confirmed Wednesday that the county was approved to begin seeking bids.

About $15 million in state and federal funding has been secured for the flyover. Additional money came from county 1-percent sales-tax revenues and impact fees.

McFee said the contract wording was tweaked, but the scope of the project was not. He doesn't expect the delay to result in fewer contractors vying for the work.

"Generally, the bidders are more concerned with regard to the design parameters and construction requirements than they are the owners' contract verbiage," he said.

Related content

Contract issues delay flyover construction start near Hilton Head, Aug. 9, 2012

Flyover bridge, S.C. 170 widening projects to begin this fall, June 24

Hilton Head council reluctantly supports flyover bridges, March 30, 2012

Copyright 2012 The Island Packet. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I wasn't quite sure about the flyover when it was first proposed, but it grew on me. I am now a believer in the flyover. It was a Saturday in the summer coming on the island I took the parkway and had recently read that it was finished until the flyover is built. We were directed down to the Moss Creek light and had to wait for a long time at that light. The flyover will bring a smooth entry into the island. My wife and I were talking about it as we approached the Cross Island Parkway, where we both noticed that the landscaping at the Cross Island has matured and the flyover is not some hideous concrete structure in the air, but instead a well landscaped buffer made it somewhat disappear.

I think we can do the same thing with the Bluffton Parkway flyover so that in five years it will not be as noticeable, and it will give you an alternative connection to Bluffton. So, we need to campaign hard for an extensive landscape budget for the flyover.

Challenges for Hilton Head Redevelopment

2012-09-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

Mathews Drive projects point to progress, challenges for Hilton Head redevelopment

By TOM BARTON
tbarton@islandpacket.com
843-706-8169
September 2, 2012

Slowly but surely, once-wary developers and businesses have taken another look at Hilton Head Island and dusted off plans put aside during the economic slowdown, particularly for projects near Mathews Drive.

Koji and Kimiko Shimada have spent about $100,000 updating their 16,000-square-foot retail center that includes the Yummy House at 2 Southwood Drive, replacing the outdated facade, installing a new sidewalk, repaving the parking lot and sprucing up landscaping.

Advanced Auto Parts recently got town approval to renovate a vacant building at the intersection of Shrimp Lane and Mathews Drive.

Dunkin' Donuts opened in March in a former bank building in the Southwood Plaza.

The area exemplifies the progress made and the challenges that remain as the town encourages rehabilitation of outdated properties, land management official Teri Lewis said.

Getting permits for new commercial developments used to be a slow, daunting process, Lewis said. But the process was streamlined last fall, and developers and architects say dealing with the town is now easier, faster and more predictable."We had a reasonably smooth process," said Tom Shimada, who is overseeing the work at Southwood Drive for his parents. "We are pretty happy with our dealings and interactions with the town."

Placing Advanced Auto was trickier, demonstrating the need to overhaul land restrictions and zoning -- a 15-month-long process that should soon be coming to a head, Lewis said.

The auto-parts company has hoped to open on Hilton Head for several years and had considered various options before settling on the Mathews Drive building because of its size, location and layout, according to town planners. The building, however, was zoned for light-industrial use, which allows auto rental and repairs but not retail sales, despite being beside a commercial corridor.

Town staff opposed rezoning the property, arguing that vacant commercial buildings nearby are suitably zoned. Town Council disagreed and approved the rezoning July 3.Town officials say the regulations, formed to slow rapid growth in the 1990s, are now hindrances for businesses and residents who want to update their properties.

Growth-management consultant Clarion Associates is rewriting the land-management ordinance and recent changes have made the planning code more flexible, but haven't done enough to remove obstacles, say members of a town committee guiding the consultant's work.

The committee hopes to show a draft of a revised land management ordinance to the public by the end of November -- one that consolidates zoning districts, allows a broader range of land uses and reduces building restrictions, said committee member David Ames.

"We're not throwing the baby out with the bath water," he said. "We're adding flexibility without sacrificing protection, providing broader options that aren't as constraining while conforming to core standards and character of this island -- blend with nature, protect the environment and manage tree cover as part of an island forest."

Follow reporter Tom Barton at twitter.com/EyeOnHiltonHead.

Related Content:
Hilton Head council changes vote, disallows commercial zoning: May 16, 2012
Consultants hope to help island remove development obstacles: Jan. 30, 2012

I for am pleased to see these properties getting the face lift, zoning changes, quality tenants, and much more. Our town was starting to look "BAD", and it can be blamed on the town and the LMO. We have to stand out or our town will become so, so. I for one don't want to see that happen to the island. We have been at a cross road for too many years with the commercial properties that were built before the LMO was established.

The Town of Hilton Head passed a 1/4% sales tax on real estate to buy properties. That program drove the price of commercial properties up so high that a private developer could not make a fair ROI with the land cost, the LMO regulations, the delays, the corridor review committee, the engineering cost, the wetland assessments and all the other things they had a developer do. The Town of Hilton Head made it even harder for an existing building that was not in compliance with the LMO to renovate. Our restrictions are way too hard for a viable commercial project to work.
The good news is that the Town of Hilton Head has gone back into the LMO and started to ease up on some of the restrictions that kept people from redeveloping their properties. A number of projects have taken place and are good examples of what we can do.

1. The Exxon Mobile at Coligny
2. Truffles Grill
3. Dunkin Doughnuts
4. The old Ace Hardware "Southwood Plaza" currently being renovated
5. Fuel & Bike Doc on New Orleans
6. The new Harris Teeter at Park Plaza
7. Sea Pines Center on Lighthouse Rd

All of these properties have made an impact on the overall look for the island. We still have a number of places that need work, like the Pope Avenue corridor, Palmetto Bay Rd, Office Park Rd, and New Orleans Rd.

The final hurdle for the island is accepting the new Shelter Cove Renovation, and trading some property so that the project has a better chance to make and impact on what we have.

No one has said it, but I believe part of our problem in getting a sponsor for the Heritage was in how bad the commercial areas looked. The buildings are old, and there is no incentive to improve them. This has created lower lease rates furthering the decline in the areas.

So remember the next time you complain about the commercial growth around you, remember too it means jobs, it increases the value of our residential and villa prices. Whereas with the decline of our commercial properties so goes the value of homes and villas. Along South Forest Beach RD, the condominiums that have maintained their properties with upgrades, renovations have maintained a higher value than the areas that are neglected.

It all comes together as one whole; we need good commercial properties to spur the prices of our homes and villas.

Copyright 2012 Charlie B. Fraser ReMax Realty

The Story Of Hilton Head South Carolina

2012-08-09T09:12:00.002-07:00

Charles Fraser documentary about Sea Pines and Hilton Head.

The Tarpon are upon us!!

2012-07-19T07:48:00.004-07:00

Tarpon season arrives in near-record fashion at Lady's Island

By GRANT MARTIN
gmartin@islandpacket.com
843-706-8145

Published Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Bobby Mack was fishing for shark in the waters off Lady's Island last weekend when line began tearing off his reel.
He grabbed his rod, and a two-hour battle -- and the unofficial start of tarpon season in the Lowcountry -- was under way.
Mack didn't realize it was a tarpon until the famously indefatigable fish made the first of many leaps in St. Helena Sound.
"I was surprised," said the Gaston resident, who was assisted by his stepfather, Jody Hutto. "I'd never caught, never even seen one before."
At 6 feet, 4 inches long and 127 pounds, Mack's first tarpon wasn't much smaller than the 154-pound state record caught off Hilton Head Island in 1987.
Its capture signals the start of a relatively short local season for the prized gamefish.
"That's probably one of the first ones to be caught here this summer," said David Harter, president of the Hilton Head Island Sportfishing Club. "They spend the bulk of their time off the coast of Florida."
They migrate up the coast in warmer months, Harter explained, following and preying on schools of menhaden, a smaller fish.
In summer months, Harter said, tarpon can travel all the way up to Maryland, though he called the waters off Beaufort County "one of the farthest-north dependable fisheries" for the species.
He added that the primary allure in tarpon fishing -- a favorite pastime of novelist Ernest Hemingway and baseball legend Ted Williams, both of whom had homes in the Florida Keys -- was the fight, not the food.
"They're worthless as a meal," Harter said, calling tarpon too bony and tough to enjoy. "But if you can get one to the boat of every five that you hook, you've done well."
Those hoping to land one have a relatively brief period to do so.
They're the last major gamefish to migrate up the coast each summer and among the first to leave, Harter said. They tend to leave in September as the water cools.

It is a shame they did not release this beautiful fish, however there are no regulations on not keeping the fish. I haven't run across too many people who eat them .... not sure I have. In the early days of the fishery they were killed all the time, today we do release them after getting a picture. A true die hard will not pull them out of the water when they are this big. I can remember in the 70's when we first started catching them that all catches were killed and brought to the dock. Catch and Release fishing is relatively new to the sport fishing world, and it certainly is not adhered to throughout our sport.

