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The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors (CTAR) put together this market update (click to view presentation):
What this update fails to mention is that:
1106237 Class: Residential Status: Active
1106016 Class: Residential Status: Active 1106018 Class: Residential Status: Active 1105837 Class: Residential Status: Active 
JoAnn Terrell from Bank of America sent us this information today, which we thought was interesting to share with everyone, especially with our friends the appraisers:
New Subject Property Photo Requirements - On the all interior inspection assignments, including FHA and Conventional, the appraiser must include, at a minimum, the following photographs:
Tax Credit Closing Deadline Extended
After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623).
The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There is will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.
For additional information on the extension, click here.
Flood Insurance Restored
Additionally, the United States Senate has...
In our own experience, and also through our discussions with fellow Realtors, it appears that recently about 8 out of 10 purchase transactions have had "last minute" surprises that may have delayed or upset the closing in some shape or form.
Normally, these "hiccups" are due to the financing. Underwriters (and transaction auditors, a second "firewall" established recently by a few large banks) are under the gun and are checking and re-checking all loan applications with a fine tooth comb SEVERAL TIMES.
Due to either the lenders' understaffing or lack of adequate systems, these hiccups tend to surface within a few days before the closing (it is not unusual to s...
Author Jay Papasan presents an update on the real estate market in this video, which discusses the effect that the $8,000 First-time home buyer's tax credit may have had on the real estate market in the U.S.
Attorney Clay Olson recently published a blog post analyzing a recent decision by the SC Court of Appeals in the matter of Faltaous v. Anderson Ocean Club Development, in which the "mandatory arbitration" clause was denied by the court.
According to Olson, this means that SC courts may not enforce the mandatory arbitration as a matter of course, and it will depend on each individual case, and how specific the language to be enforced reads.
Bottom line: Builders and real estate practitioners need to get sound legal advice on how to word arbitration clauses properly if they want them to be enforceable in SC.
When lenders toughen their standards and the housing market is challenging for sellers, many homeowners will choose to either add or remodel their existing home, instead of changing it for a new one to satisfy their needs. Many builders have chosen not to build any new "spec" homes and focus on remodeling and additions instead.
Many homeowners are unaware that of the zoning laws, building codes and neighborhood restrictions governing renovations and additions. Most projects will require permits and official inspections to satisfy federal/state/county/city regulations and neighborhood covenants and restrictions. Failure to comply with due process may resul...
The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) published this interesting article on their blog about the role that minorities will play in helping the U.S. housing market back on its feet (click link to read article):
I believe that many people underestimate the power of demographics when it comes to real estate. It is always very important to keep in mind national, regional and local population trends.
Most national builders know this and hire bilingual site agents. However, many service providers and lending institutions in the Charleston area are still ignoring it - for example - in our area there are...
The South Carolina state legislature is considering new legislation to allow second home owners who cannot sell one or have to move for a new job to pay a lower property tax rate. Currently, these owners pay a higher property tax rate for properties they own but don't live in full-time.
The proposed legislation is still at the committee level, but one provision would make taxes on second homes the same as for the primary residence. Another proposal suggest a five-year tax break if someone buys a home to pursue a new job at least 150 miles away from his/her primary residence.
It may take some time for any of these proposals to ...
The Federal Government has changed the forms used for lenders' Good Faith Estimates (GFE's) and closing statements (HUD-1) to improve the level of disclosure and make it easier to compare between different lender quotes.
Although their intention is good, these changes may cause some chaos until they sort out the problems they may bring to lenders, real estate agents and attorneys.
The new GFE form is three pages long and is mandatory for all lenders, the intention being to allow consumers to be able to compare one lender's proposal to another. There are some costs that need to be pre-determined by the lender carefully, because those cannot chang...
By Katy Stech
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The impact of an expanded government tax break for homebuyers trickled up in the Charleston area last month as the incentive appears to have given local prices a nudge.
Sales activity increased in the $200,000 to $250,000 range during December, helping push the median home price up by about 2 percent to $195,534 -- its highest point for 2009.
In all, the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors recorded a total of 618 local home sales last month, a 30 percent increase from the December 2008...
So, you noticed that three years ago, your next door neighbors put their house on the market one morning, and by that afternoon they had multiple offers to choose from. Now you have been trying to sell your home for eight months and there's just no action...!
The real estate market is unpredictable in the short term, since many factors (like interest rates, the amount of new homes being built and the economic health of the area) come into play. In the long term, the real estate market behaves just like other economic markets. It is a cyclical market (and in many places also seasonal). And it is driven by underlying supply and demand.
In a strong seller's market (defined as one with l...
... There's a buzz going around about the real estate market in Mount Pleasant having "bottomed out" and on its way to recovery...
... Is this Fall/Winter the best time to buy...?
... What do you think...?
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Fill out our ONLINE SURVEY (it takes only a minute) - we'll publish the results in the near future...
By Alan Donald, BuyHomesInCharleston.com
Here is a situation that unfortunately is becoming very common: Appraisals that are coming substantially BELOW THE CONTRACT PRICE!
Why is this happening?
The main reasons for this new trend are:
An incredibly expensive home just hit the Charleston MLS:
32 LEGARE ST. South of Broad (Downtown Charleston) was just listed for $23 Million! Maybe this is not a big deal in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles, but for Charleston this is a huge price! More details here...
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The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Broker ReciprocitySM Program of the Charleston Trident Mult...