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December 2007 - Posts

Monday, December 31, 2007 7:42 AM

No resolutions, no predictions, just Happy New Year

I'll dispense with New Year's resolutions and simply do what's necessary to lose a few pounds so that I can fit into my tuxedo for a wedding we're planning to attend in Orlando on March 1. I'm not going to be making any predictions
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
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Sunday, December 30, 2007 9:53 AM

The Charleston housing market and holiday parties

With the holiday parties wrapping up, it seemed interesting to note how talk of Charleston housing market conditions was different this year vs. previous years. Of course, in the "good old days" of Charleston South Carolina real estate, most
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 29, 2007 7:18 AM

A house that isn't for sale is not for sale

From the dumb archives, here is a gem. Wayne Wicker, chief investment officer for the Vantagepoint Funds thinks official statistics do not track homes that are taken off the market as sellers become discouraged. "I think there is unofficial inventory
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Friday, December 28, 2007 8:23 AM

Housing and other fun subjects

Kevin Depew at Minyanville has some fun with David Lereah, former Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) best known for being totally wrong on the housing market. Many call him the Laughable Lereah and his successor, Lawrence (the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 27, 2007 1:26 PM

Population growth and migration trends

An interesting article and map of population growth and shifting migration trends courtesy of WSJ Online . While population growth is slowing but still substantial in Arizona and Nevada, it appears Florida has been more affected by the housing slowdown
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 27, 2007 9:01 AM

Case-Shiller housing index continues to fall

The S&P Case-Shiller housing index continues to fall with broad based declines in the prices of single family homes in every metro market covered by the survey. According to the data, prices fell 6.1% year over year for the 20 housing markets included
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, December 24, 2007 9:08 AM

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah Joyous Kwanzaa Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Sunday, December 23, 2007 7:32 AM

2007 Chucktown Bloggers of the Year Awards

Chucktown is an affectionate nickname for Charleston South Carolina and it is with great affection for these fine writers that I present the 2007 Chucktown Bloggers of the Year Awards. Happy Holidays to everyone and congratulations to this year's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
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Friday, December 21, 2007 1:45 PM

Do vacant homes sell for less

I've listed and sold both vacant and occupied homes and always thought there were advantages, and of course disadvantages, to both approaches but recently, those mad scientists at Redfin led by public relations wizard and CEO Glenn Kelman have analyzed
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 3:50 PM

How to sell your house in black and white

Courtesy of Daniel Rothamel, the real estate zebra , a great video on how to sell your house. " onclick="document.getElementById('video_229034').innerHTML='<object classid=\"CLSID:6BF52A52-394A-11d3-B153-00C04F79FAA6\" width=\"425\"
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:17 AM

Can a new agent sell your unsold home

I heard a gem of a punchline at our sales meeting yesterday when another agent was telling a story about a seller unhappy with his current real estate agent who has not sold his house. There are probably a lot of discouraged sellers who are blaming their
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 8:06 PM

I don't spam

I hate spam, I have 4 email accounts and I get way too much of it. I don't need my private member enlarged and don't feel like making $10 million helping a Nigerian con artist find long lost relatives. So about a week ago, a prospective buyer
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 1:02 PM

Fed to propose new mortgage rules

The Federal Reserve will propose a much stricter set of rules for mortgage lenders to avert abusive lending. The Fed was given the authority and direction to issue rules to address unfair mortgage practices in 1994 under the Home Ownership and Equity
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:00 AM

Ask the agent - agent response to inquiries

I received an interesting email yesterday about how I respond to inquiries from potential clients and thought I would share my response. The most important thing is to follow up in some way, the next most important is timeliness and finally, who is actually
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, December 17, 2007 4:35 PM

The Odysseus Medals for December 17 are now posted

at the BloodhoundBlog for the best writing in the real estate blogosphere. There was no post deemed outstanding to win top honors this week but c lick here to get links to Black Pearl Winner Bill Leider’s "What is a brand" and People’s
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Monday, December 17, 2007 9:21 AM

Do you want more ads or more listings

The other day I asked where are you searching for Charleston South Carolina real estate listings. Many consumers search for homes on sites that do not have all the available listings of homes for sale including Trulia and Zillow. Entering the fray is
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 14, 2007 11:49 AM

What if growth limits ...

... meant you could not move to the Charleston area? Growth limits, planned growth, managed growth and other terms are heatedly being discussed in the Charleston area because our area population is growing faster than the infrastructure (roads and schools)
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 13, 2007 12:40 PM

Where are you searching

I was talking with Jay Thompson , the Phoenix real estate guy, the other day about an idea I had for a new post about where real estate consumers were searching for homes on the Internet and Jay took my idea in an even better direction than I was originally
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 1:48 PM

Dorchester County building moratorium

Dorchester County enacted a 6 month building moratorium aimed at curbing growth until the infrastructure can handle new developments in the County. Nothing will change. Why? The moratorium will only affect new developments (over 10 units) and no building
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 8:49 AM

Denial is a river in Eqypt, part 2

In my post last week, Denial is a river in Egypt , I wondered whether the National Association of Realtors (NAR) had any credibility with the public any more. “First we had the Laughable Lereah with his misguided pronouncements and now newly promoted
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, December 10, 2007 5:33 PM

The Odysseus Medals for December 10 have now been posted

at the BloodhoundBlog for the best writing in the real estate blogosphere. My friend Jay Thompson wins the top honor this week for a post that not only hits close to home since I have been a long time Point2 member but illustrates the changing nature
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Monday, December 10, 2007 4:22 PM

Charleston Holiday Happenings

With the Xmas season in full swing and temperatures hitting 80 degrees under glorious Carolina blue skies, it could be difficult to get into the holiday season in Charleston this year with our unseasonably beautiful weather. The weather isn't that
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 07, 2007 2:15 PM

Buyers are sellers too

It's clearly a buyers market in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market but that doesn't mean a buyer isn't a seller too. So when I talked with a seller recently about selling their home and buying another, does it make sense that
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 06, 2007 7:25 PM

Mortgage rate freeze plan

My take. Yesterday, I introduced the proposal and offered no comment. Today, I'll offer my opinion on the mortgage rate freeze. OK, here's why. First of all, the politicians are piling on top of each other to show that they want to do something
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Thursday, December 06, 2007 10:30 AM

Charleston South Carolina real estate market report, November 2007

The Charleston South Carolina real estate market trends continue unabated with declining sales, high inventory that has remained very steady for the last 6 months and stubbornly stable prices. Once again, we'll present the statistics first and comment
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 05, 2007 7:56 PM

Charleston absorption rate by area November 2007

With a hat tip to Jonathan Dalton of Dalton's Arizona Homes for the idea, here is the absorption rate for the Charleston South Carolina real estate market by area for residential single family homes, condos and townhomes. Charleston MLS Area Sold
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Wednesday, December 05, 2007 5:56 PM

Mortgage interest rate freeze for 5 years to be proposed

An article from Reuters regarding plans for a mortgage interest rate freeze for 5 years to be proposed to help troubled borrowers and the housing market. Especially interesting to read are the comments pro and con. It's worth reading, click here
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007 7:49 AM

Denial is a river in Egypt

I wonder whether the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has any credibility with the public any more. First we had the Laughable Lereah with his misguided pronouncements and now newly promoted Larry (the Yuckster) Yun seems to be in denial regarding
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Monday, December 03, 2007 5:30 PM

The Odysseus Medals for Dec 3 have now been posted

at the BloodhoundBlog for the best writing in the real estate blogosphere. Brian Brady takes top honors for this excellent forecast on the 2008 housing market. Please read 2008 Housing Market Outlook For U.S. Investors Click here to get links to Black
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Monday, December 03, 2007 10:16 AM

Do you know what your real estate agent is doing

It's 10 AM Monday and I've got a question for buyers and sellers in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market. Do you know what your real estate agent is doing? I don't rant very often, well, OK, maybe once in a while, but ... I was
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments