Great Neighborhood!

 

 

MLS#:  315086

 

View:  Landscape

 

Price:  $625,000

 

Bedrooms:  3+ Office

 

Bathrooms:  2

 

Square Feet:  2,094 appx.

 

 

---

 

To view property website, go to www.3EGarrisonPlace.com.

What a gorgeous Heritage tournament we enjoyed this year on Hilton Head Island! The weather was ideal for not only watching golf, but also for the various rounds of parties and course-side socializing. This is my favorite time of year when Islanders and Island-guests alike converge outdoors to take in a much celebrated event and enjoy the very reason they either live or come to visit the Island.

One of America’s newest citizens, Carl Pettersson, emerged as the winner of RBC sponsored Heritage Classic. To read more about Pettersson’s triumph, check out this article, “Carl Pettersson wins RBC Heritage”, in the Island Packet.

Home

If you are planning on enjoying the tournament from your home or car, below are the channels, schedules, links to the leader boards, websites and XM radio:

• The Golf Channel Thursday– Sunday, April 12-15
• CBS Sports Thursday – Sunday, April 12-15
• XM Satellite Radio Channel 93 Thursday – Sunday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm
• 103.1 local radio – they will have a live remote Thursday – Saturday
• Check out the PGA live leader board
• On the web www.pgatour.com
• Countdown to theheritage.com

Boat or Harbourtown

If you own a boat or have a friend that has one, one of the favorite things to do is to anchor off the 18th fairway and watch as the golf pros play the finishing hole. If you are all about the parties, the biggest party night is Saturday night in Harbourtown with lots of fun for everyone.

Live!

The Heritage is a great place to “see and be seen”. There is so much going on, it’s easy to get caught up and miss the tournament altogether. If you are looking for some of the great spots to watch the tournament you may want to check out the 13th hole, the 17th hole, and the 18th hole. You will also find other great spots along the famed Harboutown Golf Links to enjoy the tournament and all the people.

Sports Bar or Party

There are many ways to enjoy this weekend and if you don’t have a ticket or have trouble getting around, there are several great sports bars in the Hilton Head area that will have the tournament on. Check out the schedules above. Of course, everywhere you go this weekend on Hilton Head Island you will hear the tournament and feel our excitement.

The most critical information that our Hilton Head Monthly Market Trend Report conveys is what may be referred to as the “Big Three”.  These are the vital statistics for determining negotiation or pricing and include:

1. Average List price to Average Sales Price ~ This is a direct indicator of negotiation opportunity and the firmness of the market.  Buyers and sellers can benefit by understanding this number
2. Average Days on the Market ~ This time frame applies to properties that are priced correctly for their condition and location.
3. Average number of listings taken vs. Average number of sales in a given period which will give us the number of months of inventory that available for sale.  This can help buyers and sellers determine strategy.

This report is a snapshot of how the market place has performed in the recent past, which is often a good predictor of future market performance for sellers and buyers.  If you would like to receive a monthly report by mail or e-mail, please email us at  Nancy@NancyLove.com.  This is not only a good map of where we have been, it points to where we may be going.

The other day this article on high end mortgages (click here) was brought to my attention. We asked around for some ideas as to what this could mean and found out the following:

Alt-A are wall street securities allow for high quality borrowers to qualify outside of the fannie mae guidelines. So loans higher than $417k can be made to borrowers who have assets but little tax return income, etc etc etc.  This may mean that the street will soon be back into the market, which would mean the return of alt-A mortgage products. Which would be interesting. Or it could mean more traders have found a way to heavily profit from mortgages for a third time , with no added value ( of course ).

For more information, or discussion, please contact me.  Thank you.

Heart of Harbour Town

 

 

MLS#:  313803

 

View:  Landscape

 

Price:  $1,1500,000  furnished

 

Bedrooms:  4+ Den

 

Bathrooms:  4

 

Square Feet:  2,991 appx.

 

 

---

 

To view property website, go to www.10GenoaCourt.com.

The Medicare Tax is a 3.8% tax that goes into effect January 1, 2013 and it does not apply to all Hilton Head owners.  Only “high income” owners with Adjusted Gross Incomes(AGI) of more than $200,000 for individuals or more than $250,000 for married couples will have to deal with this new tax. As well, it does not apply to principle residences under $500,000 held jointly or $250,000 for a single.  We suggest checking with your financial counselors to see if it is beneficial to sell before this new tax is put into place.  The reason it is called a Medicare Tax is that this money will be allocated to the Medicare Trust Fund that is part of the Social Security System.

 

What about a principal residence on Hilton Head?

Any gain from the sale of a principal residence that is less than $250,000 (individual) or $500,000 (joint return) will continue to be excluded from the income tax. The new 3.8% tax will NOT apply to this excluded amount of the gain.

What about the sale of vacation property on Hilton Head?

The application of the tax will depend on whether the vacation home has been rented out, the period for which it has been rented and whether the property is solely for the enjoyment of the owner. If the owner has rented the home out to others, then the 14-day rent exclusion will continue to apply. Thus, if the owner rents the property to others (including family members) for 14 or fewer days, there would be no net investment tax. (Note that no deductions for expenses would be available, as under current law.) If the home has been rented to others (including family members) for more than 14 days, then the rents (minus related expenses) would be considered as part of net investment income and could, depending on AGI and the calculations described above, be subject to the new tax.

