Santa is arriving at the pier Saturday, December 11, by boat at 2:00 PM.  Come to the Village where you'll be able to see Santa and have some hot cocoa and cookies sponsored by the SSI/Sea Island Council of the Chamber of Commerce.  This promises to be a lot of fun, and it looks like the weather will be coorperating.  (NO SNOW, thank you very much!!!)

Hope to see you there!

Well, we survived another 4th of July on St. Simons!  The crowds on the island were huge this year, and the fireworks lacked correography, but over all I'd say it was a very successful 4th of July for St. Simons.  With the 4th falling on a Sunday this year, we had an extended week-end for the festivities - no "off on Wenesday but back to work on Thursday" this year, so more people had the time to come participate in our festivities.  The weather, although rainy during the first part of the week, turned out to be exceptional for the whole week-end.  Low tide nearly coincided with the fireworks show - all of the stars alligned for a great time. 

I didn't make it to the craft festival this year (truth be told, I forced myself to stay away!)  As much as I love visiting the booths, my house does not need another face jug; besides, there is another one coming up in October, so I can do my Christmas shopping then. 

To make the week-end sweeter, I had a wonderful couple from Atlanta decide to purchase a 2nd home here.  And why not?  With this market, many who were priced off the island just a few years ago are getting terrific deals on homes.  I always love to share St. Simons with visitors, and it pleases me to no end when others fall in love with the area just as I did 28 years ago.  My first trip to St. Simons was in late June/early July 1982, and anyone who falls in love with our area in the summer will simply be thrilled with the rest of the year! 

If you would like a free list of foreclosures (please don't pay someone for this!), just email me at Sally@SallyHardman.com.  And if you need a map, or better yet a tour, just call me at 912-230-0695.  I work only with buyers, so you don't have to worry about me trying to sell you one of my listings - I don't have any!  With no vested interest in selling you one listing over another, there is never a conflict of interest.  Come see St. Simons, and better yet, come see me - I look forward to meeting you.

Tourists who had previously scheduled vacations on the Gulf Coast are coming to St. Simons Island in droves.  I have actually taken my link to vacation rentals off of my website for the next few weeks.  My vacation homes have been rented through the end of August for months now, and I'm getting emails and calls daily asking me what the rate is for "next week"!  CRAZY!!!

Not only are vacation homes being affected.  This week I received a call from a lady who just sold her home in Sarasota.  She is exploring the east coast.  Of course the prospect of hurricanes hitting the oil spill is unnerving for homeowners along the gulf coast, and St. Simons and the Golden Isles look pretty good!  There is no prospect for more island land being developed, and most who visit here agree that our area has charm and character that they never expected.   The influx of tourists (many who have never been here before) can only be good for our area.  It's summer, and I love it here.  I also appreciate the opportunity to share this lovely place with my new friends and clients. 

Happy 4th of July - maybe I'll see you at the pier!!!

I attended an auction today where a local bank had authorized an auction (some absolute) of several local properties.  I had been asked by various people what I thought the oceanfront condos on Beachview would sell for, and I replied that I thought anything under $800K would be a good deal.  The units were large oceanfront new condos with all of the bells and whistles.  However, while there is an HOA document on file, there is no agreement on dues and/or fees.  I hope the buyers like each other!

I was pretty close to the actual sales prices - the top floor sold for $775K ($852,500 with buyer's premium), and the lower floor sold for $700K ($770K with buyer's premium).  Not bad...

The deal of the day (in my not so humble opinion) was the house on Hawkins Island.  For those of you who don't know, Hawkins Island is a private gated Sea Island community which normally commands top dollar.  Available at the auction was a 5 BR/5 BA house, over 7,500 sq. ft., with in-ground pool, spa, etc.  This house went for $700k - or slightly over $100 a square foot after adding buyer's premium.  That is giving no value to the land!  The lackluster bidding on this house made me want to raise my hand! 

Another property that went for a great price was 920/922 Ocean Blvd.  This duplex was brand new, including all the upgrades with granite, hardwood, elevators, etc. - very nice units!  No view to speak of, but very close to the beach and located close to the premier restaurants on St. Simons (Crab Trap, Crab Daddy, Saltwater Cowboy, and of course, Beachcomber BBQ).  These units went for $375K and $360K + the 10% Buyer's Premium.  Hmmm...

The good news is that these were not all bought by investors.  It is nice to see some "regular" folks buy these properties and actually plan on using them!  Congratulations to the lucky buyers at this auction.  I think all but one of the properties sold at good prices, and a few sold at exceptional prices.  Now, if I only had some money. 

Has anyone else suffered social media communications overload?  Twitter - Facebook - blogs - websites - chat - foursquare - IM - smart phones - the list seems non-ending!  I created a great real estate website, then another, then, blogs become the new way to attract visitors to the website.  So I HAVE to have a blog - right? (I must admit I was pretty good at getting articles churned out for the blog when Facebook arrived).  But wait - now I need a Facebook page, need to have fans, etc. etc...  Uh oh - Aston Kutcher says Twitter is the wave of the future!  So... I now have a Twitter account.  (Don't ask me where it is or how to use it, because by this time I'm having trouble remembering log-in names, passwords, and just general instructions).

Along the way, I realized that all of these new "tools" do not help me in my business at all!  If anything, my earlier projects (my websites, this blog, etc.) are suffering from my lack of time and attention.  So, I am setting an intention to review my online projects.  Some will survive, some won't (do I really NEED more than one website?)

So I hope to post here more often.  This is one of the projects that I really enjoy!  Putting my ideas out there is cathartic - even if no one ever reads them!

On another note, I hope you are having a great summer - as a result of the horrific oil spill in the gulf, we have been quite busy.  While we love the attention, our hearts and prayers go out to our sister beach communities along the gulf coast.