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February 2011 - Posts

Monday, February 28, 2011 9:53 AM

Wouldn't you rather live in Charleston

A lot of people visit Charleston either on business or a vacation. Some of them go home thinking they would love to live in Charleston someday. That happened to me back in 1991. I first saw the Carolina Coast when I was living in Charlotte NC and traveled
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, February 27, 2011 9:51 AM

[Sue first, think later] The Lones Group v Rothamel, a Real Estate Zebra firestorm

It's always exciting when there is something interesting in the REnet. A firestorm erupted in the social media world when The Lones Group sued Daniel Rothamel for trademark infringement. The usual disclaimer, I am not an attorney and I am not commenting
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Saturday, February 26, 2011 8:26 AM

[Thank you Google] Better rankings for high quality websites

Google announced they have changed their algorithm to improve your search experience by providing better rankings for high quality websites and weed out websites that have tried to "game" the system. From the WSJ , “Google said it changed
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, February 25, 2011 8:03 AM

[Calculated Risk] Realtors sometimes work for free

... do you. Please note that this post has no relationship with the Bill's fabulous Calculated Risk blog (although I did snag his part of his header for my picture). But real estate agents do take a calculated risk every time they work with a client
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 24, 2011 8:43 AM

Preparing your home for sale sometimes increases the price substantially

In the sometimes silly world of real estate, making improvements and staging your home for sale brings out the best in buyers, money that is. That's why there is a difference in how much two similar homes might sell for. While the Charleston real
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 8:06 AM

Case-Shiller Index down again but Case vs. Shiller forecasts differ

The S&P Case-Shiller Index reported home prices declined again. That wasn't much of a surprise. What was a surprise was how the Robert Shiller and Karl Case, the two economists who created the index disagreed whether housing has hit a bottom.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 8:19 AM

How many Charleston homes for sale would you like to view

There is no right or wrong answer and Charleston home buyers seem to be all over the map when it comes to how many homes they might like to view when house hunting. I'm personally of the school that wants to see more rather than less but that's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 21, 2011 7:48 AM

Quick response and I'm not talking about QR codes

It's been said that real estate agents always latch on to the newest and coolest things as if they are magic pills to make them into top producers. QR codes are a case in point; you're probably starting to see them around. But I would also suggest
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, February 19, 2011 8:22 AM

Plan ahead, again

OK, you're interested in buying a home in Charleston. (caution, sarcasm ahead) Now, I realize that some buyers think real estate agents are nothing more than valets who will drive them around to see houses and maybe buy them lunch while others think
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Friday, February 18, 2011 8:10 AM

Homeownership Society or Renter Nation

First of all, let me say there is nothing wrong with renting rather than buying a home, at several periods in my life, it made more sense for me to rent than own but I don't think anyone really wants to rent forever instead of dreaming of owning a
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 17, 2011 8:38 AM

Charleston real estate market report, sales, inventory and home prices, January 2011

It's a new year with a solid start but sales comparisons during the first half of the year will be difficult due to the impact of last year's home buyer tax credit through June. More importantly though, the Charleston real estate market has stabilized
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 8:24 AM

What Charleston home buyers want: hardwood, granite, stainless

... and a flexible floor plan with space for their needs for both today and tomorrow. Recently I was with clients at several new home communities and what was most interesting is what buyers want today. One site agent told me that they can sell their
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 14, 2011 8:58 AM

[Price reductions] Charleston homes for sale

When all is said and done, price is usually the most important factor in whether a home sells or sits unsold on the market. And there are two schools of thought when selling your home, one is to price it aggressively from the start, the second is to try
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, February 12, 2011 9:09 AM

[Game Over Mubarak] but what does that have to do with Charleston real estate

Watching TV last evening, I noticed a sign in Tahrir Square, Game Over Mubarak. Hosni Mubarak finally understood the clock ticked down to zero and that his regime was over. The Egyptian Revolution took only a dramatic 18 days. But what does that have
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Friday, February 11, 2011 8:07 AM

How to choose a Charleston real estate agent [Questions]

Recently, a visitor to my website and blog contacted me regarding helping him buy a property. Because the Charleston real estate market is rather large and unfortunately, their preferred location was not in an area that I am very familiar with and therefore
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Thursday, February 10, 2011 9:15 AM

When you're buying Charleston real estate, cash is king

The WSJ reports that "buyers in markets across the US are snapping up homes in all-cash deals, betting that prices are at or near bottom and breathing life into some of the nation's most battered housing markets". And as you can see on the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 09, 2011 10:22 AM

27 percent of US homeowners are underwater on their mortgage

Bloomberg reports that according to Zillow, 27 percent of US homeowners are underwater on their mortgage . That's bad enough so why does a reputable news organization like CNN Money feel the need to round up the data and have a sensational headline
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 3 Comments
Tuesday, February 08, 2011 9:40 AM

Discover The Ponds, Summerville SC

If you haven't seen The Ponds lately, now is the perfect time to take a look. I recently visited and toured homes with a client who were very excited with what they saw. This magnificent master planned community in Summerville is more exciting than
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, February 07, 2011 10:19 AM

A strong start to the spring selling season in Charleston

It's really not spring ... yet ... and the picture of the lily is from last year but it seems that the spring selling season for Charleston real estate is starting early and it appears that it will be an excellent season for home sales. The Super
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, February 06, 2011 8:30 AM

Your neighbor's foreclosure might cost you thousands of dollars

If you own a home, a foreclosure in your neighborhood might cost you thousands of dollars. And granted, if you aren't selling, it might just be a "paper loss" but not necessarily because if you want to take advantage of today's historic
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Friday, February 04, 2011 7:57 AM

[De-leveraging] "Cash in" mortgage refinancing rises

It wasn't that long ago that homeowners easily took equity out of their homes with their home ATM machine, a "cash out" refinancing. That trend has reversed as people are now putting money back into their home piggy bank by doing what is
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, February 03, 2011 9:51 AM

Charleston home sellers, it's called "buying" a listing

Why are there always a few homes that seem ridiculously overpriced. Doesn't the seller and the real estate agent know that even though other homes are selling for (to use a simple example) $100 per square foot, their home isn't really worth $125.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, February 02, 2011 9:15 AM

[Ask the Agent] Why are sellers rejecting my offers

Someone got in touch with me the other day with a question. Apparently, they wrote offers on 3 homes and all of the sellers rejected their offers. Now because they are currently working with another Charleston real estate agent, I couldn't offer any
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, February 01, 2011 9:08 AM

The Feb 2011 Blizzard, just one more reason to live in Charleston

The weather forecasters say that this will be the biggest snowstorm to hit Chicago since I was a kid back in 1967. Over 20 inches are predicted for Chicago and winter will be rearing its ugly head from Texas to Maine affecting over 100 million people.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments