Posts Tagged ‘Belfair’
New Luxury Home at 89 Summerton Drive in Belfair, Only $449,000!
Have Hilton Head Luxury Home Prices Hit Bottom?
This brand new home in Palmetto Hall for sale $799,000 has had two price reductions.
Every day there are more reductions of prices of Hilton Head luxury homes. It seems like the higher the price, the greater the discounts; $25,000, $50,000 and even $100,000 discounts are common. Recently, I received notice of a beautiful luxury home with swimming pool and three-car garage in a top Hilton Head neighborhood that the owner paid $1.1million for in 2001, made over $100,000 of improvements and now it is listed for $750,000! If you want more detail, let me know.
National price forecasts predict year over year price reductions of 6.3% to 19% for 2009. I have not seen any articles that address this comparison and so I decided to make a sampling and find out if our luxury Hilton Head home market was following national forecasts. It would be good to know:
- How do Hilton Head luxury home price reductions compare with the national forecasts?
- Have luxury Hilton Head home prices hit bottom?
- Is this a good time to buy?
Another question, but not directly related to price reductions is:
4. Are more people buying luxury homes on Hilton Head Island or in Bluffton?
The numbers I looked at are from the MLS of Hilton Head Island and they require this disclaimer: “The statistical data contained herein has not been verified by the Multiple Listing Service of Hilton Head Island, Inc. and the publication of information hereof is not a representation or warranty of any fact whatsoever.”
Three luxury residential gated communities on Hilton Head Island and three luxury gated communities in Bluffton, the town just across the bridge from Hilton Head Island are representative for our purposes. The names of the communities, their locations and their average home prices are given below.
The Average List Prices of Six Gated Communities on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton Today
Location Gated Community Average Listed Sales Price on 4/11/09 Hilton Head Island Wexford $1,597,194 Hilton Head Island Long Cove $934,588 Hilton Head Island Indigo Run $1,037,590 Bluffton Colleton River $1,239,861 Bluffton Belfair $900,764 Bluffton Berkeley Hall $975,119Many other luxury gated communities in both Hilton Head Island and Bluffton could easily have been used for numbers such as Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes, Hilton Head Plantation, Palmetto Hall, Port Royal Plantation, Moss Creek, Hampton Hall and others but I didn’t want to crunch more numbers than necessary. Prices in the chart are averages and each community has homes for sale at much higher and much lower prices. If you would like to receive more information about any gated community on Hilton Head Island or Bluffton, please let me know.
Luxury Home Sales of the First Quarter 2008 vs. First Quarter Sales 2009
Community # of homes sold, 1st quarter, 2008 Average price of homes sold 1st quarter 2008 # of homes sold 1st quarter 2009 Average price of homes sold 1st quarter of 2009 % decrease in average sales price Wexford 2 1,897,500. 1 850,000. 55 Long Cove 7 982,143. None N/A N/A Indigo Run 6 806,333. 11 619,763. 23 Colleton River 3 1,056,667. 2 825,000. 22 Belfair 3 882,833. 3 668,333. 24 Berkeley Hall 1 1,050,000 2 812,500 23The numbers do not give a large quantity of data and more home sales would give more reliable averages, but aside from Wexford and Long Cove, it is interesting to see how similar the per cent decrease of luxury home prices have been in this simple analysis. Therefore, it may be reasonable to conclude that luxury home prices have fallen by about 23% between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. I have no explanation about why there are no home sales in the first quarter of 2009 after there were 7 for the same period of 2008.
Many More Luxury Homes Sell on Hilton Head Island than in Bluffton, South CarolinaThis is a small number of homes from which to draw conclusions, but the number of luxury home sales that occurred in the thee Hilton Head Island gated communities in the first quarter of 2008 was 15. Only 7 luxury homes sold in the three Bluffton communities during that same time.
In the first quarter of 2009, 12 luxury homes sold in the three Hilton Head Island gated communities and 7 sold in Bluffton. Hilton Head Island luxury home sales in our sample communities are about twice the luxury home sales in the Bluffton sample communities for the first quarters of both 2008 and 2009.
Interpreting numbers can be tricky but the greater number of luxury sales on Hilton Head vs Bluffton in these six communities corresponds with my own sales experience that people are more likely to spend more for a home on Hilton Head Island than in Bluffton. There are more luxury gated communities on Hilton Head Island than in Bluffton, South Carolina so it is fair to say that if this ratio is consistent among Bluffton and Hilton Head Island luxury communities, many more luxury homes are sold on Hilton Head Island than in Bluffton. Although none of the three Hilton Head Island communities have ocean front locations, other communities on Hilton Head do have oceanfront, ocean oriented and ocean view homes that often cost more and are in high demand because close proximity to the beach is one of the biggest reasons people will buy expensive homes.
Are Hilton Head Luxury Home Prices at the Bottom?For prices to stop going down:
- More homes must sell than the number of new listings and foreclosures (not yet).
- Finance must be available and attractive for luxury homes (yes! just arrived!)
But, nobody knows what will happen next. There are reasons to believe that prices are low enough already and there are reasons to believe that prices could go a bit lower.
Reasons for lower prices include:
- The same forecasts that predict 6.3%-19% price reductions this year nationally also predict that prices will stop falling in 2010.
- If sales do not increase, inventories will increase and some sellers will lower their prices.
- If foreclosures increase, more lower-priced properties will be for sale.
- If the economy does not improve, lower priced short sales will continue.
Reasons that prices are low enough include:
- The price decreases in the first quarter of 2009 may be attractive enough for buyers.
- New, lower jumbo loan interest rates will stimulate sales and reduce inventories.
- Forecasts for lower prices include many lower priced homes with higher defaults rates than luxury homes.
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Sellers become less negotiable with news of an improving economy.
Yes, as long as you will hold the property for at least a few years. Reasons to buy now include:
- Outstanding inventory.
- Eager, negotiable Sellers.
- It takes more luck than skill to call an absolute bottom in prices and how do you do that on a specific luxury home? (you can’t)
- Lowest available interest rates in a generation.
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Luxury homes are unique homes in valuable locations that cannot be duplicated.
My advice to buyers is that when you find a luxury home today at a good price that meets your needs, this is a great time to buy. Don’t worry about the possibility about some additional drop in average prices if you will hold the property for at least a years. You will be enjoying your house!
There are many luxury homes for sale today at prices below the average first quarter 2009 sales prices. To find a bargain luxury home in the right gated community for you, please call the Hilton Head Gated Communities Specialist® today! Yes, I have all foreclosures and short sales – just ask.
Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge
The Gated Community Specialist ®
Go Gated Realty ®
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Rich@gogated.com
www.GoGated.com
1-800-333-5025
Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories
Election Day on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, 2008
No Wait for evening voters at Christ Lutheran Church, the polling place for residents of Palmetto Dunes in precinct 7A
Hilton Head Islanders and Bluffton residents voted early yesterday at 28 polling places that included schools, churches, libraries, community pavilions and meeting rooms. Many voters were at their polling places before they opened and when opened, voters waited up to one hour during the morning at many locations. There was no wait in the afternoon or evening according to Poll Managers and Observers at Indigo Run, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina at Shelter Cove, the First Lutheran Church on William Hilton Parkway near Palmetto Dunes and the Hilton Head School for the Creative Arts. According to scvotes.org, 58,960 Beaufort County registered voters voted, or 64.87% compared to 70.87% of all South Carolina registered voters that voted.
The Hilton Head Land Acquisition Bond Referendum and the Bluffton Town Election Results- The $17,000,000 non-binding referendum for the Hilton Head Land Aquisition Program passed with a 75% vote (13,386).
- The Bluffton Town Election for Mayor was won by Lisa Sulka with this vote summary:
Mayorial Candidate Votes Per Cent Lisa Sulka 1,738 53% Charlie Wetmore 1,499 46%
- The Bluffton Town Election for the two vacant Town Councilmen seats had the results below, but these results are now void because of a protest by Jeff Fulgham that was upeheld by the County Election Commission. A new election will be held but a date for the new election has not been set. In his letter of protest, Jeff Fulgham said: ”It appears that approximately 100 Bluffton citixens were not allowed to vote for town candidates. At least 88 of these are in the Buckwalter area where statistically I have the strongest support base. With only a deficit of 22 votes, projections show I would have more than likely won had these individuals been allowed to vote. As a combat vet who has fought for the right of Iraqis to vote, I am disturbed that Mitchell and Hamilton have not joined me in demanding that our fellow citizens are allowed to vote. If the roles were reversed, I would risk my Council seat to let anyone vote: black, brown, white and from my neighborhood.”
Town Council
Votes
Per Cent
Fred Hamilton, Jr.
1,550
29.54%
Allyne Mitchell
1,445
27.53%
Jeff Fulgham
1,423
27.12%
Norman ‘Gus’ Thomas
796
15.17%
Beaufort County is Voter-Friendly
A touch-screen voting machine at Indigo Run
Tamela Maxim, President of the League of Women Voters of Bluffton, South Carolina says that Bluffton and Hilton Head Island are friendly places to vote. ”South Carolina in general is considered a State that is friendly to voters. It’s easy to register in this State and there are not a lot of restrictions at the polling places that would make it difficult for people to vote. You still must have your identification but I know from experience as a poll worker that they really do bend over backwards to try and help people when they show up at the wrong place or don’t have the right identification. They are polite. If somebody wants to vote a challenge ballot, they go to a lot of trouble to let them do that. So, there are a lot of things that are always going to be difficult, but Beaufort County tries hard to make it easy for people to be able to find where they are supposed to be so that they can vote.
One of the reasons that this can be a challenge for some people is because of our population growth. Growth changes the amount of space and the number of polling places that we need and their locations. Beaufort County tries not to change polling locations too much but it can’t be helped. We’ve grown so fast in Beaufort County. We do our best to keep up!
Every once in awhile, I get phone calls from people who ask me where they are supposed to go to vote. If I don’t have the map in front of me then I direct them to the newspapers which are usually the best source for that information.”
Indigo Run Residents Vote Within Indigo Run
Indigo Hall is the community pavilion of Indigo Run. This first-year polling place is one of only five polling places that are located within gated communities on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton.
This is the first year that Indigo Run residents were able to vote within their community. Indigo Hall, the community pavilion within Indigo Run became a polling place for the presidential primaries in June and the presidential election on November 4. Indigo Run is now one of five Hilton Head Island and Bluffton gated communities to have polling places within their community security gates. The other four gated communities are Sea Pines Resort and Hilton Head Plantation on Hilton Head Island and Moss Creek, Belfair and Sun City Hilton Head in Bluffton.
No wait at Indigo Hall at 4 pm for residents of Indigo Run, precinct 2C
Ms. Terry Leary, General Manager of Indigo Run says that it took three years for Indigo Run to become a first-year polling site. ”The Beaufort County Election Commission anticipated the need for an additional polling place in this area because of the anticipated building and population growth outside of Indigo Run on nearby Leg O’Mutton Road and Marshland Road. They expected growth there and knew that the development would impact our precinct. So, they came to me over three years ago – this didn’t happen overnight – and asked if we would be willing to use Indigo Hall as a precinct polling place. They felt like it would be justified to have a precinct just for the people within Indigo Run because there were enough numbers here – approximately 1,500 people. I thought that this would be phenomenal! So, we proceeded and it took the Department of Justice until June of 2007 to approve it – about two years. I was thrilled! We were able to include all areas of Indigo Run that include the River Club and Broad Pointe so that all Indigo Run residents can vote within our gated community. Every Indigo Run resident that I have talked to about this has been satisfied with this convenience. I think that it’s another advantage to living here – an improvement in our quality of life. We are always working for that.”
Your Voting Experience?Feel free to share something about your election day experience or observations with the Go Gated Blog!
Richard Kadesch, Owner and Broker-in-Charge
The Gated Community Specialist ®
Go Gated Realty ®
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Rich@gogated.com
www.GoGated.com
1-800-333-5025
Read Some of My Clients’ Success Stories