Greetings from The Grand Strand!
For those of you receiving my Beach Pro Team's monthly Real Estate News for the first time (over 100 new subscribers this month!), we bid you a holiday welcome and we hope you find it informative and interesting. For those of you who have been receiving these for a while, you may have noticed that I changed my opening greeting from "Myrtle Beach" to "The Grand Strand". The reason for the change is that Myrtle Beach is not the only market we cover. We are just as active in North Myrtle Beach, the Arcadian section and throughout the entire coastal area.
Financing Update - Financing options for oceanfront and resort condos keep getting better. Over the past few months, several lenders have expanded their programs to include 1BR condos and at least 2 are now offering 15 and 20 year fixed rate condotel programs. I just received an email from one of the local lenders informing me that they can now offer condotel loans to Canadian buyers.
You can obtain a list of local condo lenders at link to lender sign-up or just sign up on my website. Please contact me for financing options for specific developments - it's important to match the right lender with the right building and financing scenario. Few agents have the knowledge and expertise to do this. I've been involved with dozens of financed condo purchases over the past two years and not a one has fallen through.
From a local real estate sales perspective, I'm ready for this year to come to an end so we can see a return (I hope) to normal, predictable seasonal sales patterns. In a previous newsletter, I compared the market - forward motion with erratic ups and downs - to a knuckleball. It's more like a swarm of knuckleballs. Different segments of the market have been moving at continually changing paces which have not followed historical seasonal norms.
Oceanfront condo sales have continued to alternate back and forth (from week to week it seems) between extremely active and totally dead - although prices are slowly increasing (rental incomes too). New home sales (single family) have generally been strong, resulting in lots of new subdivisions joining the market but sales have been fluctuating wildly with these as well - again not following historical seasonal patterns. Commercial activity, however, has been the busiest I've seen in many years with new restaurants, shopping centers and attractions going up everywhere.
On this note, check out the welcome attention our area received in some recent rankings. These articles are from the past 3 weeks alone.
MB No. 2 in Yahoo US Destination Searches 12-5-14
Strand Leads US in Construction Permit Growth 12-1-14
By the way, I add articles of interest like these to the "Press Releases" section of my website (under "News/Useful Info") on a weekly basis. Check it out, Press Releases.
You'll find all the usual reports and statistical market info but, otherwise, I'm going to wrap it up for this month so everyone can get back to their holiday festivities. In the coming months, look for my yearly comprehensive review of 2014 sales, an overview of the huge array of infrastructure improvements and new attractions coming to our area as well as great new features on my website.
My Best Buy picks this month include oceanfront and ocean view houses as well as condos in
Anderson Ocean Club, Avista, BAREFOOT RESORT - (Arbor Trace, Cypress Bend, Dye Townhomes, Edgewater, Greenbriar, Harbour Cove, The Havens, Willow Bend, Yacht Club Villas), Bay View, Bay Watch, Beach Club, Beach Colony, Blue Water Keyes, Breakers Boutique, Breakers Resort, Camelot, Caravelle Resort, Caribbean Resort, Carolinian Beach Resort, Chelsea House, Pinnacle/Compass Cove, Coral Beach, Cottages at 7th, Crescent Keyes, Crescent Shores, Dunes Village, Grand Atlantic, Grande Shores, Island Vista, KINGSTON PLANTATION - (Brighton, Margate Tower, Royale Palms, South Hampton), Lauderdale Bay, Long Bay Resort, Magnolia Place, Magnolia Pointe, Malibu Pointe, Mar Vista Grande, Market Common, Monterey Bay, North Beach Towers, North Beach Plantation-Spa Villas, Ocean Bay Club, Ocean Blue, Ocean Keyes, Ocean Reef, Oceans One, Paradise Resort, Prince Resort, Roxanne, Sand Dunes Ph III, Sandy Beach, Seaside Inn, Sea Watch, South Wind, Sunrise Pointe, The Horizon, The Pointe, Tilghman Beach & Golf, Tuscany, Vista Del Mar and Windy Hill Dunes.
Come see me at the beach!