Owner Tail Stalker Charters

Tail Stalker Charters

Related content

Fishery Management Council votes to reopen red snapper fishery, June 18, 2012

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/18/2138973/tarpon-season-arrives-in-near.html#storylink=cpy

US builders start most new homes since Oct. 2008

2012-07-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Southern Beaufort County sees uptick in building permits; others see slight decline

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
The Associated Press

Published Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Email Article | Print Article | Feeds | | Search the Archive
Photo's courtesy of Island Packet

U.S. builders broke ground on the most new homes and apartments in nearly four years last month, the latest evidence that the housing market is recovering.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that housing starts rose 6.9 percent in June from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000. That's the highest since October 2008.

Locally, the numbers vary. Unincorporated Beaufort County issued 134 new permits between January and June 2011, and 107 during the same period this year. Another 10 permits were issued the first 15 days of July.

The numbers for the city of Beaufort are also slightly down for the year, with 14 new single-family residential permits between January and May 2011, and 12 during the same period this year.

Hilton Head Island, however, reports an increase of 17 housing permits. Through July 17 last year, it issued 28 permits. This year, the number rose to 45.

The town of Bluffton reported a slight uptick in permits earlier in the year, as well. The town issued 57 permits for new single-family houses during the first three months of 2012, compared with 50 during the same period last year. Town officials could not be reached Wednesday for updated statistics.

NATIONAL HOUSING REBOUND?

Single-family house starts nationally, which account for more than 70 percent of new residential construction, rose for the fourth straight month to a two-year high. Apartment starts, which can be volatile, increased after falling in May.

The number of permits to build homes, a sign of future construction, fell 3.7 percent to 755,000. But that's down from May's level, which was the highest since September 2008.

And permits to build single-family homes edged up to the highest level since March 2010. Permits to build apartments declined.

"This was a good report overall," said Martin Schwerdtfeger, an economist at TD Bank. He noted that permits remain high, which "suggests that the momentum in building activity observed in recent months should carry forward."

Single-family housing starts rose in every region of the country last month. Total starts, which include apartments, jumped 37 percent in the West and 22 percent in the Northeast, while falling in the Midwest and South.

Despite the gains, the level of housing starts and permits is roughly half what economists consider healthy.

Still, the beleaguered housing market is showing modest gains while the rest of the economy has weakened. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke highlighted the improvement Tuesday in an otherwise gloomy report to Congress on the economy.

Builder confidence has jumped since last fall in part because more people are expressing interest in buying a home. A measure of home-builder confidence rose to a five-year high, the National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday.

Cheaper mortgages and lower home prices in many markets have made home buying more attractive. Many economists believe that housing construction could contribute to overall economic growth this year for the first time since 2005.

New home sales rose in May to the fastest pace in more than two years. And while sales of previously occupied homes dipped in May, they were nearly 10 percent higher than a year earlier.

More home building also pushed up construction spending in May by the largest amount in five months.

Many people still have difficulty qualifying for home loans or can't afford larger down payments required by banks. That's holding back home sales.

The economy is growing only modestly and job creation has slowed sharply in the past three months. U.S. employers added an average of 75,000 jobs in that time, down from a pace of 226,000 in the first three months of the year.

Though new homes represent just 20 percent of the overall home market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes, according to data from the home builders association.

Gazette and Packet staff writer Erin Moody contributed to this report.

Related content

____________________________________________________________________

This is good news for buyers and sellers in Beaufort County. The housing industry is our biggest economic economic growth indicator. When building permits increase, all other business see increases too. The real estate market, lawyers, subcontractors, restaurants, rental companies, golf courses, car dealers, doctors, financial advisors, local banks, and a host of other business that are dependent on new home sales and resales. See my blog on What's HOT and What's NOT to find out what price range is selling very well right now.

Read more here: http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/07/18/2139007/us-builders-start-most-new-homes.html#storylink=cpy

6 mistakes homebuyers make with lowball offers

2012-07-16T13:43:00.002-07:00

6 mistakes homebuyers make with lowball offers
Increase your chances of buying a home for a steal by avoiding these errors.

By Amy Hoak of MarketWatch
© Comstock Images/Jupiterimages

For some home sellers, it's been a long year without a home sale. That means some buyers, smelling the desperation, may be able to cut a better deal.

Sellers who have had their homes on the market a long time are eager to move on, especially at this time of year, says Bill Golden, a real-estate agent with Re/Max in Atlanta. The closer it gets to the holidays, the more anxious unsuccessful sellers can become, he says.

Other sellers will choose to let their listings expire and try again next year. They, too, may be willing to make a deal in order to sell their properties, even if they're no longer actively trying to sell, says Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst for Paragon Real Estate Group in San Francisco. (Bing: How long do homes linger on the market in your area?)

The key to making an aggressive lowball offer on a home is to start by finding properties that have languished on the market for a long time. The softer the market, the more likely the strategy will work, Carlisle says.

But buyers can get tripped up. Here are six mistakes people commonly make when making a lowball offer.

1. Not understanding the market

Before submitting an offer, your real-estate agent should do a full comparative market analysis of the property to determine what its fair market value is, Carlisle says.

For instance, it's still a buyers market in the Richmond, Va., area, where Susan Stynes works as a real-estate agent for Long & Foster. Stynes says she wouldn't hesitate to encourage a client to make an aggressive offer, after considering the time the property has been on the market and neighborhood comparables.

On our blog, 'Listed': Cities where sellers are the least realistic

But in other markets, a low offer won't get you far, says Stephen G. Kliegerman, president of Halstead Property Development Marketing in New York. "In general, sellers today in Manhattan see that inventories are down, interest rates are historically low, and there is a pretty large appetite for purchase right now because of those factors. Sellers will hold closer to their asking prices," he says.

2. Not picking the right real-estate agent

Some real-estate agents caution buyers against making an offer that is so low it could offend the seller and halt negotiations. But sometimes agents are too reluctant to make aggressive offers, Carlisle says. They may be more focused on completing a deal and collecting their commission, rather than making the best deal, or their negotiation skills might not be up to par.

ADD REMAX VIDEO

"If it's an appealing, well-priced property that has five or six offers on it, well, going in 10% or 20% under asking isn't going to get you anywhere," he says. But on a property that has been overlooked by the market and doesn't have multiple bidders, it often doesn't hurt to go in low.

MSN Money: Hidden costs of homeownership

3. Not backing up your price

There's an art to presenting an offer that's substantially less than the asking price. A low offer could start negotiations off on the wrong foot if you're not careful, Golden says. The key is for you or your agent to explain the offer when presented.
"Sellers want to know why you're coming in so low. Include recent (comparable sales in the area) or issues with the property that validate why your offer is so low," he says. Don't be too harsh with your criticism, however — that can also work against you.

4. Not knowing what you're willing to pay

Buyers these days have a strong motivation to get the best possible price on a property, especially if they believe that home values will fall even more, says Jay Butler, professor emeritus of real estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Their biggest worry is often that people will say they overpaid, he says.

But sellers have limits, too, most often dictated by the amount of home equity they have, Butler says.

Before negotiations begin, it's important for a buyer to decide what his walk-away price is, Carlisle says. "At some price point, the deal is no longer worth doing, no matter how great the property."

What's the lowest interest rate you can get?
ReMaqx Island Realty is in partnership with Wells Fargo ..... email Sue Hess for rate quote.

While a buyer should know how high she is willing to go, don't put limits in the first offer, Kliegerman says. You lose integrity if you say it's your "best and final" offer, but then are willing to come up with a few thousand dollars more in order to buy the property.

5. Not making a clean and easy offer

When you make a low bid, you want other elements of the offer to be attractive to the seller. And a deal that can close quickly will often have appeal.

Make sure there are as few contingencies as possible, Golden says. It's best if buyers don't have a home to sell in order to buy the one they're bidding on, Stynes says.

Read: How to craft a lowball offer

Also, have your financials in order from the start. Loan qualification is more difficult these days, so it's important to have a lender preapproval letter, Carlisle says.

6. Assuming cash will always get you the best deal

Cash is king, but in the end, a seller often wants the most money for his home — regardless of whether the buyer needs a mortgage or not. So don't think making an all-cash bid will automatically mean an accepted offer.

Find homes for sale in your price range

That said, if the seller is a bank because the property is a foreclosure, the institution may accept a lower offer from a cash buyer, as opposed to someone who needs a mortgage, Golden says. Banks often don't want to deal with mortgage-related delays.

copyright MSN.Real Estate 2012

April 2012 Market Update

2012-05-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Experience Matters

2012-05-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have joined Re/Max

2012-03-15T08:17:00.001-07:00

I have joined Re/Max Island Realty as an Associate Broker. I made this move in order to better serve my clients and customers with a National Brand supporting my efforts. I will continue to specialize in Resort Residential Real Estate and Commercial/Investment real estate. I am excited about joining the team at Re/Max and look forward to selling properties on the island. Call me if I can help you sell or buy a property. If you are not in the market referrals are the best form of flattery. [visit my website at the top of the page]

Rezoning OK'd for Shelter Cove Mall

2011-11-29T09:07:00.001-08:00

By TOM BARTON
tbarton@islandpacket.com
843-706-8169
IslandPacket
Published Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Three properties off William Hilton Parkway near Palmetto Dunes could be used for additional retail uses if a request approved Wednesday by the Town of Hilton Head Island Planning Commission is adopted.

The commission voted unanimously to change the zoning of a vacant building, shopping center and office building from low-density office and park use to a higher-density commercial center.

The change allows uses that include retail and auto sales, shopping center, bar, nightclub, dance studio, convenience store, tattoo parlor, supermarket and community theater. Fast-food restaurants, adult entertainment, liquor store and auto repair among others are permitted with special exception under the zoning change.

Dale Johnson made the request on behalf of Wayne Johnson, Southcoast Community Bank and South Island Square LLC.

Johnson said his clients have been unable to sell or lease the vacant medical building, which has been empty since 2007. Rezoning the area to allow commercial business will make it easier to market the properties, according to Johnson and town staff.

Town staff argue — and commissioners agreed — that despite the current zoning, the area is commercially oriented. Uses under the rezoning would not be different from what’s already there, they said. Across from the properties are a hotel, bank, restaurant and gas station.

Town council earlier this year approved a separate rezoning request for two nearby properties for retail use.
“The (low-intensity office use created by the zoning district) has not worked for this area, which has a lot of commercial uses that pre-date implementation of the zoning district,” said senior town planner Nicole Dixon. “The district functions as a commercial area, and I don’t expect that to change.”

The existing zoning district was established to minimize the effect of travel on the streets, encourage better compatibility in and among land uses on the island and provide a balance among land-use types along major corridors, Dixon said.

Town staff and commissioners said access to the site off of William Hilton Parkway seems adequate and believe the town needs to do a better job helping owners develop and redevelop their properties.

Joann and John Binkley, whose Palmetto Dunes home is next to one of the properties, spoke against the rezoning. The couple said they were concerned retail use of the properties would disturb nearby homeowners through increased noise, traffic and light.

The issue moves to Town Council’s Planning and Development Standards Committee Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. before going to the full council for final approval.

Follow staff writer Tom Barton at twitter.com/EyeOnHiltonHead.

Read more: http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/09/07/1783963/town-commission-oks-rezoning.html#ixzz1XNlorHET

I am glad to see that the Town of Hilton Head Island is finally seeing what they have done to the commercial sites on Hilton Head Island. We have lost our focus on what is important for a strong and healthy community. We need vibrant business to succeed, and the Town has made it very difficult and expensive to do it. They want a balance between natural looks and lower density.

The natural look is fine for residential communities, but it is not what makes for a vibrant commercial area. Commercial areas, need to have a spark, something to attract people, things for people to do, and if a large enough space a combination of residential and commercial.

The town is finally starting to see this, but they have a long way to go. We need higher density and square footage for a true commercial property to succeed, and a town willing to help make it happen.

New Conceptual Plans for Coligny Plaza

2011-11-29T08:49:00.001-08:00

b>By TOM BARTON
tbarton@islandpacket.com 843-706-8169
Published Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Town Council heard a presentation by Mark Baker of plans prepared by Wood + Partners Inc. on behalf of J.R. Richardson, owner of Coligny Plaza.

Richardson hired consultants last spring for a two-day design and planning session with town staff and council members. Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial of Augusta, Ga., owners of Heritage Plaza, also brought in architects to sketch scenarios for the village center concept.

Each have submitted plans to the town, but Baker on Tuesday called the drawing presented to council “a consensus plan” between the two. Neither Richardson, whom Baker said was out of town, nor representatives for Blanchard & Calhoun were at the meeting.

Coligny, Private/Public "Beach Village" The plan, similar to a town staff proposal last December, uses a mix of town land and private holdings in Heritage and Coligny plazas to turn the area into a park-like setting, with plazas interspersed between outdoor cafes, shops and restaurants with condos and apartments above.

“People love the pedestrian scale and small commercial plazas, kiosks and gazebos of the Coligny area,” Baker told council. “J.R. really wanted to keep that walkable, pedestrian commercial village.” The plan nixes a previous town proposal to divert Pope Avenue around a quarter-mile stretch of park in favor of using a new roundabout and narrower roadway to slow traffic through the area, and adding on-street parking, crosswalks and improved leisure pathways.

The new plan also calls for extending Lagoon Road south of Pope Avenue and creating a side street on either side of Pope Avenue that connects Lagoon to South Forest Beach and North Forest Beach Drives.

“We believe the improved street patterns will enhance circulation through the area,” Baker said.

Coligny Private/Public "Beach Village" Concept two

The plans also call for placing a hotel and parking garage at the southwest corner of Coligny Circle, which would be turned into a green entryway to the beach. Baker asked the town to hire a financial planner to prepare an economic impact study, cost assessment and strategy for establishing a public-private partnership to pursue redevelopment.

Mayor Drew Laughlin said council will discuss the plan at its upcoming workshop the first week of December when it outlines priorities for next year. “I don’t know that I’ve seen a plan yet where I like everything, but this plan, along with others, has a lot of good features,” Laughlin said after the meeting. “We need to start getting these plans into the public domain so people can start reacting to them. … There is a sense of urgency that grows daily. But, if we can get to the point where we know conceptually where we are going with this, then we can start implementing pieces of it.”

Redeveloping the area has been a top priority for years. The town faces a December 2014 deadline to commit millions of dollars collected for improvements in a special tax district as a way to breathe new life into the area.

Redevelopment of the beach park has produced more and better public space, but not enough to create the walking district the area is zoned to become, town staff and council members have said. More needs to be done to increase pedestrian safety and their access to the beach and nearby shops, town manager Steve Riley said.

Related Content

1.Hilton Head looks to retool land-buying program to spark redevelopment: Aug. 31, 2011

2.Hilton Head, USCB explore turning troubled property into green space: July 4, 2011

3.Island faces deadline for using Coligny-area redevelopment funding: May 5, 2011

Follow reporter Tom Barton at twitter.com/EyeOnHiltonHead

If all the property owners and qualified community input can come together to create a “Beach Village” where Coligny Plaza, Heritage Shopping Center and public lands along Pope Avenue can come to agreement on a plan then it would be good for the island. If it is only a piece meal project it will not take care of all the blight that is currently in the area. Sixty years of old buildings need to be torn down and rebuilt, if it means the town buys up property and works with several developers then I am all for it. We need a high-end “public gateway” to the beach.

I personally think their should be residential above the commercial, ideally in the form of lofts. However, I am skeptical that town council and the developers can come together to create such a “gateway to the beach”

Go Orchid "Our next Food Network Star"

2011-06-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite restaurants on the island is One Hot Mama's serving great lunches and dinner. They have great Bar-B-Que and one of the nicest owners in Orchid paulmeier. This past winter she competed on Food Networks Star show and last night was the first one, the judges loved her bubbly smile, her food, her camera presence.

Follow her each week on Sunday nights.

Orchid Paulmeier, 38 (Bluffton, S.C.), a first-generation American from a Filipino background, started her culinary career as an ice cream scooper in high school, and only went up from there. She’s worked as a general manager, head trainer and personal chef and now owns One Hot Mama’s restaurant in Hilton Head Island, S.C. This outspoken mother of three prides herself on her Southern barbecue and is well-known locally for her wings and ribs.

I personally think she will win ... Go girl ... go ... move over Paula their is a new kid on the block !!

Charlie B Fraser 2011

The Short of the story!!

2010-11-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

On when the Shark bites !! Do you feel like the sharks are circling around the sinking ship? For, far too many that is what is happening, between short sales, foreclosures and REO’s it’s a feeding frenzy out there.

What can be done, you want to buy a home, but your not sure where to turn. You heard a friend say he had a friend who got a great deal on a foreclosure, so you start to think the foreclosures are the way to go. Let’s get a few facts and terminology out of the way first.

The time line is simple by nature, but starts to get cloudy as different variables come into the equation.

[1] If an owner is upside down on a property, in other words he/she owe more than the home is worth, they are going to have two (2) options.

Option 1: Negotiate with their bank for a lower rate, maybe extend the terms, and manage their monthly expenses.

Option 2: Work with an experienced team of Realtor’s and attorneys to sell their property in a Short Sale situation. (This is the best way for someone who is trying to sell their PRIMARY residence) An experienced team: Realtor and Attorney can help negotiate with the bank, price the property to sale, and deal with the bank when an offer comes through.

[2]If an owner for whatever reason waits too long, or has an investment/2^nd home, the bank will begin the foreclosure process (obviously if the owner is behind in their payments). Typically it is thirty days, and the bank can and will pull it from the court if in that time frame the owner makes payments, or gets an offer for a short sale. A short sale is better for the bank and the owner, but is harder for a buyer.
Once the property goes to foreclosure, and a judge rules in favor of the bank the property becomes an REO of the bank (REO = Real Estate Owned) The term foreclosure is bantered about very loosely, yet it means a onetime event, when the bank takes possession of the property.
[3]Once the property becomes an REO it is sent to the banks Asset Management Department, which could be an internal division or a private company the bank contracts with. The Asset Manager will begin the process of evaluating the property. What shape is it in? What is the true value of the property? What are the market conditions in the neighborhood?
Once the Asset Manager has evaluated the property they will begin selecting the Realtor that they feel can best market the property.

Advertising the property, a viable list of prospects, a specialization in REO’s and a particular neighborhood.

The agent may be required to spend money on cleaning the property, frequent trips to the property to oversee maintenance work, advising the bank on additional items that might help sell the property.

So how does all this affect a buyer?

SHORT SALES: Short Sales take more time, and can become very emotional. There are three parties involved: Owner, Buyer and Mortgagor. The Mortgagor technically does not have the authority to convey title, but they are the last one with the authority to accept or reject an offer. In all Short Sales, the contract will say: “Subject to 3^rd Party Approval” The Short Sale can typically take anywhere from 90 to 180 days to close. So, it is not for someone who needs a place in 45 days.

REO: An REO is typically a more traditional transaction. The bank has determined a range of value, they have assessed what will need to be done to the property and have either agreed to do it or sell it “AS IS” SO BUYER BEWARE!

GETTING FINANCING: The final piece of the puzzle is financing, obviously a CASH OFFER IS KING, but if you need to finance the property keep in mind that you will need a qualification letter, a certificate of funds at the time of the contract. Once the bank has countered and approved on the price and terms, they will want to do their own contract. Please have your attorney review it before signing the contract. It would be best to have at lease a 75/25 LTV ration in a mortgage, and a credit rating over 750 with income that can be verified. The underwriters, thanks to our government, will be asking for information in duplicate, and if anything changes they will ask again. So be nice to your loan officer and ask questions, don’t get mad, be patient.

Good article on buying Short Sales

http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Three-Secrets-Of-Buying-A-Short-Sale-Home-To-Live-In/1693381

Article about REO’s

http://www.ehow.com/facts_6123676_reo-sales_.html

http://www.sooperarticles.com/real-estate-articles/buying-home-articles/reo-properties-safer-bargain-2453.html

Home Affordable Modification Program http://www.theobamahamp.com/

The last thing I would say is that buying a property from an individual is still the easiest way to buy real estate. Financing for a purchase is going to be consistent throughout the entire process. An owner/buyer sales transaction has less emotion once the contract has been negotiated, and in today’s market an owner that is not in a short sale has been taking care of their property, and what you see in the property is going to be there when you purchase the property. So, keep in mind when looking at property look at the properties that are not REO’s, you might find out you are getting a better deal.

So, let Barry Ginn or Charlie Fraser help you to find a good deal on Hilton Head Island or surrounding lowcountry area.

A"Lifestyle" that is fading into our past!!

2010-11-02T12:37:00.001-07:00

The other day while driving home from Charleston, fusing about the traffic from the widening of Hwy 17 I realized that a part of the lowcountry was going to disappear. A change in time was taking shape in the form of old buildings in disrepair, not that it had not already been slowly going away, but actual buildings that I had taken for granted through the forty plus years that I have traveled that road were falling to rot or progress. In this case it seems it might be a little of both. The buildings are in disrepair, and Hwy 17 is being widened between Garden’s Corner and Tarboro, SC. I decided I would stop and take a few pictures and think about the times that were. Along Hwy 17 it crosses the Ashepoo River and on either side of the bridge there are the remains of old fish camps. On one side is Joe's Fish Camp, and on the other is Crosby's Fish Camp. They have a couple of old river cottages that are built on pilings overlooking the river, and today they are all that remain of a time when on the weekends the rooms would be full, the bait shop would have a crowd talking about where to go the next morning. The crickets and frogs would be in full orchestra as the sunset on Friday night, and the men would call it an early night and get ready to go fish on Saturday. They would fish for bream, crappie, catfish and the occasional bass. They would all come back Saturday afternoon with a full stringer of fish.

Saturday night would be the social night, the day's catch would be fried up, along with plenty of local vegetables, and of course grits. Some of the fish camps had the best restaurants around a community and Sunday lunch after church would bring out everyone in their best church going clothes for local seafood. I remember as a young kid, of four years old, our family driving thirty minutes or more to go to a local seafood restaurant down in Midway, GA Liberty County Sunday after church. I would always get the fried shrimp. That restaurant had a pond in back, and Mom would let us go feed the ducks bread that the restaurant provided to keep the children happy and quiet.

Just up the road from the fish camps located on the Ashepoo River is an old Texaco station that today is falling apart, but at one time it served the community surrounding this area. It is located at the intersection of Hwy 17 and River Road. River Road leads into to Walterboro, and in the late 50's and early 60's when Crosby's Fish Camp was in full swing, many a fisherman would stop in at the Texaco for gas, and other supplies they might not find at the fish camp store.

Why have I been telling this tale of two old fish camps, it is because they are widening Hwy 17 to make way for our busy lives and the population explosion that has occurred in the south. These buildings might be lost for everyone once they finish widening the road, and I wanted to have one last memory of this once peaceful road between Beaufort and Charleston along Hwy 17. I might need to make a trip down Hwy 17 in Georgia, and see what remains of those fish camps that once populated Hwy 17 along the coastal communities of Georgia (Like the Cherokee Restaurant that I went to as a kid in Midway, GA), and complete my lowcountry tour of “Fish Camps”.

Today a new way of life has sprouted out of the changing times, and people come by bus with trailers full of kayaks for day trips along the Ashepoo River, or some might even enjoy an overnight camping trip. The boat ramps are open for fisherman, but the bait & tackle stores are no longer open. It is a pay as you play. Whatever the occasion the river still calls us to its beauty and charm, weather it is for a day of fishing or kayaking along the banks. As I have always said "A DAY ON THE RIVER IS BETTER THAN A DAY AT WORK !!"

In researching for history on South Carolina Fish Camps, I came across countless entries for places all over the country from California, Washington, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Texas. It wasn’t regarding the history, but fish camps still open. If the fish camp was no longer a viable operation then it usually had turned into a full fledge restaurant operation still serving food in an old fish camp location. They once were thriving true "Fish Camps" but today are tourist attractions with either a good restaurant or one that has seen its day. They still all have one thing in common, the history of fishing, camaraderie, and being on the river.

The other item that I found through my research, and I have certainly seen this in many developments but one in particular stands out for me. Old fish camps have given architects and developers another tool to attract people to a way of life in a particular area. The “Lifestyle” of the lowcountry is engrossed in these old traditions. One such project is not far from the Ashepoo River on Kiawah Island just south of Charleston. There the architects helped the developers capture the feel for the old "fish camp" through the Vanderhorst family, who for many years owned Kiawah and had numerous properties scattered around the island, and one of was the "Old Fish Camp". It is a great example of modern day qualities capturing the feel for the days of the “Fish Camp” Enjoy the link and learn about the modern fish camp. http://gardenandgun.com/article/modern-fish-camp

FISH FRY DINNER

Fresh fillet's of redfish
Zatarain's fish fry mix, add Old Bay, salt & Pepper, little cayenne. a little cumin and apply generously to fish fillets. Bring oil to 350 degrees and gently put seasoned fillets in oil (it takes about 4-6 minutes per fillet)
Garlic Grits .... this is a link to Paula Dean's recipe .. enjoy http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-garlic-cheese-grits-recipe/index.html
Cole Slaw: Cabbage, red onion, carrots and Marie's Cole Slaw Dressing. It's easy mix ingredients and add dressing, chill until ready to serve, salt & pepper to taste ...... I like to add a sprinkle the top with paprika for taste and color, or get bold and use the Old Bay. Chop onions up fine, and shave carrots.

Invite friends over and have a good ole fish fry, it is best to do it outside if you can. More fun that way!!

This is one of the many reasons why I love the lowcountry, and I have an even better time helping people make the lowcountry their home. Barry Ginn and I have teamed up to help you find the perfect lowcountry home. We have a very good knowledge of the lowcountry, Hilton Head Island and would love to share it with you. Call us today!!

copyright Content and Photographs by Charlie B Fraser 2010