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November 2008 - Posts

Saturday, November 29, 2008 10:15 AM

[Are you nuts] Still flipping a house in Charleston

From the I can't believe it file, I just noticed someone trying to flip a house in today's Charleston real estate market. One quick question, are you nuts. I know flipping was practically a sport a few years ago and there really are two kinds
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Thursday, November 27, 2008 6:25 AM

Thanksgiving 2008, give thanks

Despite turmoil in the world today or in your personal life ... remember, your glass is half full, not half empty. Give thanks for the blessings in your life. Happy Thanksgiving.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:41 AM

Mortgage rates fall sharply

Yesterday's announcement that the Federal Reserve would be buying $600 Billion worth of mortgage backed securities had a positive impact on mortgage rates which fell sharply to as low as 5.25% to 5.5% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. That certainly
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:29 AM

Bailout: Merriam Webster's word of the year 2008

Bailout easily took top honors as Merriam-Webster's word of the year 2008. Bailout , defined in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition as "a rescue from financial distress," received the highest intensity of lookups
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008 7:50 AM

A Charleston foreclosure, dumb and dumber

I noticed a new listing the other day and based on the low asking price for a home in a neighborhood I'm familiar with, I knew it had to be a foreclosure. I'm naturally curious and so I clicked on the tax records to look at the mortgage history
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Monday, November 24, 2008 10:23 AM

Will a new agent be able to sell your home

In baseball, a relief pitcher is sometimes brought in to relieve an ineffective starting pitcher. Rolaids has awarded the top relief pitcher the Relief Man Award because it ties in with their slogan, Rolaids spells relief . If your house is sitting unsold,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
Sunday, November 23, 2008 7:59 AM

Despite rumors to the contrary

... buyers are buying and sellers are selling in the Charleston real estate market. Mortgages are available, rates are low and loans are closing. Despite rumors to the contrary, banks are still loaning money to buyers and rates are once again below 6%
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Friday, November 21, 2008 12:55 PM

Home prices [Index, Windex, Zindex]

There is as much confusion about home prices today as there are indexes that attempt to measure the value of homes either nationally or locally. Of course, windex is not an index but it is used in the home to clean the windows, etc., which of course would
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, November 20, 2008 3:02 PM

[Aargh!] Now we have pirates to worry about

As if there weren't enough problems, now we have pirates to worry about. Aargh! (I just love saying that). With a barrel of oil below $50 and gasoline finally under $2 per gallon, Somali pirates are demanding $25 million in ransom to release an oil
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:03 PM

Charleston new home construction update

With national new home starts declining by 4.5% to an annual rate of 791,000 units, the lowest since records began in 1959 and building permits, a sign of future residential projects declining by 12% to an annual rate of 708,000, the lowest on record
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 1:09 PM

Charleston foreclosures are increasing

Thanks to RSS feeds, you can now view the increasing numbers of Charleston foreclosures for sale with no registration required. While the growing numbers of foreclosures I am noticing coming on the market are not good news for the families who lost their
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 9:20 AM

You can't buy a median priced home in Charleston

That might sound like a silly statement coming from a Charleston real estate agent who depends on selling homes in Charleston in order to earn a living and with over 10,000 homes available for sale in the Charleston real estate market. But what I mean
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, November 17, 2008 8:14 AM

Charleston absorption rate [so many sellers, so few buyers]

It's amazing how so many sellers are chasing so few buyers in the Charleston real estate market today. Some sellers really want to sell while others apparently don't seem to care. As an example, I plan to show a client several homes for sale in
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Saturday, November 15, 2008 9:16 AM

Take your pick [bailout, foreclosure, bankruptcy, loan modification]

Late last month, I wondered when the government was going to get around to helping the financially troubled homeowner while spending big dollars bailing out banks and other financial institutions. After all, the Hope Now and some other programs offered
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Thursday, November 13, 2008 1:17 PM

Dear Hank [I want to be a bank]

Hank, I hope you don't mind this informal note requesting bailout funds but as a Charleston real estate agent, I would like to convert my business into a bank holding company and become eligible for an injection of capital from the bailout fund that
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 9:31 AM

Search the Charleston MLS [no registration required]

Flip, flop, flip. Once again, you can search the Charleston MLS with no registration required. With the election over and politicians no longer flip flopping on issues (although the next campaign should be starting any day now), it's time for me to
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 2:39 PM

Foreclosures for sale in Charleston

While the Charleston area hasn't experienced the high level of foreclosure activity as many other housing markets around the country, there are certainly a number of foreclosed homes available for purchase by potential homeowners or real estate investors.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
Monday, November 10, 2008 11:55 AM

October 2008 Charleston housing report

I'm introducing a new feature every month on or around the 10th of the month, an early look at the past month's housing activity throughout the Charleston real estate market. You'll be able to view the number of sales, average sale price,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, November 08, 2008 7:36 AM

Trying times for real estate agents

My friend Larry Cragun at RealEstateUndressed in Seattle understands the trying times facing real estate agents in today's current market environment and offers a humorous solution. So his adorable granddaughter is helping out since a government bailout
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Friday, November 07, 2008 8:19 AM

Charleston MLS search is now even better

Searching for Charleston homes for sale is now even better with the new search interface just released. Not only can you use the map based Charleston MLS search to find homes using all the typical criteria including location, price, bedrooms and baths,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, November 06, 2008 8:23 AM

Are you currently working with an agent

If you are not reading this at CharlestonOnlineHomes, the site you see is likely stealing content . When you register to save your search or favorite a property when using the map based Charleston MLS search, one of the (optional) questions is whether
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
Wednesday, November 05, 2008 9:13 AM

A vote for change

... and a message of hope.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Tuesday, November 04, 2008 6:45 AM

No matter your politics, vote today

By way of disclosure, I'm neither a conservative or a liberal, probably more moderate is how I might describe my politics but that doesn't mean that I don't have an opinion, check with my wife if you don't believe that. And so I would
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Monday, November 03, 2008 3:58 PM

Days on market, buying or selling

Ardell at Rain City Guide says days on market do matter . "This week I’ve been trying to answer the question “Where are prices?”. Are they back to early 2006 levels? Are they back to mid-2005 levels? The answer is both, and days
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Monday, November 03, 2008 10:29 AM

Timeline of the financial crisis

The NY Times (love it or hate it) has wonderful interactive graphics. Here is an interactive timeline of the financial crisis over the last 8 weeks. Be sure to check out Eight Weeks of Financial Turmoil .
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Saturday, November 01, 2008 8:36 AM

Daylight savings time ends overnight tonight

Don't forget to turn your clocks back before going to bed tonight. (unless you go to bed really late) Daylight savings time ends at 2AM on Sunday morning, November 2. And for those looking forward to next spring, mark your calendar to change your
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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