Vacation Homes on Hilton Head with no rental income

If the vacation home has been used solely for personal enjoyment (i.e., there is no rental income and no associated expenses), then a gain on sale would be treated as net investment income and could be subject to the tax, depending on AGI. Similarly, if the property had generated rents, any net gain on sale could also be included in net investment income. The amount of the tax (if any) would depend on the calculation formula.

Professional Advice from your accountant

Property owners that think that the Medicare Tax may apply should speak with an accountant or their financial advisor.  There may be benefits for sellers in 2012.  We  have attached a fairly simple explanation from NAR regarding the 3.8% tax which takes effect in 2013 and a great question and answer review.  Please read it carefully because the new tax DOES NOT APPLY to all homes.  There has been inaccurate information that has been passing around the internet for the last year about this.

The Hilton Head Island area had the most improved real estate market in the state last year, according to an annual report released Wednesday by S.C. Realtors. The area reported more than 2,700 sales in 2011 — a 9.4 percent increase over 2010 and more than 11 points higher than a statewide decline of 1.7 percent.

	Hilton Head Area	Beaufort	State Avg.
Total 2011 Sales	2,718	979	—
% Increase from 2010	9.4	0.5	- 1.7
Avg. # of DOM	139	202	143

That improvement rate was the highest of the state’s 15 regions by a margin of about four points.

The area’s 15.4 percent increase in pending sales from 2010 was more than double that of any of the regions.

“That shows just how much people want to move here,” said John Robinson, president of the Hilton Head Realtors Association. ”I’m not saying we’ve gotten through the tough times at all,” Robinson quickly added. “More short sales and foreclosures could be around the corner. But this is definitely a ‘thumbs up’ for now.”

Only 19.6 percent of homes sold in the Hilton Head area in 2011 were for $100,000 or less, the lowest rate in the state for that category of homes. Beaufort placed third-lowest, with a 26.6 percent rate.

Beaufort’s 0.5 percent improvement in total sales over 2010, to 979 units, remained above the state average. But Beaufort homes stayed on the market for an average of 202 days in 2011, the second-highest in the state. By comparison, Hilton Head area homes stayed on the market an average of 139 days.

“I think that number just reflects the unrealistic expectations of sellers here,” said Carl Joye, a Realtor in Beaufort. “Property tends to stay on the market when buyers are looking for the bloody and the beaten.”

Joye also believes Beaufort’s relative stability bodes well for the future. ”I’m a little surprised there weren’t more closed sales here last year, but we’ve come to a stable point,” he said. “We’re not going down any more, and that inspires confidence.”

Joye said the statistical disparity between Beaufort and the Hilton Head area is somewhat misleading. ”The market fell quicker there than it did here, and so it makes sense that they’re recovering quicker,” he said.

Beaufort Realtor Edward Dukes agreed. ”There are a lot of second and third homes in Hilton Head, and that’s what the bad market hit first,” he said. ”Hilton Head fell a little further than us,” Dukes added. “But now they’re coming back, and that’s encouraging for the whole region.”

Our office got together for a group photo. Looking over this group of seasoned sales professionals brings such memories as most of us have been together since the early days of the Sea Pines Real Estate Co. We’ve seen Sea Pines grow and meet our every expectation as a world renowned resort and first class residential community.

I have lived many places and traveled far afield, yet I am continually grateful to call Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island my home.

When we compare 2011 with sales activity in 2010 we see tremendous gains in Sea Pines. Unit sales of homes were up 20% with 161 houses sold compared with 134 one year ago. The average price of a home is off just 2% to $853,245 and current inventory has decreased 16% to 179 residences now listed.

Our villa sales are up a whopping 44% in 2011 with 82 sales for the year. The average price of a villa is off 10% to $402,746 as more non ocean oriented villas were sold. There are 124 villas currently listed, a drop of 20% from the end of 2010.

What Can You Expect in 2012?

I am excited to see both home sales and prices recover so well in 2011 for most of the following communities.

	Home Sales 2011	Price	Sales 2010	Price
Island Wide	670	$652,368	611	$669,866
Port Royal	44	$767,261	32	$671,011
Palmetto Dunes	62	$1,033,895	63	$1,007,043
Hilton Head Plantation	174	$412,697	154	$429,612
Indigo Run	38	$677,526	38	$624,803
Long Cove	16	$677,526	38	$624,803

We have seen certain villa communities bump up in sales while others have not but clearly there are fewer villas available everywhere on the island.

	Villa Sales 2011	Price	Sales 2010	Price
Forest Beach	149	$167,961	156	$175,777
Palmetto Dunes	125	$445,979	140	$438,335
Shipyard	47	$252,737	52	$285,387
Island Wide	745	$445,979	728	$229,357

We are definitely seeing very positive trends that point to a continued recovery of our market. With sales up 7% island-wide and inventory down 11% prices will continue to gain strength in the new year. Clearly statistics show our market has bottomed out with increased sales, reduced inventory and closed prices improving. 2011 marks the 2nd year in a row that sales volume has increased and buyers are taking advantage of this historic opportunity to purchase now!

Hilton Head Island is as popular as it has ever been – I hope to hear from you soon!