Our local Market - WOW!

Summerville's real estate is HOT

The real estate market in Charleston and Summerville (actually all 3 counties) in 2015 was awesome and record setting.  It was the 3^rd busiest year ever in sales.  We sold 15,486 residential units with a record median sales price of $235,000.  Back in the crazy days of 2007, we sold 18,000 units but the median sales price was only $210,000.  The best news is that we are still undervalued and have lots of room for appreciation.  My trend line back to 1991 shows that we should be above $250,000 right now, but we are still making up lost ground from the recession years of 2008-2011.  Another important note is that prices only increased about 5.5% over 2014.  That’s great, but more importantly it’s reasonable and shows that the tighter lending practices put in place after the recession have been doing their job of keeping things under control.

We set an all time record in the spring with over 400 properties going under contract in one week and repeated that feat 4 times during the spring.  Generally, any time 200 properties go under contract in a week is considered a very good week.  36 of the 52 weeks had over 300 under contract and only the first and last week of the year had under 200.

Our current inventory is very low with less than 5000 homes for sale.  I haven’t seen a number like that since 2007.  At the height of the recession we had over 11,000 homes for sale and were only selling about 8500 per year.  Overall months of inventory(MOI) is below 4.  Six months of inventory represents a balanced market.  So, this is certainly a sellers market. 

People from all over the world are moving here to make Charleston their home.  We’ve gotten a lot of positive press including being voted number one city in the world to visit and number one city in the US for 4 consecutive years.  Boeing has been the big job producer but there is also a new Volvo plant coming.  And the Silicon Harbor label has just gotten stronger with several hundred software companies calling Charleston home.  So, new construction has become very popular to these newcomers since inventory is so low.   And the boundary of our area seems to be going further out with new communities popping up on the outskirts of the edges in Summerville, Mt Pleasant, and rural West Ashley.  If you have not checked our new Summerville Communities such as Nexton, Carnes Crossing, Summer's Corner, etc you should - they are pretty impressive.  New construction now makes up over 41% of what we currently have under contract.  Short sales and foreclosures, leftovers from the recession, are fairly insignificant now.  They only total 4% of our active inventory and only make up about 8% of what’s under contract.

What does 2016 hold in store for us?  I see more of the same as 2015.  Lots of people moving here and lots of new construction.  Maybe we’ll set a record for sales this year with over 18,000 units sold.  I would imagine that median sales price will again rise a modest 5-6%, limited somewhat by the tighter lending practices.  We have a new mayor  here in Summerville and Charleston has a new mayor for the first time in 40 years.  Mayor Joe Riley has left us in the very capable hands of John Tecklenberg and Mayor Collins has been replaced by now Mayor Wiley Johnson.  We have new businesses and restaurants popping up all over town and this means more families will call us "home."  We are so blessed to live in this great town of Summerville and so close to the Holy City of Charleston - America's number one city.

If you'd like to know what your home may be worth, how to stage it better to sell or interested in up-sizing or downsizing let me know and I'd be happy to help you out.

-Jason

For Sale By Owner

FSBO or Hire Jason

     You're saying "Right, this Realtor is really going to be tell me to sell my house on my own."  Well, yes and no. I'm going to educate you on the ins and outs of a FSBO and then you decide. Recently, I made fliers for a home that was on the market FSBO just to help the guy out because he was kind enough to hear me out on why he should list with me. Turned out he was an old real estate agent and actually knew what he was doing which is very rare when I encounter a FSBO.  Back in the day I was naive enough to think I could sell my home yet I had no knowledge base, experience or time to do it. Knowing what I know now and having a wife and daughter I would never sell on my own if I were not an agent.
     There are a lot of reasons to NOT sell FSBO and then there are some good reasons to try so keep reading.

1. As a husband and father of a teen girl I would never want strangers looking through my home - especially if I were not there.  Safety is my number one concern and it's becoming a more dangerous world out there. I don't want my girls in our home with strangers touring it and putting themselves at risk. 
2. Did you know Realtors are required to have with a background checks to practice?  You know buyers in your home are in trustworthy hands when a Realtor is present and not having strangers peering through your windows wondering what you have and looking to see what type of floors you have. 
3. Most people have no idea what a good agent does and trust me - it's very time consuming. If you work and are not home to take care of these things you will not sell your home. Here are a few of the tasks you'd have to do with any chance at selling your home

•  Find and schedule an appraisal - you don't know how to read the market, know your comps, compare your property to others and your emotions will not allow you to be unbiased in your home.  I just heard yesterday, "My neighbor sold for $xxxxxx.00 and my home is much nicer. Wrong! Everyone thinks their home is worth more than it is.  I do not value your home - the comps do!!!! You need an unbiased opinion and skin thick to hear the truth.  
• Find and contact an attorney that works in real estate. You need to protect yourself but do you have the time to go out and interview multiple attorneys?
• Keeping your home show ready!  You have to do this anyways but when you do FSBO you will have strangers knock on your door at any given moment. With an agent you can schedule electronically in a program called Showtime when you are not available or don't want the house shown. No random door knockers or strangers peering in your windows. 
• Do you know all the documents you need and contracts required to buy and sell? If not - use an agent because you don't want to get sued. 
• Usually a buyer will get a home inspector but it's always good to get your own and make the appropriate fixes ahead of time. Please hire a professional to do these repairs and keep the receipts. Recently a seller made his own repairs because he thought he was the tool man and the deal almost fell through because of it. 
• You'll end up paying a buyer's commission anyways so you might as well get a listing agent.  All commissions are negotiable but many buyer's agents want 3% and if you are not willing to pay this you cut your showings by about 90%.That other 3% (if that is the price negotiated) for a listing agent definitely pays itself off in liability, time saved, less stress, more time to go fishing or shopping and more money.  Often times when a buyer sees a FSBO they will either forgo even talking to you because you are not represented or give you a low-ball offer because they feel they can automatically offer you at least 6-10% under the listing price. 
• How good are your negotiation skills?  If you are not confident in your skills and you are up against an experienced agent you better have your A-game on.  You are going to negotiate price, repairs, closing costs, time-frame, closing date and more. 
• If you don't put your home on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) you are losing opportunities by the minute. You can pay a company to put your home on our local MLS but many of those don't look professional because you used your cell phone for the pics and took a picture of your toilet instead of your backyard (I saw this on the MLS). I just saw a home listed FSBO and they marketed berber carpet.  I'm sorry but berber carpet has not been popular in a long time.
• Do you have time to host open houses and properly market your home. A good agent will use 1% of the sales price to market your home. A good agent (me) has an internet strategy, email strategy, communications strategy and a good mail campaign as part of their marketing. Are you willing to do all this or do you even know how?

In our market we have about 9% of homes FSBO.  Statistics say only 10% of FSBO homes will sell on their own. So, you list your home in March as a FSBO and then in August you decide to use an agent.  Ooooops - you just missed the hottest season of the year and now you will make less money because buyers will come and see it's been on the market for 5 months so they offer you less.  Are you willing to take less money and more time to sell your property? If so - by all means then try FSBO but if you want to get the most money in the least amount of time call me so we can set a plan. If you are experienced in real estate, understand the contracts, have the time to market yourself and know an appraiser, attorney and inspector then I say give it a shot and see if you can't save yourself a few percent on the sale.   

If you need help, want more information, or want to see what your home is worth give me a call.

-Jason Gregg

843.696.8627

Jason.Gregg@kw.com

www.palmettodreamhomes.com                                                            

Looking Behind or Ahead?

Wow, can you believe it?  2016 has arrived and 2015 is behind us and in all honesty it's a good thing 2015 is behind us.  It was a pretty rough year for the Low Country. Here are a few of the things I can come up with regarding 2015 that I am glad are behind us:

• Thousand year flood with devastating effects such as 19 dead, numerous homes lost and millions in damages
• Dylan Roof's racist ideology that ended 9 lives at the Emanuel Church
• The shooting of Walter Scott
• Too many murders/shootings
• Elections (especially the drama here in Summerville between Johnson and Collins)

But, in all this tragedy came life and hope here in our town.  Charleston, SC did not become Ferguson or Baltimore because we forgave and our leaders handled the situation with respect.  It was inspiring to watch the survivors and family of the Emanuel Church tell Dylan Roof he was forgiven (click HERE for the video) and this is what makes us different. In the eyes of hatred we can forgive.  

Here are some positive things I have witnessed and these are what we need to remember:

• Forgiveness and justice
• Reconciliation of marriages and relationships
• Community banding together to help flood victims
• Churches helping the community
• Our amazing real estate market
• Charleston being one of the best cities again to visit and live in
• MUSC saving lives
• Our public educators changing lives
• decreasing unemployment
• and people finding their dream homes and selling their homes all while making a profit

I look forward to 2016 both personally and professionally. I am excited to see what is going to happen in our town with a new mayor, see what new businesses pop up (there are so many already opening and coming such as Dunkin' Donuts, Earth Fare, Krispy Kreme, Top Dawg Tavern, Palmetto Armory, Crust and so much more). Our little town is growing at an exponential pace and I know many of you are saying, "what about the traffic?" I'm with you!!!  I really hope we can get some of it under control. 

2016 for me is a new start. As I start to work on getting even more new clients, list more houses, and help more buyers find their dream home I know I can make a difference. I love what I do and this is why I am so excited for this year.  Please let me know if you are looking to buy or sell or even have any questions regarding real estate.  I see too many agents that are not good at what they do and I pride myself  by working with strong ethics, character and excellent communication skills.  These set me apart from the "List it and forget it" agents and I'm good at what I do. Give me a call at 843.696.8627 or see my site at www.palmettodreamhomes.com.

Let's make 2016 better than 2015!

-Jason

Busy week in the Ville

Love the costume at the Summerville tree lighting

     My family and I were able to make it out to the Tree Lighting which was so much fun.  I could not believe all the people and it just goes to show that Summerville is one of the fastest growing areas in South Carolina.  It was wall to wall people but everyone was in a great mood and enjoying the festivities.  I was entertained by young children singing Christmas music, I got full eating free cookies (I always enjoy free cookies), enjoyed seeing some costumes, and checked out all the tents and booths.  There were also some great Christmas trees that were well decorated.  This is what's great about living in a small/medium town.  It's not too large to do these fun events, you always see people you know and yet it's not so huge you are miserable being there.  The only drawback was finding a parking spot.  Afterwards we enjoyed some Kickin Chickin.
    I hope some of you are going to the Parade on 12/12.  Go early to get a parking spot.  Here are some pics of the Tree Lighting.

They do a great job in Summerville for Christmas

the Free Cookies

                            Merry Christmas
                            Summerville, SC

             Easy on the Egg Nog

Tis' the Season - for Real Estate!!!!

Summerville, SC Christmas Tree

The holiday season is upon us here in the Holy City.  We had 70 degree temps and beautiful weather for Thanksgiving.  It’s often the same for Christmas, but there’s always a chance for a cold snap.  There will be all sorts of holiday parades and Christmas tree lighting's.  And of course the James Island County Park’s 26th Annual Festival of Lights has already started and will run through New Year’s Day.  The Gaillard Auditorium has been completely renovated and they say the acoustics are world class.  Here is a list of December events in Summerville and around town:

December Events:

1: Summerville Christmas Tree Lighting at 6:00

3-5:  A Living Christmas Story at Bethany United (Summerville)

2-20: A Christmas Story, Dock Street Theatre

4-6: Christmas Candlelight Services, Citadel’s Summerall Chapel, 7:30pm

4-20: Miracle on 34th Street, Footlight Players Playhouse

5-6: Nutcracker Ballet, Gaillard

5-20: Charleston Christmas Special, Music Hall

5: Tree lighting, Marion Square

5: 15th Annual Christmas Concert, Ashley River Baptist Church

6: Christmas at the Sotille with Charleston Men’s Chorus, 44 George St

6: 35th Annual Charleston Christmas Parade, 2pm Marion Square

6: Christmas Concert by CSO Brass Ensemble, St Thomas Episcopal

6: David Sanborn, N Chas PAC

8: Jill Scott, N Chas PAC

10-12: Handel’s Messiah by CSO, Gaillard

12: Folly Beach Christmas Parade

12: Parade of Boats, Maritime Center

12: 25th Annual Reindeer Run

12: 38th Annual Kiawah Marathon

13: Summerville Christmas Parade at 2:00

13: Mt Pleasant tree lighting and parade

17: HipHop Nutcracker, N Chas PAC

17: Summerville Third Thursday

17: Country Unplugged, Gaillard

18: Christmas with the Charlestones(a cappella), St Matthews Lutheran

19: Nexton's Cocoa Cup 5K

2: Judy Collins, Chas Music Hall

22-23: Elf the Musical, N Chas PAC

24: Moscow Ballet’s Nutcracker, N Chas PAC

27: Blue Dogs, Chas Music Hall

31: Edwin McCain, Chas Music Hall

31: Viennese New Years Eve Ball, Black tie Gaillard

Our real estate market continues to set records each week for buying activity for this time of year.  We always have a seasonal slow down starting some time in October and usually lasting through February.  While we have slowed down from the incredible summer pace, we are still far ahead of years past for this time of year.  We are up 14% in terms of number of transactions  over 2014 YTD and will likely surpass 15k residential units sold by the end of 2015.  That will be our 3rd busiest year ever.  Low mortgage rates continue to encourage buyers to move forward.  And median sales price is up about 5.2% and is pretty stable right now around $230k-$235k.  New construction makes up about 40% of what we currently have under contract.  It is much higher than that in specific areas like Goose Creek, Johns Island, and north Mt Pleasant.  Short sales and foreclosures percentages are now low enough that they are not really relevant anymore.

As always please allow me to your Realtor and Real Estate consultant and have a great December and Merry Christmas.  Call me at 843.696.8627

A true story of a Summerville Scam

How do I know this is a true story?  It happened to me this week when I went to the Meineke at the Car Pros Plaza located on Trolley Rd.  A few months ago they had a deal that I pay one price and I get 4 oil changes which at the time sounded like a good deal and a way to save money.  My first trip there I figured was a fluke because I arrived and 2 hours later I left with an oil change.  It was a long time and they never came out to communicate with me why it took so long but I am a person willing to give a second chance - that came this week.

I called the day before to schedule an 8:30 oil change and I arrived on time. They took it immediately back and about 45 minutes later that technician (I wish I knew his name) came out to say my FRONT brakes were very bad and needed changed. I asked how much time were left on the front brakes and he said less than a month and went on to say that front brakes get replaced twice as often as rear brakes.  I am not a car guy so I took him at his word and he said it would only take 25-30 minutes to replace.  After two hours I inquired as to why my car was not done and nobody and given me any information why it was taking so long. The lady at the front desk walked back and when she returned she told me, "they are wrapping it up now."  I was slightly irritated at this point and said "fine."  Thirty minutes later I walked around the building and into the garage and asked the same technician why my car is not done yet. He made up some excuse about the ordering the wrong front brake pads and he was about to do it.  I thought this strange because my tires were still on the car which means they had not even started it.  I told him he had 10 minutes to get my car to me and walked out. Thirty minutes later my car was driven around to the front and the service manager Paul told me that my 2011 front brakes really needed 2012 pads which is why they could not do it.  Not one person came and spoke to me in the 3 hours and 45 minutes I was there. During my time they continued to lie to me and fabricate stories and I still did not have front brakes.

Skip to the next day I when I dropped off my car to Geralds Tire on Dorchester Rd (near Ladson).  I dropped it off and put on the after hours form I need new front brake pads.  The next day they called and said it was done and I picked it up. As I was waiting for to pick up my daughter at school I looked at the receipt and it said they replaced the REAR brakes. I called Michael at Geralds and asked why he did the rear brakes.  He informed me my FRONT brakes had over 1/2 of the pad on it and in no way needed replaced but the REAR brakes were relatively nonexistent.  When I told him what Meineke said his response was, "I have no idea why they would tell you that."  I realized at that point the Meineke - Car Pros Place tried to scam me.

DO NOT GO TO THE CAR PROS PLAZA ON TROLLEY ROAD UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.  Please share this post with everyone you know. After posting this story on my personal Facebook page I had numerous stories of very similar issues.  Don't forget to share this story with all your friends.

Avoid this place - They are scammers and will lie to you!

Life's stress

     Wow, it's been busy around here lately.  Do you ever find yourself with too many things to do and not enough time?  If you are a parent, homeowner, spouse, employee, business owner or a human you just answered that question with a resounding YES!  For me personally I'm busy getting new clients, working with old clients, being a dad and husband, and trying mentally to prepare myself for what's to come - Holidays!  Last night I forced my wife to accompany me to the fair so I could hear a couple bands I like but to be honest I wanted the food. It was a night away from chaos, home repairs, and a teenage daughter (whom I love dearly).
     As I had ACE Chimney here this morning inspecting my chimney and fireplace I thought what are some stressful things.  Here are my top 4.

1. Parenting - whether you have a newborn, toddler, teen or adult I'm pretty sure this ranks up there as high stress.  Each new phase of life brings with it new stressors and as I realized with a teen-aged driver those stressors go up with each developmental milestone.
2. Marriage - This can one of two ways. I am blessed to not have a stress-filled marriage but many people do. I'll rank this as the #2 most stressful situation but ONLY if you marry the wrong person. Marriage was formed to be a blessing but as many of you know often times it's the opposite. Want a great marriage - put the other first!
3. Home ownership - It never ENDS!  As I mentioned today we had a chimney company come and inspect our chimney/fireplace because I have no idea if it worked and I have no interest in burning down our new home. Yeah - it works fine and now is clean (or I guess as clean as a chimney can be - I did not do the white glove test on it).  Home ownership is full of chores, projects, honey-do lists, caulking, plumbing, hanging lights, cleaning out garages, washing windows, installing windows, vacuuming, pressure-washing, landscaping, mowing, etc, etc, etc... Sometimes it be downright aggravating and exhausting.
4. Finances - The number one reason for divorce usually is due to finances or at least tied to it.  I could probably write a book how finances tie into the first 3 of these life positions because it really does seep into all facets of our life.  Unless you live South of Broad you are probably not born into a huge supply of money and therefore you are forced to live within the restraints of your budget/checking account.  (I think I'll do my next post on real estate finances - exciting stuff).

There you have it.  Right before the holidays I give you life's greatest stressors.  I hope that as Thanksgiving and Christmas approach (remember - these are times of reflection and periods in our life to reflect on the positive) you and I can re-focus and see the positive.  It's there but sometimes you have to be creative to find it.

-Jason