? Archives
August 2007
• Aug. 13, 2007 - The South---Where Chivalry Lives On!
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This Wednesday the front-page headline of our local Brunswick News read, “Mayor hears shouts, chases alleged flasher.” The article went on to relay that our city mayor upon coming out of a local downtown café saw a woman with that “deer in headlights” stunned look and stopped to inquire if he could be of service. She said a man had just shown her more than she cared to see & while speaking to the mayor pointed out “There he is!” The mayor, as any other Southern gentleman would, took off on foot to catch such a rude, crude dude. Even while running in his dress shoes & managing to keep the perpetrator in sight, the mayor had the dexterity to call for back up and was aided by a police officer in apprehending the young man. The accused offender was then transported to the police station and the lady’s honor restored!
Don’t you love such small town charm, or wouldn’t you like to?
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• Aug. 8, 2007 - What do our Buyers really want? Are we Listening?
Listen Up!
I compared the statistical data in our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the months of June & July. I found it interesting that when you compare the sales prices to the new listings’ prices coming on the market you see a noticeable difference in those numbers.
For 7/1/ - 7/31/07
The Single Family category that had the most sold transactions was the 3 Bedroom group - in the $140-$159,999 price range (11 closed). Surprisingly the next largest group was also for 3 bedrooms, but in the $500,000 + price range (7 closed)! Talk about spread across the board!
The average sales totals for the month were $331,194 for single family and $226,760 for condos. However, the majority of Single Family new listings were in the $200,000-$249,999 range, closely followed by $300,000-$399,000. And the largest category of condo new listings came in at over $500K.
For 6/1 – 6/30/07
The Single Family categories that were strongest were the $140-$159,999 (12 closed) and the $300-$399,999 (also 12 closed), both in the 3 BR group. The average sales totals for the month were $266,878 for single family and $231,015 for condos.
The majority of the new listings was in the $300-399,900 range & closely followed by listings over $500,000. The largest category for condo new listings was over $500K.
We seem to have a large demand for affordable homes but the current total inventory in our MLS system shows in the Single Family category a total of 1,531 homes with an average price of $513,406! New subdivisions are going up all over our county, however; not many fall into the price range we so greatly need. Our office’s sales were no exception with the largest number of sold transactions over the last 6 months falling under $200,000. The long & short of this story is the choices are slim in the price range the majority of the buyers are in, so it’s no wonder that there is a lot of inventory on the market. I hope investors will look at this demand, and that developers will begin to build new properties for this segment of buyers that can’t afford the inventory we’re diligently trying to market! |
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View more entries tagged with: Inventory, Affordable Homes, Market Statistics, Buyers, Developers, Investors |
• Aug. 4, 2007 - This is too Good to Keep to Myself !!!
I found a website you must cruise!
I was put on to this wonderful website by a lady I work
with whose son is a student at the local Coastal Community College here in Brunswick. A young professor there at the
college, Tyler E. Bagwell, is a budding historian and has showcased his phenomenal body of research on our area
on www.jekyllislandhistory.com.
The photo gallery alone captivated me for a couple of hours today and each photo has an article you can
read more detail on. I learned that Sea Island wasn't initially called by that name, but rather Long Island! Another
riveting piece of info is that the very 1st transcontinental phone call was made from Jekyll Island by a
Mr. Vail, the 1st president of A T & T to none other than Alexander Graham Bell on January 15, 1915!
The photos of the Oglethorpe Hotel in downtown Brunswick & the site of the train terminal where the wealthy elite
came & were transported by boat to Jekyll Island reveal the beauty of the day.
Whether you are familiar with our remarkable Coastal area or not, I definitely encourage
you to peruse this extraordinary body of work by Mr. Bagwell. I was
hard pressed to pry myself away, so plan on a little time cruising through the photo gallery. If you don't bookmark this
website, I'll be surprised!
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View more entries tagged with: History, Glynn County, Coastal Ga, Jekyll Isl, Sea Island, Brunswick |
• Aug. 1, 2007 - Lease-Purchase . . . maybe it does smell sweet?
What’s in a name? Lease-Purchase . . . maybe it does smell sweet?
As Shakespeare wrote in Romeo & Juliet of the proverbial sweet-smelling rose, perhaps I need to reconsider my thoughts on Lease Purchase. I’ve previously turned up my nose at the idea of such a contract; however, I’ve changed my view. Markets change and my perception needs to be evolving as well. At our weekly office sales meeting one of our agents mentioned she was working with 2 different clients, and both were interested in a lease purchase. With the inventory of homes for sale perhaps exceeding the number of buyers, there is definitely a place for consideration of a lease purchase transaction. I believe there are some integral factors for the listing agent to consider and relay to the seller:
- A lease purchase contract is one that the seller can recoup at least a portion of the mortgage payment if not all and still enjoy tax advantage of ownership.
- If the buyers are unable to arrange their financing by the end of the lease period, you can retain any deposit & rent monies.
- This tenant/buyer should be very interested in taking care of the home, as they want it to be their own within 1-2 years.
My negativity on the lease purchase contract stemmed from the fact it seemed that few buyers with credit issues were able to repair those problems in the timeframe of the contract. However, if your seller has voiced to you these hateful words “If you can’t sell it, I’m going to have to rent it out,” then perhaps if you advertise the home as one that a lease-purchase would be entertained from the get-go, you can attract just that right potential buyer. |
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