Last weekend I attended the Coastal Auction at the Marriott. I was amazed to see about 200 people there. There were about 60 properties on the block. The first two properties up were absolute. Two condos went for $70,000 and $74,000. That was probably not a bad price for either party. But from there the activity dropped. The auctioneers struggled to try and get bids of any kind on all sorts of properties. They resorted to asking for any kind of minimum bid and on some properties this did work; but for many that did not even bring in a bid. I heard only 7 properties actually sold out of the 60. I don't think the auctioneers were very happy with the result produced. They had spent over $100,000 in marketing and then also had the cost of the function itself. Bottom line is it helped many sellers find out what buyers thought of their property. I think there will be many more auctions, but I think that it will more likely be the Auction Company making what little money there is to be made. They get the sellers money upfront for advertising. And then the sales pay for the event and the profit. Seems to me the seller is best to go ahead and reduce the price of their property enough to get action rather than paying in advance for marketing that will still only produce a sale if it is at a steal price!

To find out the optimal price to ask for your property, visit my North Myrtle Beach Real Estate website and contact me.

Howard Burton at Bank of America today sent word out that no lender after Friday will be able to finance the oceanfront condo market. I think what he should have indicated is that Bank of America will not be able to finance oceanfront condos after Friday. I called Donna Millen at Wells Fargo and she said that there programs will not change. They are available, and will be available. Evidently there is at least a temporary problem with selling the oceanfront condo loans on the secondary market, but Wells Fargo has a source that no one else seems to have and they still can sell the loans without a hitch. Everyone thinks that a solution will come for all the lenders, but the question is how long it will take. Of course, all this brought about by the overindulgence of investors trying to flip properties and then getting stuck!

Anderson Ocean Club received it's Certificate of Occupancy on September 13th. Now the furniture is going in and the amenities are all being completed. I toured the building last week and it is beautiful. So many great features that have been incorporated including crown molding and inlaid tile features. The beds are OHHHHHHHHHH so nice! Top of the line Sealy posturpedic pillow top mattresses. You may never want to get out of bed. Enclosed corridors, beautiful carpet, large fitness center, dayspa and even valet parking. You will be impressed with Anderson Ocean Club.

Wow, the Wells Fargo Millen Team is providing a 1% interest rate buydown on conventional mortgages for the first year of the loan at no cost to the buyer or seller on Century 21 Boling listings! How cool is that! The Wells Fargo Millen Team has been named the preferred lender for Century 21 Boling & Associates in Myrtle Beach, SC. In addition to offering this great incentive for anyone purchasing a Century 21 Boling listing, they also offer great products for the oceanfront. On the new Anderson Ocean Club they are providing 1% of the primary loan amount in closing costs to any buyer using a qualifying product. In many cases this is a savings of $3,000-5,000. Certainly with today's market, the Millen Team is out there to help me provide you MORE when buying and selling.