Felice LaMarca

Monthly Indicator Report

Real estate is local both in terms of geography and personal circumstance.  Listen to the national trends, then talk to your real estate agent about your local market.  In Hilton Head sales are up and inventory is down.  Read the stats below and if you are a buyer…get off the fence before you miss this opportunity.

New Listings in the Hilton Head region decreased 10.3 percent to 359. Pending Sales were up 34.4 percent to 250.  Inventory levels shrank 20.2 percent to 2,925 units, a trend that could indicate a changing landscape.

Prices were fairly stable. The Median Sales Price decreased 1.2 percent to $239,133. Days on Market decreased 4.4 percent to 138 days. Absorption rates improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 26.6 percent to 12.1 months.

Recent reports from the broader economy have dispelled the story of a double-dip recession.  An early reading of gross domestic product (GDP) showed 2.5 percent growth.  Meanwhile, national job growth, a major driver of housing demand and price support, has recently strengthened. An increasingly impatient White House has rolled out phase two of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) for Fannie- and Freddie-backed mortgages. This should help a number of consumers as they write the next chapter.

Housing Supply Overview

For the 12-month period spanning November 2010 through October 2011, Pending Sales in the Hilton Head region were up 13.1 percent overall. The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $225,001 to $375,000 range, where they increased 24.8 percent.

The overall Median Sales Price was down 4.0 percent to $230,285. The property type with the smallest price decline was the Single-Family segment, where prices decreased 3.7 percent to $265,000. The price range that tended to sell the quickest was the $100,000 and Below range at 115 days; the price range that tended to sell the slowest was the $650,001 and Above range at 236 days.

Market-wide, inventory levels were down 20.2 percent. The property type that lost the least inventory was the Condo segment, where it decreased 19.2 percent. That amounts to 11.6 months supply for Single-Family homes and 13.3 months supply for Condos.

The numbers don’t lie.  Hilton Head home sales rose 36% over Oct. 2010.  Villa sales rose 4%.  For Sea Pines, home sales rose 50% and villa sales rose 400%.  WOW.  This is what else can be said…  For any buyers dreaming of having a home or villa on Hilton Head Island, what are you waiting for? Prices to hedge up?  Inventory to dry up?   Am I being dramatic?  No, I am being passionate about buying NOW!   Inventory has been dropping for the third year in a row in Sea Pines and Hilton Head Island.  Prices are at an all time low.  Buy while you still have some good choices and flexible sellers.

A report came out of Washington today indicating rising home prices in half of the major cities.  Standard & Poor’s/Case-Schiller index showed price increases  from July to August in 10 or the 20 cities tracked.  This is the 5th straight month that prices have showed gains indicating a stabilization in some of the hardest hit portions of the country.  Biggest price increases were in Washington, Chicago and Detroit.  Greatest declines were in Atlanta and Los Angeles.  If this trend continues, we will see much needed stabalization come to the housing market.  Hilton Head Island is not showing price increases, but is showing higher list price to sale price percentages.

September numbers are in for homes and villas under contract.  The numbers are  ahead of September, 2010.  For Hilton Head Island, home sales are flat, at 100% of last year, while villa sales are 13% ahead.  In the famed Sea Pines Plantation, home sales are 7% ahead of  Sept. 2010 and villa sales are 25% ahead.  This activity has been good all year with 7 months of numbers ahead of last year.  Couple that with eroding inventory, any purchaser on the fence, should make their best deal now.

Despite some choppy waters in August, there have been noteworthy shifts on both sides of the closing table. Nationally, buyer activity is moving back in line with historical trends while sellers are making fewer concessions in order to sell their homes. Falling supply and improving absorption rates in many regions also suggest that market balance is realigning towards neutral. Locally, both sales and prices posted positive movement over August 2010, but do the rest of the numbers provide reason for optimism?  New Listings in the Hilton Head region decreased 16.7 percent to 433.  Pending Sales were up 17.2 percent to 245.  Inventory levels shrank 20.8 percent to 2,992 units, a positive supply-side improvement. Prices moved higher. The Median Sales Price increased 19.2 percent to $255,000. Days on Market decreased 12.8 percent to 110 days. Absorption rates improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 26.6 percent to 12.4 months.  The economy bobbed along just this side of positive in August. Consumer confidence, which often affects housing demand, showed some slack even as personal income and spending both increased modestly.  Low interest rates, declining supply and stabilizing prices are beacons of hope out there in this volatile environment.

After receiving the Bicycle Friendly Community award won in May, Hilton Head Island has received the Audubon International’s Green Community designation.  The first in the state and one of several across the country, the award was presented at the International Ecotourism Society’s 5th annual conference held this year on Hilton Head Island. This showcases the island’s environmental stewardship, including sea turtle protection, beach renourishment, planned green space & building design, water quality standards & conservation, waste reduction and tree protection.

Hilton Head Island is a fabulous place to visit, live, work and play.

2011 Hilton Head Island home sales averaged 12% over last year. They dipped in May and returned strong in June. Villa/condo sales were 3% oer last year with dips in April & May and came back strong in June. Sea Pines lead the stats with 48% up in home sales and 30% up in villa/condo sales.
Inventory has decreased from last year, but there are still good buys out there for the savvy buyer.

Green Building Myths- Courtesy of Bunting Construction Company

Lisa Medford <lisa@buntingcompany.com>

Green building is no longer a passing fad. In the recent past, building a green home was viewed as an unfeasible type of experiment that would eventually pass. Today, green building is becoming mainstreamed and a preferred method of building. Recent studies have shown there are financial advantages in addition to the environmental advantages of using significantly less energy and water while maintaining lower operating costs. Despite the fact more people are building green, there are still a lot of misconceptions about building a sustainable home.

Myth 1) Green building is cost prohibitive - This is no longer the case. While some environmentally friendly materials may cost more than their traditional counterparts, the money is usually recouped by lower energy costs very quickly. There are alot of high end, high profile green projects that get alot of attention and give the illusion that buiding green is out of reach for the normal home owner. There are many ways to plan your new sustainable home without breaking the bank from rightsizing the structure to optimal value engineering to reducing waste. Depending on the level of sustainability the additional cost can be less or nominal.
Myth 2) Green building is all about material selection - Using hard to find green materials such as recycled content, low embodied energy products and new VOC’s, etc.  are often considered as the main factors in building green. Other factors such as site selection and the overall energy performance are just as important. A green home is a systems approach to the entire construction process.

Myth 3) Finding green materials is difficult – Finding green products are getting easier every day. With green building becoming more popular, finding eco-friendly and energy saving materials are more accessible and affordable than ever. 

Myth 4)  It’s an all or nothing proposition – Some home owners may think in order to be a green home, it must be LEED certified by the US Building Council. While a LEED certification is a great program that provides a template for sustainability, it is most beneficial for the homeowner to see all of the alternatives of building a green home and evaluate the best solution for their personal needs.

 At Bunting Construction Company, we will listen to your needs and desires and help you evaluate what level of green is best for you. Call us today! 843-422-8810  Lisa Medford <lisa@buntingcompany.com>

The 2010 year end statistics have been uploaded to market reports for Hilton Head Island and Sea Pines.  Login to read the state of the union in Hilton Head.  Sales were up 7% overall on the island and that is good news.   Foreclosure and short sales made up about a third of those sales.  It looks like those numbers are decreasing as the current listings for foreclosures and short sales  are 10-15%.