Greetings from Myrtle Beach,

I've had a pretty good sales year so far, especially for oceanfront condos. My 53rd sale of the year will be closing later this week and almost all of these have been oceanfront condos. Out of 3600 active agents, I am currently in the top 40 in overall sales volume and number 8 in overall condo sales. If you exclude sales "teams" (each of which actually has multiple agents) and Brokers in Charge (who are typically credited with all of the "company" listings within their firms), I am currently at #3 in overall condo sales volume. Last year I finished at number 15 in overall condo sales (#9 if you exclude teams and BICs).

I mentioned in my last newsletter that sales activity seemed to slow down in mid-July, at least for oceanfront condos. My perception has since been supported by conversations with other real estate agents as well as local lenders and closing attorneys - all of whom noticed the same phenomenon. Fortunately, it didn't last long. By mid-August, inquiries and offers started rolling in again.

Even though the buyers are back, sales may slow down a bit this fall simply because of the lack of listing inventory in some of the more popular developments. Check out "Where Have All the Listings Gone?" for some interesting facts and figures.

Major changes in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) were signed into law in 2012. As these changes start phasing in this year some homeowners in our area will be affected. I've covered the highlights in this newsletter.

I will probably say this every year about this time but if you've never visited the Grand Strand in the fall, you don't know what you're missing. The weather is just about perfect with warm days, cool nights and low humidity. The summer crowds are gone but all the major attractions are still active. And there are so many festivals each weekend it's tough to decide which ones to go to. It's my favorite time of the year! For details, click on the "Calendar of Events" on the left side bar.

Come see me at the beach!  

Below are links to several detailed reports on the current state of our local real estate market complete with statistics for just about anything imaginable.  Please keep in mind that these statistics cover a broad range of properties and that particular areas or developments may behave quite differently.  

Federal flood insurance for high risk areas (representing about 20% of policy holders) has been subsidized by the government for many years. Congress has now decided it wants the federal flood insurance program to pay for itself and has passed the Bigger-Waters Flood Insurance Act of 2012 to accomplish this. Per a government info release (attached), the reforms are designed to "make the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) more financially stable, and ensure that flood insurance rates more accurately reflect the real risk of flooding. The changes will be phased in over time, beginning this year." The details of this topic are far too complicated to tackle in this newsletter but the attachments at the bottom of this article will give you some insight.

The homeowners who will see the biggest changes are the ones owning structures in high risk areas that were "grandfathered" at lower rates than the most recent program would have mandated. Other owners in flood-prone areas could see more modest increases.

I spoke with an insurance rep who handles numerous local condominium master insurance policies about this new law. He didn't think it would have much, if any, effect on local condo master flood policies. He works with one of the largest property management companies in our area, representing dozens of homeowner associations, and he said most of the associations he represents have already switched to more affordable private insurance carriers if the buildings are in high risk areas.  This means their policies should not be directly affected by these upcoming changes to the federal program.  

FEMA Reform Act of 2012 

FEMA Changes 

Changes Mandated for Federal Flood Insurance 

The following current listings are exceptionally well-priced and represent great values.  This is a live link to listings and will change according to changes in the MLS (Pending, Sold, etc.)  Please call me directly if you find something of interest to you.

OF/OV Homes Brochures:         Link to Listings 

OF/OV Homes Spreadsheet:    Link to Spreadsheet 

OF/OV Condo Brochures:         Link to Listings