Donnie Whitaker Real Estate

Poll: Consumers believe now’s the time to buy

By Daily Journal Staff

Even in the face of skepticism over the nation’s economy, more consumers are seeing opportunity in today’s housing market, according to a new survey commissioned by Beazer Homes USA Inc., one of the country’s Top 10 home builders.

Recognizing that the current market favors buyers, 77% of respondents said that with good credit and a down payment, the time is right to buy a home, a 20% upswing from a similar January survey.

The national survey of 1,006 adults between the ages of 25 to 72 with minimum household incomes of $40,000 was conducted March 10-13 by MarketTools on Beazer’s behalf.

Beazer, a national home builder headquartered in Atlanta, has Charleston-area operations.

Nearly three of four surveyed agreed that the availability of homes for sale combined with special incentives make this a true “buyer’s market.” And more appear poised for action. Sixteen percent of survey respondents report that they plan to purchase a new home as their primary residence in the next 12 months—a 45% increase over the January survey results—and some 28% are currently saving for a down payment.

Seasoned homeowners, in particular, appear upbeat about the opportunities that exist for prospective home buyers. Nearly three-quarters of experienced buyers in the survey—those who have purchased one or more homes—urge renters to buy a home as soon as they are financially able to do so.

When it comes to purchasing their next home, seasoned buyers are looking for a better location (28%), a bigger home (25%) and more modern features (18%), according to the survey results. First-time home buyers rank the need for a bigger home (28%), investment potential (27%) and the desire for a better location (23%) as the primary motivations for their first home purchases.

On Saturday, the result of the Wild Dunes Community vote was announced at our annual meeting concerning the referendum to renourish the beach.

Here are the results: 88% of the eligible voters voted – an outstanding turnout.
77% voted YES!!
(Even without the resort’s vote it would have been 71%)

That is an overwhelming vote of support for the WDCA board, its efforts and direction. There were plenty of accolades to go around and all received enthusiastic applause for a job well done.

This vote locks in the support that the city of Isle of Palms had committed – 2.0M, the county’s share of .9M, the resorts matching contribution of approximately 2.5M, the ‘voluntary’ contribution of $2000 per beachfront property owner of .8M and all property owners in Wild Dunes at $1500 each for approximately another 2.5M. We are still awaiting the OCRM state’s fund recommendation of 1.0M approval but hopefully this landslide vote will show them we’re behind this measure so they should be too. The community will be asking homeowners outside the gates that will benefit from this action for financial help.

The supplementary assessment bill will be sent soon for each of us. It is expected that the actual beginning of the project (pumping sand onto the beach) will be on or about May 1st. It could take as little as two months to complete and as long as three months depending on weather, equipment, etc.

When completed (by August for sure) we will have at least a 200′ ribbon of beach from Dewees Inlet down to 47th Avenue which has been identified as the beginning and end of the “erosion zone”. Most likely this project will begin at the northern part of W.D. where the erosion is most significant. A large pipe will be brought in from the offshore “borrow site” approximately 2 1/2 miles out and sand will be sent along the beach by a divided pipeline. They expect to be able to cover between 400 to 800 feet per week in both directions.

The resort has committed to the repair of the 18th hole when this renourishment is completed. And, as the beach is building up and those affected properties secured, the sand bags will be removed. The disruption as the sand is being pumped in will affect the immediate area but only for a short while as the sand slurry does come in very rapidly and they move on. There will be sand walkways installed over the pipe and the turtle patrol will be on the watch for nests.

This renourishment action and our watchful surveys for signs of ‘hot spots’ will allow us to repair any future signs of erosion before they get too serious to handle. Funding for these repairs has been considered and will be taken care of from future revenues and is being budgeted for so that it should not be necessary to ask for another assessment down the road. And, if a major storm does damage our properly repaired beach (which will meet all state and federal guidelines) we will be eligible for federal FEMA funding to pay for these repairs.

I hope you find this note informative and if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call me.

Beach Renourishment on a Roll
Here’s the full text of an article in Tuesday’s Post and Courier.Isle of Palms aims to get rolling on beach renourishment by springBy Prentiss Findlay (Contact)The Post and CourierTuesday, January 15, 2008ISLE OF PALMS — Construction of a new beach that would offer protection to dozens of condominiums threatened by tides at the erosion-scarred northeast end of the island is likely to begin six months earlier than projected, officials said Monday.”Obviously, time is of the essence. We were advised that we should request an earlier start time if possible,” said Tim Kana, president of Coastal Science & Engineering of Columbia.Kana said regulatory agencies suggested moving the project start time up to spring. “I think it’s doable,” he said.The city on Monday asked state Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and the Army Corps of Engineers to approve pumping up to 885,000 cubic yards of sand on 2.6 miles of beach from 47th Avenue to Dewees Inlet, according to a copy of the new application. The endangered homes are at the northern reach of the project, toward the inlet. Previously, the project was expected to start in November.The city’s estimated 20 percent share of the cost of the $9.7 million project could change after the project is bid and a contractor selected, said City Manager Linda Lovvorn Tucker. Wild Dunes, where the worst erosion threatens condos, would pay $6.8 million through its affected property owners, the Wild Dunes Community Association and Wild Dunes Resort.”We’re very confident that we will be able to obtain the balance of the full amount of the project,” said Dave Kynoski, association general manager.Meanwhile, a temporary restraining order is set to expire today that was won by Wild Dunes property owners to keep OCRM from removing sandbags from in front of six condominium complexes and two other properties. Lawyers have scheduled a conference for Thursday, and the regulatory agency won’t take any action before then, Dan Burger, OCRM communications director, said in an e-mail.The city met with Charleston County Council and sent a letter to OCRM regarding their possible funding of the effort to address the erosion problem, but it hasn’t gotten a response from, Tucker said.City Council on Thursday approved a plan to borrow $2,013,500 for the project using hospitality and accommodations tax revenue. Mayor Mike Sottile said OCRM is providing guidance to the town on the accelerated schedule for the beach renourishment project. Although much of the erosion-scarred beach up for replenishment is at gated Wild Dunes, the beach renourishment is an important effort for the entire island, he said.”Two years from now, we could have erosion at Breach Inlet. We’re breaking new ground here as far as what we’re doing. We’re setting a precedent,” he said.The S.C. Department of Natural Resources made recommendations regarding the depth and location of the underwater digging that have been incorporated in the revised application, which also includes U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service draft recommendations that the beach renourishment project happen outside the main turtle nesting and hatching season. The agency also suggests that contributions be made to the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge Turtle Project to offset impacts to loggerhead sea turtles. The USFWS says the contractor can put sand on the affected area of beach only once during the project.Bo Petersen contributed to this story. Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.

Long-term solution

The city council has voted to start the permitting process for an off shore dredging project that would replenish the disappearing sand.
Mayor Mike Sottile said, “Dredging is a long-term solution. We have a plan to go by.”
Sottile went on to say that the long-term beach management plan is not just for those affected in Wild Dunes but for the entire beach front of Isle of Palms.
If the off-shore dredging-permit process began now, it would be at least one year before sand could be pumped to the beach.

Whose dollars?

Sottile said that the city has been in contact with South Carolina state representatives Chip Campsen (R) and Ben Hagood (R) about acquiring state funding.
The island’s tourism industry brought in more than $2 million alone in accommodations taxes.
The Wild Dunes resort community is a large part of the tourism.
“This affects the city and state,” said Sottile.
Because there is no public beach access at Wild Dunes, an issue that seems to keep coming up is if funding for the beach nourishment should come from Isle of Palms tax revenues.
At the time the lack of public beach access at Wild Dunes prohibits spending state beach renourishment funds.
City administrator Linda Lovvorn Tucker estimated that the permit would cost anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000 dollars.
The cost of harvesting sand offshore and nourishing the effected area of the beach is expected to cost in the millions.

For now

The city awaits approval of its local beach management plan that would make public areas of the island eligible for state beach renourishment funding.
Sottile said, “We are moving in the right direction. It takes time to get environmental permits.”

According to the latest available forecast from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home sales are projected to trend upward by the end of the year.
Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, noted that overall housing activity is historically strong and that sales activity should improve over the next few months.
Existing-home sales are expected to total 6.18 million in 2007 and 6.41 million the next year, down slightly from 2006’s total of 6.48 million. Median existing home prices should decrease by only 1.3 percent to $219,000 before rising again next year.
NAR also forecast that 860,000 new homes will be sold in 2007, compared to 1.05 million last year.
Contributing to this better-than-expected outlook for housing are other positive predictions for consumers. The unemployment rate is projected to remain unchanged at 4.6 percent, while the inflation rate is expected to decline from 3.2 percent to 2.5 percent. Disposable personal income is likely to rise by 2.8 percent this year, compared to 2006’s increase of 2.6 percent.