Donnie Whitaker Real Estate

Here on the Isle of Palms short sales seem to be a popular subject. Many people however are confused by what they actually are. Here is a explanation from Wikepedia.

In real estate, a short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property sold.[1] In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s loss mitigation or workout department. The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. Many Short Sales leave a deficiency balance for which the Mortgagor / Borrower is still liable. In 99% of all cases it is not a settlement-in-full. A deficiency balance will remain as a potential liability for the Mortgagor / Borrower. The bank’s opportunity of pursuit of a deficiency judgment will vary from state to state.

For more follow this link.

Inventory rates on the Isle of Palms for the beginning of 2009 remain high and asking prices continue to drop on many of the homes for sell. Here is a list of a few of the high end properties that have seen significant price reductions since they were originally listed.

716 Carolina Blvd was $2,999,000 and is now listed for $2,499,000.

506 Carolina Blvd was $3,075,000 and is now listed for $2,450,000.

12 41st Ave was $2,370,000 and is now listed for $1,999,000.

14 41st Ave was $2,825,000 and is now listed for $1,800,000.

130 Charleston Blvd was $2,995,000 and is now listed for $2,750,000.

111 Charleston Blvd was $3,250,000 and is now listed for $2,650,000.

9 23rd was $2,395,703 and is now listed for $1,700,000.

2204 Palm Blvd was $4,250,000 and is now listed for $3,975,000.

900 Ocean Blvd was $3,300,000 and is now listed for $2,550,000.

Please note these properties are listed by various participants of the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service and numbers are subject to change.

Forbes just released it’s top 25 real estate markets in 2008 and Charleston is one of them.

This list is made up of those markets that are considered to be closest to recovery and those markets that they think are closest to being at their bottom. These markets are also the ones they think will begin to see price increases first.

More information can be found at www.forbes.com.

On the Isle of Palms there were four brokerage sales in December, 2008 vs. three last December. Closed brokerage production was $6.7 million vs. 8.7 million last December. Year to date there have been 37 closings for $78.3 million vs. 90 closings for $248.8 million through December, 2007.

In Wild Dunes there were three closed brokerage sales in December, 2008 vs. the same number as in December, 2007. Year to date there have been 145 closings for $258.7 million vs. 73 closings for $142.1 million a year ago. (Sales at the Village have more than compensated for the slow down in resale properties).

About this time every year for the last three years I have heard the same thing, the housing market will bounce back in the spring. While I don’t think we will wake up the first day of spring to a fresh cup of coffee and a once again booming market, I do think we will slowly start to see a rebound. Here are a few reasons why:

1- In case you haven’t heard, 30-year fixed mortagages are the lowest they have been since the spring of 2003.

2- Although sales of existing homes are down from 2005, the annualized sales rate has steadied in the fourth quarter.

3- Inventory has decreased meaning the average time for a home to sit on the market has as well.

4- Housing affordability rates are at a high which will start to attract more buyers.

Take all this into consideration and I think we have good reason to be optomistic going forward!