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May 2010 - Posts

Monday, May 31, 2010 6:19 AM

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day

... and it commemorates US soldiers who died in service to the country. The practice of decorating soldiers' graves became widespread at the end of the Civil War and there is an interesting history to the holiday which is now celebrated as the unofficial
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Saturday, May 29, 2010 7:13 AM

Charleston real estate market report, sales, inventory and home prices, May 29, 2010

It was another excellent month in the Charleston real estate market during April with sales 11.7 percent higher than March and 43.8 percent higher than in April of 2009. And there should be even more good news to report in the next few months with 674
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, May 28, 2010 5:59 AM

Charleston luxury home market rebounds strongly

These aren't your ordinary McMansions. Charleston luxury homes are the real thing so whether you are looking for a historic home on the Charleston Peninsula, Charleston waterfront property with a dock for your boat or an oceanfront home on the beach,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, May 27, 2010 6:08 AM

Is the price of that home negotiable [you be the judge]

Since Charleston house hunters can pretty much search the Charleston MLS on their own, some people might wonder why they might need a real estate agent other than to open the door and collect a commission. And while there probably are a few buyers who
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 7:12 AM

Real estate is local, Charleston existing home sales and inventory

Yesterday, the existing home sales report was released and while sales jumped nationally by 7.6 percent, inventory of homes for sale shot up by 11.5 percent, the highest since last July and the biggest jump in 10 years. Read a nice synopsis of national
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, May 24, 2010 6:42 AM

Charleston real estate activity [before and after the tax credit]

There are some who are saying the the first time home buyer tax credit needs to be extended (again) as if the Charleston real estate market needs the stimulus. While it certainly helped stabilize the housing market, I disagree. Let's look at the benefits
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, May 22, 2010 5:50 AM

If you're relocating to Charleston, use a local lender

... rather than your favorite lender from back home if you want the transaction to go smoothly. Real estate laws differ from state to state and that's where the problem lies if you want to buy a home in Charleston but use your lender from back home
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, May 21, 2010 7:22 AM

Charleston mortgage rates at lows for the year, May 21, 2010

There is good news for Charleston mortgage rates due in large part to all the bad news in the stock market and the sovereign debt problems in Europe causing the Euro to tank. The dollar is stronger and US Treasuries are considered a safe haven and that
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, May 20, 2010 5:35 AM

If you're buying a home in Charleston, don't settle for less

than what you really want ... and regret your decision. I'm currently working with some clients and we've seen a lot of homes. There has always been one thing or another that just isn't perfect. That's to be expected. Even if you build
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 6:06 AM

Southern Magnolias in bloom throughout Charleston

The quintessential flowers of the Southern Magnolia are in bloom both in Charleston gardens and throughout the Charleston area and I caught this photo the other day. You can learn more about Southern Magnolias here .
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, May 17, 2010 5:10 AM

But it doesn't matter what you paid

Kind of a funny story. An out of town client will be closing on a home in a couple of weeks and wanted her daughter who lives in Charleston to see it and take some measurements so we made arrangements for the sellers to let us in and look around. Well,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, May 15, 2010 6:46 AM

When it looks too good to be true

... you know what they say. You can say it about some Charleston MLS listings and you can say it about some of the mortgage ads you see like this one. Too good to be true? Let's look at this ad more carefully. First of all, the reference to Obama's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, May 14, 2010 5:57 AM

Darn, I thought my neighbor was selling their home

... but it was only a sign advertising that a new bathroom was installed. As they say, you can pick a neighborhood but you can't pick your neighbors. And while there are many very nice and friendly people who live both on my street and around the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, May 13, 2010 7:33 AM

Buying a foreclosure, from contract to closing

The easy part of buying a foreclosure for sale in the Charleston real estate market is searching for one. Once you find a lender owned home that you like and your contract is accepted, then the process gets a little more difficult. Actually, right now
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, May 11, 2010 3:02 PM

Southwest Airlines to fly out out of Charleston

... and Greenville so Palmetto State fliers can soon have their bags fly free ... and pay less for tickets too! The announcement by Southwest Airlines is not only good news for local Charlestonians but for the many tourists who visit Charleston and area
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, May 10, 2010 11:54 AM

77 percent of Charleston MLS listings fail to sell

That statistic is simply amazing but true. There are currently 9914 active listings of homes for sale in the Charleston MLS. 8070 of those homes have been listed since the first of the year. There are currently 1776 homes under contract that are contingent
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, May 08, 2010 6:48 AM

Jumbo mortgage rates are lower and Charleston luxury home sales are higher

One very good reason that Charleston luxury home sales are sharply higher this year is that mortgage rates for Jumbo loans (non conforming loans for more than $417,000 that aren't backed by government related entities - Fannie and Freddie) is that
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, May 07, 2010 6:21 AM

Charleston mortgage report, today's mortgage rates May 7, 2010

First, what a great call by Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture on the stock market, going 100 percent cash on Wednesday evening at 11:22PM before the stock market tanked on Thursday. Don't forget he called the March 2009 market bottom too! And mortgage
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, May 06, 2010 6:40 AM

Do you need flood insurance

When you buy (or own) a home, you may be required to purchase flood insurance depending on whether you are in a flood zone or not. Some people are relieved that their home is not in a flood zone so they don't have to get flood insurance. But the flooding
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, May 05, 2010 6:30 AM

Charleston realty [reality] for buyers and sellers

It's kind of amusing to notice a Charleston MLS description that says the home appraised for $XXX in July of 2007 as if that might justify the seller's list price since everyone who hasn't been sleeping under a rock for the past 3 years knows
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, May 03, 2010 4:21 PM

Good news - finally

I have sent out the monthly Charleston real estate update for over three years as a monthly newsletter highlighting blog posts of potential interest and of course, always including a link to the Charleston real estate market report packed with Charleston
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, May 01, 2010 6:31 AM

Charleston real estate market report, sales, inventory and home prices, May 1, 2010

March was another very good month for the Charleston real estate market with sales almost 16% higher than March 2009. Even more importantly, sales improved in all price categories showing that it isn't just first time home buyers claiming the tax
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments