In a time when the majority of us are curtailing extraneous driving due to the high cost of gas, many summer vacationers are looking a little closer to home. In watching the morning news channel recently out of Jacksonville, they had a segment on Staycations---or staying home and enjoying the fun and recreation available in close proximity to home. Certainly the Golden Isles of GA offers a variety of choices as those of us fortunate enough to live here realize the natural beauty and recreational opportunities are simply fabulous. From golf and tennis, to water sports and fishing, our area offers diverse choices for either the athlete or the more sedate sand and sun worshiper. Dining opportunities from surf to turf are accessible and the “shopportunities” in Glynn County should titillate even the most discriminating buyer. Lodging choices range from chain hotels, quaint inns to even the nationally recognized Cloister Hotel on Sea Island.

Certainly a credit score is becoming increasingly more important today with credit availability tightening.  Credit information doesn’t seem to be an “exact” science and depends a lot on who pulls it up, i.e., (auto dealer, bank, credit card company, etc.) But basically a score of at least 720 is needed to get a viable interest rate for a home mortgage in today’s market. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t make mention of this annual event coming up August 15-16^th.  For 25 years running, beach music fans have flocked to enjoy great music and camaraderie on Jekyll Island in Southeast GA. A long running headliner is the group known as The Swingin’ Medallions which have been belting out beach music favorites like “A Double Shot of My Baby’s Love” for decades. Friday’s activities kick off with a Golf Tournament and then on Saturday afternoon the tradition of a FREE concert on the beach with live music performances, delicious food from various venders and probably quite a bit of liquid refreshments! 

I attended a Local Brokers Council Meeting several days ago and came away from that gathering in a sober mindset. In our State of Georgia which has 159 counties, only ONE county is not considered a declining market by the Georgia Association of Appraisers! A local broker of one of the largest real estate companies in our area shared that they had four transactions fall through just recently by the appraisals coming in too low to make the contract work. We also have other challenges to address such as:

•  Higher credit scores needed to obtain a loan

• Anxiety of Sellers facing stiff competition with the plethora of inventory and not enough equity to sell at a profit

• Cautious Buyers who are hoping that prices will continue to be reduced and inundated with the number of homes on the market that meet their search criteria

• The frequent media coverage painting a picture of recession, gloom and doom

• Rampant foreclosures