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February 2009 - Posts

Saturday, February 28, 2009 7:50 AM

Brilliant [A Charleston home pricing strategy for listing your home for sale]

I liked the Guinness Brilliant ad campaign and I enjoy having a Guinness on occasion as well. So with a hat tip to Noah at UrbanDigs , I snagged this cute picture off his blog to illustrate a pricing strategy for Charleston homeowners listing their home
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 26, 2009 2:51 PM

Charleston real estate market outlook brightens with increased activity

After that headline, before anyone steps up and says, Howard, you've been pretty upfront and straight with us for a long time, how could you write that kind of nonsense and now you're starting to sound like David Lereah, let me explain. Even though
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 12:28 PM

Two great food and wine festivals in Charleston

If I sell a million dollar home today ... or if I win the powerball jackpot tonight, there is no doubt we'd head over to The Sanctuary Hotel at Kiawah Island Resort for the 1st Annual Gourmet & Grapes Festival the weekend of March 13 - 15. It
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009 7:29 AM

Buyers want a house, not an agent

Seth said to post something really interesting today (today was Seth Godin's 3000th post and this is my 791st). I'll try my best. I get a lot of inquiries from my website and blog. There seem to be two kinds of buyers. Some buyers are looking
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 23, 2009 7:56 AM

44 hours is not a new reality tv show

... but it was how long it took a real estate agent to contact me. From the "too busy to bother file", a true story. One of my client's parents asked me to help them find a real estate agent in another city. Since I didn't personally
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Saturday, February 21, 2009 9:29 AM

CNBC's Rick Santelli tells it like it is [re: Obama mortgage relief plan]

I think everyone believes that minimizing foreclosures would be a good idea. Previous efforts have been dismal failures and unfortunately, the Obama mortgage relief plan aimed at helping 9 million distressed homeowners is overly optimistic and not likely
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, February 20, 2009 1:43 PM

1031 Planters Place, Mount Pleasant townhome for sale, $182,500

Just listed in Mount Pleasant, a beautiful townhome with an outstanding floor plan for sale at 1031 Planters Place for just $182,500. Conveniently located in close in Mount Pleasant, this home is just 5 minutes from Historic Downtown Charleston, only
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Friday, February 20, 2009 8:04 AM

Ethics complaint filed against Rehava

The Charleston Business Journal has reported that an ethics complaint has been filed with the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors against Steve deGuzman, Broker in Charge and owner of Rehava. First, let me say that I know Steve from when we both
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 8:24 PM

The Obama housing plan

From the WSJ , President Obama's plan to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure. "The Obama administration announced new plans to make it easier for up to nine million people to rework or refinance their mortgages, in an effort to stabilize
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 6:24 AM

Real deals on Charleston real estate

Everyone seems to have an opinion on how much you should pay for a home. Someone told me the other day that someone told them that they should be able to buy a home for sale in Charleston from 10 to 20 percent off list price. Well, take this house ...
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 6:57 AM

House of Cards

I had an opportunity to watch CNBC's documentary House of Cards hosted by David Faber on the origins of the financial crisis last evening. While I don't watch a lot of television, some news, the weather, certain sports and the occasional HGTV/Food
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Monday, February 16, 2009 11:22 AM

January 2009 Charleston housing report

Understatement: I've seen better ways to start the year. January 2009 appears to be totally dismal for the Charleston real estate market with both sales activity and prices down sharply. It would appear that the mix of homes sold reflects higher levels
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, February 15, 2009 7:44 AM

Economic stimulus includes $8k first time homebuyer tax credit

The House and Senate have agreed on the economic stimulus bill and the President will be signing it into law on Tuesday in Denver. The economic stimulus bill does include an $8k first time homebuyer tax credit. The most important change from the prior
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 6 Comments
Friday, February 13, 2009 4:43 PM

[A delightfully funny] explanation of the economic stimulus package

Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture is not only very smart but also very funny. I just noticed his delightfully funny explanation of the economic stimulus package expected to be passed by both the House and Senate and signed by the President within a few
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Friday, February 13, 2009 8:10 AM

Some Charleston home sellers get it

and of course, a few still aren't paying attention. [Satire ahead] Are they living under a rock? One of the most helpful things for Charleston real estate agents is the "hot sheet" provided each day by the Charleston MLS for agents to see
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Thursday, February 12, 2009 6:51 AM

Referral is a fancy way of saying [You've been sold as a lead]

Do you think of yourself as a real estate buyer or do you want to be sold as a commodity like perhaps cattle. Effectively, that is what becoming a lead is. Referral is only a fancy way of saying it. And now Redfin has rejoined the referral fray, having
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 7:29 AM

Why I write The Charleston Real Estate Blog

As a Charleston real estate agent, my business is dependent upon meeting and helping clients buy and/or sell a home in Charleston. And I can directly trace a number of transactions that originated from either my website or my blog. In May of 2007 about
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 8:08 AM

Is a 4.5 percent mortgage likely

Bill Gross at PIMCO seems to think that a 4.5 percent mortgage is likely. CNBC has a video interview with Bill Gross where he suggests the Fed will cap the 10 year Treasury rate. Combine this with today's announcement on the next round of the bank
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 09, 2009 8:36 AM

Curb appeal sells [or doesn't] sell your Charleston home

Sure, it's still winter and even the prettiest lawns in Charleston are still dormant but ... if you are selling your home in today's Charleston real estate market, don't forget that curb appeal will determine whether a buyer wants to look
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, February 07, 2009 7:36 AM

Larry Cragun's Magnificent 7 consumer articles

My friend Larry Cragun from the beautiful Pacific Northwest seeks out the best consumer real estate articles and once in a while I'm honored to have one of my blog posts chosen by Larry. But here are the Magnificent 7 winners from the past year and
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Friday, February 06, 2009 7:29 AM

The $15k homebuyers tax credit and your closing date

IMPORTANT! If the economic stimulus bill passes and the $15k homebuyers tax credit is part of the bill, your closing date will determine whether you receive or do not receive the tax credit if you are purchasing a primary residence. It is very important
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Thursday, February 05, 2009 7:56 AM

$15k homebuyer tax credit added by Senate to stimulus bill

UPDATES BELOW The Senate has added a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit to the economic stimulus bill. This is different and far better than last year's $7500 tax credit for first time homebuyers that had to be repaid over 10 years. This bill would give
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 4:23 PM

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, would you like me to show your home

... or would you rather I take your dog for a walk. Recently, I wrote about a home for sale where the listing indicated that the pets could easily be killed if the showing agent wasn't careful when showing the house. I commented that the sellers might
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 9:24 AM

Plan ahead

Sometimes, you just have to wonder what people might have been thinking. In a neighborhood that I follow closely so I tend to remember street addresses, I just noticed two homes go on the market.There's nothing unusual about that considering the time
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 02, 2009 7:38 PM

We don't need more hypocrisy

Tom Daschle, nominated as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Human Services, said today he was deeply embarrassed regarding his failure to pay his taxes. "As you can well imagine, I am deeply embarrassed and disappointed by the errors that required
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Monday, February 02, 2009 8:57 AM

Steelers Nation

Another great Super Bowl, especially for Steelers Nation. What used to be a Super Bore is finally starting to live up to the hype with another in a string of great games and best of all, the Pittsburgh Steelers prevailed over the Arizona Cardinals making
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Sunday, February 01, 2009 9:35 AM

Charleston real estate market report, home prices, February 1, 2009

Despite the bleak news reported just about everywhere on the dismal state of the housing market, Charleston home prices have held up very well. The chart immediately below will show you the median sales prices in the Charleston real estate market from
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments