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December 2010 - Posts

Friday, December 31, 2010 8:34 AM

New Year's Eve 2010, a look back, a look ahead

At holidays, I usually see what I wrote the previous year but it turns out that I didn't write a blog post on New Year's Eve last year so the next best thing was finding my post for New Year's Day 2010. It was kind of surprising. There was
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 30, 2010 7:40 AM

Bank of America foreclosure faux paux of the day

... and on Christmas Eve, no less. Don't get me wrong, I like Bank of America, my mortgage is with them (even though they sold it to Bank of New York Mellon the other day). But they are really doing some stupid stuff lately and apparently even they
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 8:58 AM

Thoughts on Case-Shiller and the housing double dip

To nobody's surprise (OK, I guess some economists were surprised but that's their job after all), Case-Shiller reported that home prices declined in October and are forecasting a double dip. “The double-dip is almost here,” David Blitzer,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 8:57 AM

Yikes, BofA sold my mortgage so what does MERS have to do with it anyway

Bank of America hasn't gotten the best press recently for their adventures in mortgage land what with robo signers, seizing homes unlawfully, seizing the wrong home (which sometimes didn't even have a mortgage) and whatever else those wild and
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, December 27, 2010 8:34 AM

[Signs of the times] Homes for sale in a Charleston neighborhood

Most neighborhoods in Charleston have homes for sale by traditional sellers and of course, times being what they are, there are also both foreclosures and short sales available for sale. If the neighborhood is relatively new, there are likely to be homes
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, December 26, 2010 9:27 AM

After a brief interruption for Holiday food and wine

... we'll return to Charleston real estate tomorrow (and a much needed diet after New Year's). While we generally celebrate Thanksgiving with a large family gathering, my wife Polly and I usually spend Christmas by ourselves. Polly is an amazing
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
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Friday, December 24, 2010 6:33 AM

Holiday Greetings 2010

Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah Joyous Kwanzaa Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Thursday, December 23, 2010 8:14 AM

Charleston foreclosures on Google maps

I would have thought Google would have dominated real estate search by now but for whatever reason, it really hasn't. Maybe Facebook will. But Google maps has a very cool search for foreclosures and while it is totally sad that all these homeowners
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 8:52 AM

[Census] Population continues to shift to the South and West with fascinating interactive maps

The South and West continue to gain population (and political clout) at the expense of the Northeast and Midwest. The Census released preliminary data determining which states will gain and lose members of Congress and in turn, the Electoral College.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 21, 2010 7:28 AM

Today is the first day of Winter but the Spring home selling season starts in 10 days

It seems kind of crazy to be talking about the Spring home selling season on the first day of Winter but if you plan to sell your home in Charleston during the busiest season of the year, now is the time to get ready to sell. Search activity by Charleston
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, December 20, 2010 8:26 AM

[Almost] End of year Charleston real estate market snapshot Dec 20, 2010

Let's take a look at current Charleston real estate market conditions at [almost] the end of the year and look both back at 2010 and ahead to 2011. The chart below displays the number of currently active listings, the number of listings that are currently
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 18, 2010 8:58 AM

[Silly] Not for sitting 24 hours per day

This is just totally silly. I just bought a new desk chair and believe it or not, there was a warning that normal usage is not for sitting 24 hours per day. The chair is made by Sealy, famous for their mattresses so I'm kind of surprised that there
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Friday, December 17, 2010 8:20 AM

[Ask the Agent] What areas of Charleston are good buys

A buyer planning on relocating to Charleston recently inquired what areas of Charleston are good buys. Not to sound like Bill Clinton but the short answer is that depends on what you mean by a good buy. A good buy might imply the least expensive homes
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 16, 2010 9:35 AM

Multiple offers in a supposedly slow Charleston real estate market

It's December and real estate activity should be slow due to the Holiday season but that isn't necessarily the case. The other day, three buyers put offers on a home for sale in Charleston. What's going on with that. You just shouldn't
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 2:36 PM

Charleston mortgage report, mortgage interest rates hit 5 percent again

Mortgage interest rates tend to go down slowly and rise quickly and that is just what has happened over the past month or so with 30 year conventional fixed rate loans quoted at 5 percent again. With the economy recovering, the stock market up and inflation
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:42 AM

If you want to buy or sell a home in Charleston, you just can't make up the price

Whether you are buying or selling a home in Charleston, you just can't make up the price if you want to make a deal. It would seem obvious but both buyers and sellers do it and it doesn't serve any purpose if you actually want to successfully
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Monday, December 13, 2010 8:30 AM

Did the appraisal support the sales price

Back in the day, it seemed that appraisals always seemed to support the sales price. The banks apparently weren't all that concerned about home valuations because they only went up. Obviously, times have changed. And appraisers are taking a much more
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, December 12, 2010 9:47 AM

HGTV House Hunters [reality or unreality TV]

After watching Bobby Flay get beat once again on Throwdown on the Food Network (and I can't figure out how come he can't seem to beat anyone), we switched over to HGTV for House Hunters and now I understand why some people think they can buy a
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Saturday, December 11, 2010 8:16 AM

Single family homes and condos and townhomes for sale in Charleston [Inventory comparison by price range]

A Charleston real estate agent recently commented to me that there weren't very many nice single family homes available for sale in Charleston. The suggestion was that there was a glut of condo inventory and that it was difficult to find a really
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 10, 2010 8:03 AM

Mortgage rates are up so the sky must [must not] be falling

Yesterday, I wrote about mortgage rates on the rise, up, up and away and I noticed an excellent article written by Steve Kerch at MarketWatch putting some perspective on where mortgage rates are and have been over the years. His main points, we've
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 09, 2010 8:58 AM

[Up, up and away] Mortgage rates on the rise

It seems that the lowest mortgage rates are behind us and today's 4.75 percent will likely be 5.00 or 5.50 percent early next year. While that is still a very attractive rate, 4.00 percent will soon be a distant memory. A combination of events has
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 10:06 AM

If you're thinking of selling your home, take notice of the seasonal trend in Charleston real estate search

The chart to the left shows the number of pageviews each month by Charleston house hunters (searching the Charleston MLS on my website through the IDX feed). Activity picks up immediately after the first of the year and peaks in March and stays strong
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 8:29 AM

Charleston real estate monthly newsletter

If you haven't signed up to get my monthly newsletter, sample it right here and then register to receive it every month . Sorry I’m a little late getting out the monthly update due to the Thanksgiving holiday and as long as we’re talking
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Monday, December 06, 2010 8:36 AM

Understanding the short sale approval process

You may have seen the phrase, "approved short sale" in the description when searching Charleston homes for sale but there is no such thing as an approved short sale until you leave the closing with the keys to your new home. Paragraph 4 of the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Saturday, December 04, 2010 8:27 AM

A Charleston home buyer can find listings for sale but where do you go for accuracy and insight

There are literally zillions of places to find homes for sale these days and that isn't a bad thing, you can Google anything and there are lots of syndicated sites (like Zillow and Trulia to name two well known places) offering listings and yes, local
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 03, 2010 7:39 AM

Charleston real estate market report, sales, inventory and home prices, December 3, 2010

It's getting harder to make fair comparisons to last year when the home buyer tax credit was due to expire at the end of November because there was a big rush by first time home buyers to close by November 30th. And after the extension to June 30th
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Thursday, December 02, 2010 9:52 AM

Is this the end of low mortgage interest rates and the mortgage interest deduction

After sitting at 4 percent for a while, mortgage rates are now moving higher and yesterday were quoted at 4.5 percent. But the big buzz is the proposal by the Deficit Reduction Commission to end the mortgage interest deduction. What's the story .
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 01, 2010 8:53 AM

Charleston waterfront homes: homes, water and views

For boating and fishing enthusiasts interested in a waterfront home in Charleston, there are so many choices available in such a wide price range that it's important for you to match your search criteria with your budget. Because buying a home always
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments