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October 2008 - Posts

Friday, October 31, 2008 8:17 AM

Charleston real estate market report, home prices in Charleston, Oct 31, 2008

When supply exceeds demand, prices should fall and for the longest time, the Charleston real estate market seemed to defy the law of supply and demand with prices basically remaining stable and occasionally, increasing or decreasing by a minimal amount.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, October 30, 2008 7:05 AM

Charleston real estate market report, sales and inventory, Oct 30, 2008

While I'm changing the format slightly of the Charleston real estate market report [ again ] ... I'm thinking of a few additional changes to make the reports even better beginning with the first of the year. What hasn't changed is the firm
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 8:06 AM

Charleston real estate market trends

Charts and statistics of sales activity and median and average prices in the Charleston real estate market. These statistics reflect all Charleston housing classifications and you can look for statistical breakdowns by price range and housing type in
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 12:55 PM

A look inside today's Case-Shiller index

The "eagerly" awaited Case-Shiller index was released today and to nobody's surprise, "record" sharp declines in housing prices were reported. But a closer look inside the numbers reveals why. Look at the top of the list and you'll
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, October 27, 2008 3:57 PM

Your real estate agent is supposed to represent your interests

... but I just heard from someone who didn't think that was the case. If you hired a real estate agent to represent your interests and find out that they are more interested in their interests than yours, what can you do. If you signed a contract
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, October 25, 2008 8:03 AM

If you are relocating to Charleston, expect great weather

As my wife prepares to "winterize" her closet this weekend by shifting her clothes with fall and winter items taking center stage, if you are considering relocating to Charleston, expect great weather. Sure, it gets hot in summer and it could
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Friday, October 24, 2008 8:58 AM

It's a great time to buy!

... a home in Charleston (or Charlottesville). I noticed a wonderful post by Jim Duncan, eye catching headline and all. Jim talks about a couple who just relocated and bought a home, are renovating and can't help but watch the shifting (and sometimes
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, October 23, 2008 9:41 AM

Mortgage report, October 23, 2008

The thawing of the credit freeze is helping mortgage rates which dropped sharply this week. NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. fixed-rate mortgages declined in the latest week, according to Freddie Mac's survey released Thursday. The national average
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, October 23, 2008 8:25 AM

Have we forgotten to help the troubled homeowner

While the government printing presses have been working overtime pumping money at every financial institution in sight, it seems that the root cause of the problem, the troubled homeowner who is having difficulty paying their mortgage every month has
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 7:28 AM

Charleston property tax reminder

Property tax bills throughout the Charleston area have just been sent out and while many of you don't pay your property tax bill directly because your mortgage company is paying it from your escrow account, you should check to make sure you aren't
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 7:39 AM

Short sales, short tales

Several people have contacted me regarding a home they saw for sale in the Charleston MLS. I'm not surprised at the interest because the list price is so far below market. So my guess is, it's got to be a short sale even though the listing agent
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Monday, October 20, 2008 7:10 AM

Lowball offers, get serious

I received an interesting email the other day about a home listed in the Charleston MLS for $599,900. The listing indicated that the asking price was just reduced by $50,000 and the seller will consider all serious offers. So, how low can you go. The
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 6 Comments
Saturday, October 18, 2008 8:05 AM

First Redfin, now Zillow

A tough week in Seattle real estate circles with Redfin announcing layofffs of of 20% of their employees on Monday and Zillow following with a similar announcement yesterday, laying off 25% of their employees. Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, A Very Tough
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Friday, October 17, 2008 8:45 AM

How long is that house on the market

... is probably the most often asked question in real estate. Well, maybe it's second to how much (little) can I offer but actually, the two questions go hand in hand. So, does Days On Market (DOM) really matter. And if so, how does it matter to buyers,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, October 16, 2008 7:15 AM

Inventory and absorption rate by Charleston communities

It's been a while since I've analyzed the inventory and absorption rate by Charleston communities, statistics that don't get presented in the monthly Charleston real estate market report. Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 7:54 AM

Charleston median sales price trend 2000 - 2008

Before you get alarmed looking at the above chart of Charleston median sales prices from 2000 through 2008, it's important to notice the chart has one value on the left axis and a second value on the right axis. The left axis and red line represents
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 6:27 AM

[Despite the chaos] Interest in Charleston real estate remains steady and strong

Despite the recent chaos in the financial markets, statistics of website visitors indicates that interest in Charleston real estate remains steady and strong (and that surprised me just a little bit). I'll be honest, my phone hasn't been ringing
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, October 13, 2008 8:32 AM

Paul Krugman wins Nobel Prize for Economics

... and he's probably very smart so what does he have to say about a solution to the financial crisis. Mr. Krugman thinks that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling did the right thing by injecting capital
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Sunday, October 12, 2008 8:06 AM

Pictures of Charleston

Did you want to see lots of great pictures of Charleston. A few weeks ago, a client planning on relocating to Charleston called to postpone their visit and I found myself with a few days with nothing really important to do on my calendar, the weather
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Saturday, October 11, 2008 7:02 AM

The comforts of home

My home is comfortable at 76 degrees. In the summer, my air conditioner seems to run hard to keep the temperature set there but actually, considering how hot Charleston summer days are, I think it would run just as hard keeping the temperature at 74 or
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, October 10, 2008 5:21 AM

What a long strange trip it's been

The stock market effectively crashed yesterday on October 9th exactly one year after setting a record high and how did we get here. To quote the Grateful Dead, "what a long strange trip it's been". Back in February of last year I wrote about
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Thursday, October 09, 2008 2:39 PM

National debt clock runs out of digits

From the you knew it had to happen file, the National debt clock could not accommodate over $10 Trillion dollars that has been run up and as a temporary measure, the dollar sign was removed to accommodate the 1. The owners of the clock, The Durst Organization,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Thursday, October 09, 2008 6:42 AM

Searching high and low for homes

There are all sorts of websites available for real estate consumers to search for homes and the other day, I decided to visit several and see how easy to use they were and how many listings were available and the results were surprising. Here's the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, October 08, 2008 11:01 AM

Pending home sales are up sharply

... according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). But as always, let's take a look at what's behind the statistics and how the Charleston real estate market is doing. The NAR said that the pending home index rose
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 6:35 AM

Long term thinking

With stock market volatility concerning everyone these days (though most of us aren't really that concerned when stocks go up hundreds of points in a day), I started thinking about some comments I've heard from buyers regarding the housing market.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, October 06, 2008 12:19 PM

Registration required or not

I have gone back and forth on whether to require registration to search the Charleston MLS or not. Here is the dilemma, if I require registraton to search and you don't want to register, then you can go to other sites where registration might not
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, October 06, 2008 11:41 AM

Bank of America to modify 400,000 mortgages

Bank of America announced that it will modify 400,000 mortgages totalling $8.4 Billion. The subprime, adjustable rate and pay option mortgages were originated by Countrywide and assumed by BofA when they acquired Countrywide's loan portfolio. While
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Sunday, October 05, 2008 6:48 AM

Drastic solutions

A 90 year old woman facing foreclosure in Akron OH attempted suicide as sheriff's deputies tried to evict her. The sad tale ended well as she is expected to survive the gunshot to her chest and Fannie Mae announced it would dismiss the foreclosure
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Friday, October 03, 2008 7:57 AM

The median is not the message

A bit of a play on the famous words of Marshall McLuhan who said, "The medium is the message"; in real estate, the median is not necessarily the message that Case-Shiller and others tracking home prices are making it out to be. Here's why.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, October 02, 2008 7:11 AM

Motivated seller coming soon

From the you've got to be kidding me files of Charleston real estate: I just noticed the following sentence in a new listing in the Charleston MLS and you just have to laugh. Owners are very motivated!!! ... Sorry ... No showings until October 12th!!!
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments