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December 2011 - Posts

Saturday, December 31, 2011 7:11 AM

Eleven

A look back, a look ahead. For fans of numbers, 2011 was a terrific year starting on January 1 only to be outdone on November 11th. 2012 will have some good dates too. The Charleston real estate market performed very well during 2011. Home sales were
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 29, 2011 9:03 AM

Charleston real estate website traffic soars after Christmas

... as always. A quick look at the screenshot pretty much tells the story. Hopefully there should be another pop to an even higher level after New Years. January and March are generally the busiest months of the year for website traffic (remember February
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 28, 2011 8:32 AM

[Wrong] In foreclosure and life is good?

Far too many people have sadly lost their homes to foreclosure in the last few years. But some people have chosen to strategically default and a side benefit to that is that it is possible to live in your home rent free for two or three years. CNN Money
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:37 AM

Thank you for your referrals

When a client refers you to a friend, neighbor, relative or co-worker, it's the highest compliment that they can pay you. It means that not only were they happy with the services that you provided them when they bought or sold a home but they trust
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, December 25, 2011 5:22 AM

Holiday Greetings 2011

Merry Christmas Happy Hanukkah Joyous Kwanzaa Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Friday, December 23, 2011 7:54 AM

It's a great time to buy but a lousy time to sell

I hate to throw a lump of coal at home sellers during this holiday season but the current reality of the Charleston real estate market is that it's a great time to buy a home with mortgage rates below 4 percent, lots of inventory to choose from and
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 22, 2011 7:30 AM

Good news on unemployment should be good news for housing

It goes without saying that if you want to buy a home, you need a good job. And there is good news on the unemployment front in both the Charleston metropolitan area and the state of South Carolina. The Post and Courier reports that unemployment fell
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 9:53 AM

What does the downward revision by NAR to existing home sales really mean

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) today revised downward existing home sales by 14.3 percent from 2007 through 2010. Two unfortunate results will probably be the loss of a little credibility for NAR along with screaming headlines in the media
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, December 19, 2011 9:08 AM

The rise and fall of inventory of Charleston homes for sale

One of the most important trends this year in the Charleston real estate market has been lower inventory levels of homes for sale in Charleston. From very low levels during 2003 through 2005, inventory soared during 2006 and 2007 peaking in 2008 at the
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 17, 2011 8:10 AM

Charleston mortgage report, with record low rates, the trend is your friend

Bad news is good news for mortgage rates. Courtesy of Bankrate , here is a one year chart of the 30 year fixed rate conventional mortgage and as you can clearly see, the trend has been your friend in the last year whether you are buying or refinancing
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 16, 2011 7:48 AM

Too many paint colors sometimes distract buyers

I've viewed a number of homes with buyers over the years that simply had too many paint colors and the result often was that the buyers were distracted from what might have been a very nice home. That's probably why most real estate agents tell
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 15, 2011 8:17 AM

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

As we've seen all year, November turned out to be another good month for the Charleston housing market. Home sales in November were 5 percent higher than November of 2011 and we are all but virtually assured that sales in 2011 will be higher than
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 7:48 AM

Are there too many surveys for you to answer

I think there are and I'll bet you think so too. In just one day last week, I went from Lowes to Belk to 5 Guys and had Time Warner, our illustrious cable operator out for service and all 4 requested a survey to make sure that I was happy with their
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 7:46 AM

I wonder whatever happened to

... some of the people who contacted me to buy a home in Charleston. And then seemingly dropped off the radar screen. Of course you can only expect a small fraction of the people who contact you via your website to actually buy a home. Some might already
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, December 11, 2011 8:03 AM

What could be even better than a good agent review

With all the talk about agent reviews these days, even better than a good review or a testimonial might be a very happy client who thanks you with dinner at one of Charleston's finest restaurants. It's pretty traditional for a real estate agent
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 09, 2011 7:37 AM

Where's the pics

Probably the most frustrating thing for buyers searching Charleston homes for sale is finding a listing in the price range and location that they are interested in only to see that there are only a couple of pictures. The first thing that might come to
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 08, 2011 8:27 AM

Where are you searching for Charleston real estate

... and why. I attended hearitdirect, an amazing conference held in Charleston yesterday featuring panels of Charleston real estate consumers who provided insights into buying, selling and their use of technology to search Charleston homes for sale. Let's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 06, 2011 8:05 AM

I was reminded to brag about Charleston's weather

The Charleston MLS just changed vendors who handle showing appointments and I attended an orientation seminar yesterday. The company, ShowingTime, is headquartered in Chicago (which just happens to be my hometown) and the 3 representatives who visited
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Monday, December 05, 2011 8:14 AM

Can you spot a "hot" listing

I've said for a while now that today's Charleston house hunter doesn't really need an agent to find homes for sale that might be perfect for them. And I know several buyers who work very hard searching just about every day (and sometimes multiple
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 03, 2011 7:38 AM

[Thinking of selling] bad news, good news, bad news for Charleston home sellers

The bad news for Charleston home sellers is that only one of two homes that are listed for sale actually sell. The good news is that every home can sell if you really want to sell it. The bad news is that you really have to want to sell it if you're
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 02, 2011 7:49 AM

[Real estate gravity] What goes up sometimes falls hard

A tale of distressed property in Charleston that illustrates the point that home values sometimes decline far more than the average because this home appears to be back to where it sold around 2002. Now, you don't really know what the condition of
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments