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February 2008 - Posts

Thursday, February 28, 2008 2:12 PM

Charleston South Carolina real estate market report, Feb 08

This year, the Charleston real estate market report has a new format but the trends remain the same in all housing categories, declining unit sales, elevated inventory levels and stable prices with very little appreciation or depreciation. There is a
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 28, 2008 9:40 AM

Indexed, too cute

Jessica Hagy, with a too cute book, Indexed . And a blog ! Hat tip to Barry Ritholtz at the Big Picture .
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 7:11 PM

William Buckley

William Buckley just passed away. My wife's mother's maiden name is Buckley and a distant relative. No matter your politics, a great loss. wikipedia AP announcement
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 1:04 PM

Call your agent

Call your agent! I guess I have to spell this out, the agent said sarcastically. c a l l (space) y o u r (space) a g e n t (exclamation mark) Don't call the listing agent. When visiting an open house, tell the hosting agent you have an agent. Don't
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 9:04 AM

What's my home worth today

The short answer, a little less than it used to be or what you think it is. One of my neighbors asked me what I thought his home was worth last evening as I was sitting on my front porch and I had to tell him the bad news, a little less than it used to
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 8:32 AM

Buy or rent

Yesterday, I wrote a post about a recent trend or coincidence I noticed and my friend Claude pointed out the calculator on my website was flawed with defaults that don't coincide with current market realities. He pointed visitors to a calculator provided
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 25, 2008 3:42 PM

If you're planning on visiting Charleston

... for a little spring house hunting, make sure you have a hotel reservation. I've been receiving a lot of inquiries from people living in the cold and snow of the Northeast and Midwest who are considering relocating to Charleston. There is a lot
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 25, 2008 8:46 AM

Trend or coincidence

Does a week make a trend or is it simply coincidence. I usually get an inquiry or two just about every day from buyers seeking additional information about Charleston homes for sale. Even though I'm not the listing agent for every home for sale on
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 9 Comments
Sunday, February 24, 2008 8:25 AM

Your agent can show you all Charleston homes for sale

Just a little rant. I received a call from someone who wanted to see a house in a couple of hours. It wasn't my listing but when you search the MLS on my website, you can contact me. Every Charleston real estate agent who provides MLS search on their
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, February 22, 2008 9:26 AM

Reuters housing summit

Jonathan Miller at Matrix was one of many participants at the Reuters housing summit and provides some great links. Good stuff.
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Friday, February 22, 2008 8:29 AM

Great customer service

A client of mine from out of town has been considering relocating for several years to Charleston and specifically the Summerville area and is getting close to a decision. We were talking the other day and she mentioned that while she was gathering information
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 21, 2008 11:01 AM

Mortgage rates don't make a U turn, instead think of the letter V

It's been a wild 30 days in the mortgage market. Mortgage rates fell to almost unprecedented lows only to return to previous levels within the month. Have you kept up? Imagine a V because mortgage rates didn't make a U turn. Rates dropped sharply,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008 2:27 PM

Charleston chefs and restaurants compete for James Beard awards

Charleston is a top culinary destination and dining here is a great experience. Charleston chefs and restaurants are competing for the annual James Beard Foundation Awards. In the National Awards, my favorite, Peninsula Grill is competing for Outstanding
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008 4:40 PM

Mortgage rates report, February 19

Mortgage rates have been ticking up in the past few weeks since the amazing lows we witnessed at the end of January when the Fed cut Fed Funds rates sharply. As I've pointed out on multiple occasions, the Fed controls short term rates while long term
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 9:24 AM

Are you really catching a falling knife

The housing market may not be as dismal as portrayed by the media or reports. With a hat tip to Jim Duncan at Real Central VA , the much maligned (and readers will note that I've been a vocal critic of his all too rosy prognostications) Lawrence Yun,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 18, 2008 6:24 PM

Really bad mls photos

Sometimes you have to wonder just what sellers are paying their real estate agents to do and whether or not they actually know what they are doing. Good pictures sell homes and it is important to have as many good, marketable photos of the property as
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Monday, February 18, 2008 8:30 AM

New housing choices in Historic Downtown Charleston

After spending a day or two downtown looking at potential properties for clients, I was getting some information together to write a post. But Saturday morning as my wife and I were having breakfast and reading the Post and Courier (the only day we read
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, February 17, 2008 6:19 AM

Some subprime mortgage loans are actually current

You really can't go more than a day without another headline talking about doom and gloom for the housing industry and the lenders. "Foreclosures up 75% for the last quarter" does not mean that 75% of all home have gone into foreclosure,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, February 15, 2008 9:44 AM

What lies ahead for homebuilders

Could it be red and green. No, we're not talking about Xmas. Homebuilders balance sheets might look somewhat red today with sales of new homes off dramatically in the past year but they are still looking ahead to what real estate consumers might want
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Thursday, February 14, 2008 4:16 PM

Under contract in one day ... in this real estate market?

In the good old days of Charleston South Carolina real estate when offers came in simultaneously to the for sale sign being put in the front lawn of a Charleston home for sale, we used to list a home and watch for the contract. Around the real estate
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:03 PM

A Valentine's Day ...

New York Pizza Pie. The love of my life, my wife Polly, is out of town on business in greater New York City (actually New Jersey). She knows I love pizza, I could probably eat pizza every day of the year, after all, it's the perfect food, bread, meat,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008 6:13 PM

You may not like the front door, you can't get out

My wife recently mentioned that she heard that borrowers who were facing foreclosure were burning their homes and trying to collect the insurance money. My first thought was, no way, arson is insurance fraud and the insurance companies not only won't
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008 6:58 AM

Hope, Lifeline to avert foreclosure

Project Lifeline was announced as a companion to Hope Now to help those who need help to do something to avert foreclosure. Six mortgage lenders servicing over 50% of all mortgages including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 1:41 PM

The future of health care now in Charleston

Charleston has long been recognized for its outstanding health care and the opening of the Medical University of South Carolina's (MUSC) Ashley River Tower will only enhance our reputation for leadership in the health care field. The state of the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 11, 2008 8:02 AM

Who pays the buyers agent

Because I'm sometimes a little "wordy" Jonathan Dalton answers the question for you, "Who pays the buyers agent".
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
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Monday, February 11, 2008 7:20 AM

Real estate agents who blog

From the LA Times, Ann Brenoff writes about Realtor blogs . My friend Larry Cragun at RealEstateUndressed got a nice mention and it certainly is one of the reasons that I write this blog. "There is a new wave growing. Agents that blog. We believe
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, February 09, 2008 7:41 AM

A short sale is short money, not time

There are a few short sales available in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market that are listed on the Charleston MLS. Let's dispel a couple of myths. Most are not cheap, most are not in good condition, and most importantly, all are not
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 5 Comments
Friday, February 08, 2008 8:14 AM

Please [help] the tornado victims

Benn and Lani at Agent Genius are leading the effort to help the victims of the Southern Tornados. Please join me in making a contribution to [help]. Click below and make a generous donation through PayPal.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Thursday, February 07, 2008 8:23 AM

Real estate safety

The Charleston MLS reports several recent incidents on its website to alert both Charleston real estate agents and sellers to take necessary precautions when showing homes for sale. A number of suspicious incidents have occurred in recent days involving
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 06, 2008 4:40 PM

Think green, some easy solutions

If you like the idea of saving money and resources, a few simple home improvements now will result in benefits to you now and when you ultimately sell your home since buyers are looking for energy efficient homes and lower electric bills. Replace incandescent
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
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Tuesday, February 05, 2008 5:44 PM

Presidential candidate's current homes

It's Super Tuesday and I saw an interesting article at MarketWatch about the current homes of the Presidential candidates. Of course, they all want to make their home in the White House beginning next January 20th. So where do they currently live.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Monday, February 04, 2008 2:41 PM

It's a real compliment

... when other real estate agents select you to handle their Charleston real estate transactions. Just this week, I am meeting with two real estate agents from other states who want me to be their real estate agent in Charleston. An agent I met in an
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, February 03, 2008 10:23 PM

Wow! Arizona

What a day for sports in Phoenix Arizona. I'm not a former sportswriter like my real estate buddy, Jonathan Dalton from Phoenix Arizona or as big a fan as my friend Jay Thompson, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy from the other side of the Valley of the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Sunday, February 03, 2008 9:03 AM

Do you hate being sold

I do. And I really don't like it when real estate agents act like used car salespeople either (no offense intended to used car salespeople, there are good and bad salespeople in all professions). It's about "pushy" selling tactics. Here's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments