Welcome to Charleston Real Estate Blog Sign in | Help

September 2011 - Posts

Friday, September 30, 2011 7:24 AM

[Lowcountry Living] Charleston porches

Many Charleston home buyers are looking for homes with porches. There's nothing finer than sitting on your porch with family and friends enjoying a sweet tea or possibly something stronger. And if one porch is nice, two are even nicer. Back in the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 29, 2011 7:18 AM

Will the Kindle spell the end of the bookcase

I enjoy reading and thus far, I have resisted the growing temptation of buying a Kindle. There's a certain enjoyment of sitting in my favorite chair and reading a good book. If it's a hardcover, I'll use the dust cover to mark my page, if
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 7:48 AM

If you can search Charleston homes for sale with no registration required

... then why register. The primary reason that people visit real estate websites is to search for homes . Some websites might try to make you register in order to search the Charleston MLS in order to get your contact information and convert you from
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, September 26, 2011 7:36 AM

If you don't think golf is big in the Carolinas, you haven't been paying attention

Start with the $10 million FedEx Cup won yesterday by South Carolina's own Bill Haas. Also in the field was my favorite hipster, Dustin Johnson who has been a regular winner on the PGA Tour. Then there is Lucas Glover who won the US Open a couple
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, September 25, 2011 6:47 AM

Rent or buy, you be the judge

First of all, let me say that there is nothing wrong with renting and there are times when it's a better choice. But the other day I viewed a home that was available for both rent and for sale. The offering price was $300,000 or $2400 per month. Actually,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, September 23, 2011 6:58 AM

On this first day of fall, more than leaves are falling

Sometime later this afternoon, a NASA satellite the size of a school bus will break into pieces on reentry and is expected to fall to earth and while it isn't expected to hurt anyone, right now NASA isn't exactly sure where it might land. According
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Filed under: ,
Thursday, September 22, 2011 7:24 AM

Fed Twists, interest rates plummet

Helicopter Ben just resurrected a 60's program to twist the yield curve by swapping short term debt with long term securities. I suppose Chubby Checker will once again be popular as a result. Anyway, interest rates on long term treasuries plummeted
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 7:59 AM

Good news from Inman News

Good news! Inman News is a leading source for real estate news and information for both real estate professionals and consumers. The problem with sharing their content was that it went behind a pay wall requiring membership to read the story 24 hours
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, September 19, 2011 6:58 AM

Would you help this "buyer"

This just seemed like a scam. A "buyer" contacted me to buy a home in Charleston between $550,000 and $800,000 for cash. Some signals it didn't look right. They introduced themselves with one name and signed with another. They wanted a garage
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, September 18, 2011 7:25 AM

The perfect home or the best neighborhood

What's more important, finding the perfect home that offers you everything you ever wanted or living in the best neighborhood. (And I should point out that by saying best , what I mean is a neighborhood that offers you the combination of amenities,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 2 Comments
Friday, September 16, 2011 8:34 AM

Charleston real estate market report, Sales, inventory and home prices, August 2011

Another very good month with August sales significantly higher than the August of 2009 or 2010 and inventory levels (although still elevated) much lower than previous years. Prices though are still being pressured by both sales of distressed properties
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 15, 2011 7:35 AM

An SC real estate contract is a legally binding agreement

Be careful if you think you know it all because you just might find out how little you really know. The usual disclaimer. I'm not an attorney, I don't practice law nor do I play an attorney on a TV show. The SC Agreement to Buy and Sell Real Estate
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 6:33 AM

Are you serious

... about buying a home in Charleston. Searching Charleston real estate might be a hobby for some people. And sometimes, I think we make it a little too easy for real estate browsers to request more information about a property or schedule a showing.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, September 12, 2011 8:00 AM

Does real estate photography matter, you be the judge

I noticed a home listed for sale that met my buyers search criteria and it very well might be a very nice home. But the picture made me question whether it would be a good home to show or a waste of time. As you can see to your left, the home was obviously
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 4 Comments
Sunday, September 11, 2011 6:22 AM

9 / 11 Ten Years Later

Thank you to our heroes.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Filed under: ,
Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:41 AM

Flipping NUTS!!

Charleston real estate tales from the barbershop (well, actually the hair salon as told to me by my hair stylist). Because my hair stylist is a former real estate agent (who isn't), we talk about real estate when I get my hair cut. And she is in the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Friday, September 09, 2011 7:06 AM

Charleston mortgage report, buy or refinance with record low mortgage rates

With 10 year US Treasuries sitting at a ridiculous 2.0 percent (and the usual disclaimer, mortgage rates are based on the prices of mortgage backed securities but Treasuries are a proxy), mortgage rates continue to set record lows according to Bankrate's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Wednesday, September 07, 2011 8:24 AM

Almost 25 percent of all home sales in Charleston are new homes

Despite what you may have read that new home construction is down to it's lowest level in decades (and it is), there are a lot of buyers who just aren't interested in a pre-owned home and prefer to purchase new construction. A buyer who will be
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Tuesday, September 06, 2011 7:29 AM

More Charleston MLS follies [tiny pictures]

The Charleston MLS allows listing agents to post up to 24 pictures when listing homes for sale and they can be as large as 640 by 480 pixels. House hunters want to see as many pictures as possible, that's probably their number one basis for determining
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Monday, September 05, 2011 8:04 AM

Labor Day 2011, jobs, housing and the beach

The weather in Charleston is absolutely beautiful this morning so if you aren't laboring on this Labor Day, it might be the perfect time to spend the day at the beach. And as we await the President's next job plan to be announced this Thursday
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Filed under:
Saturday, September 03, 2011 7:32 AM

Crepe Murder

Although I'm not a professional landscaper, I do enjoy gardening. But I can't help but wonder who some businesses and homeowners hire to do their landscaping when you see a crepe myrtle hacked like this well before it was time to prune back the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, September 02, 2011 7:31 AM

Fannie and Freddie to sue big banks over mortgages

The NY Times reports that "the federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 01, 2011 9:47 AM

Home price indexes are trending up

... but isn't that just a seasonal trend. I'm not one to look negatively at good news but despite Case-Shiller and CoreLogic and others reporting that home prices have increased for 3 and 4 consecutive months respectively (Case-Shiller reported
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments