Sally Hardman

With the 2^nd Quarter 2009 recently ending, I have come up with the following comparisons from our local Glynn County MLS system for single family home sales on St. Simons Island, GA as follows:

For the 2^nd Quarter, there were 35 sold transactions recorded in our local MLS system with an average asking price of $499,312. The average sold price for those 35 sales was $452,712 or approximately 91% to list.

At the end of 1^st Quarter 2009, there were only 12 recorded single family sold transactions with an average asking price of $493,082 and average sales price of $432,825. To compare the 2^nd Quarter 2009 sales statistics to 2^nd Quarter 2008, the numbers show a marked decline in the number of transactions closed. At the 2^nd Quarter 2008, our MLS recorded a total 56 single family sales (compared to 2^nd Qtr. 2009 - 35) with an average list price of $674,589 (compared to 2^nd Qtr. 2009 - $499,312) and an average closed price for the 56 closings of $630,138 (compared to 2^nd Qtr. 2009 - $452,712).

Certainly we are seeing more activity and hopefully a start to some upturn, albeit I must say that some of the transactions closed out of our system this quarter were foreclosures /bank owned properties that were sold "as is." But definitely even though foreclosures are catastrophic to the individuals or families involved personally, I believe we will not see a recovery until inventory is diminished and the "desperation" factor isn't so central to the equation.

I obviously love the village area of St. Simons Island as our real estate office, the buggie rental store and also our Beachcomber Snow company are all found there. Now there is even more reason to make the Village and Pier area of St. Simons Island a must see to visitors to Glynn County. The newly enhanced oceanside pool, mini putt-putt golf course and playground area are now open for business in Neptune Park. The St. Simons Island Casino is a popular gathering place for visitors to take a break in one of the rockers and watch the boats and ocean traffic go by or visit the island library and gather brochures and area info from the Visitors Information Center. Many weddings and receptions choose this lovely venue to enjoy the breathtaking ocean view and balmy breezes.

This island public park bears an interesting story of how it got the name, Neptune Park. Neptune Small was born as a slave on Thomas Butler King's Retreat Plantation which is currently the site of the Sea Island Golf Course. Neptune Small accompanied his master's son, Lord, to the Battle of Fredericksburg where Lord was killed in battle. The body was returned to Retreat for burial in Christ Church cemetery. Small insisted on returning to the battlefields with Lord's brother, Cuyler. At war's end, Thomas King gave Neptune beachfront land at the southern end of the island to build a home. Even after Emancipation, Small worked for the King family as a free man until his death in 1907 and was buried on Retreat Plantation. His property became one of St. Simons' most valuable parcels and the park adjoining the pier was named in his honor.

The latest March/April issue of the Georgia Realtor included an article which profiled buyers and sellers specifically in the State of GA. I found this information quite interesting and want to share with you some highlights from that article:

• The median age of GA homebuyers was 39
• Median household income was $73,600 compared to $74,900 nationally
• 41% of the recent home purchases were by first time home buyers
• New home purchases accounted for 32% of recent home purchases and the typical home was 2,020 sq. ft. in size
• 89% used the Internet to search for a home
• 81% of the homes purchases were detached single family homes
• Median price of the purchase was $195K compared to $204K nationally
• 67% of the buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker and 72% of recent buyers said they will use their agent again and 15% will probably use the agent again or recommend them to others
• For sellers, 61% contacted only 1 agent before selecting one to assist them
• 33% of sellers had received a recommendation of a friend, neighbor or relative that aided their selection of a real estate professional
• 13% of the sellers sold their home without an agent's assistance (FSBO). Of those, 53% reported some difficulty in selling their home themselves and were most challenged in getting the necessary paperwork done, preparing the home for sale and getting it priced right
• Recent sellers sold their home for 96% of the list price and 54% offered incentives such as closing cost assistance and/or home warranties

We all know that our efforts and marketing needs to be geared to the demographics we are hoping to reach. Keeping in touch with our past clients and making sure that they feel remembered after the transaction closes is so very important. Acquiring the client and then handling the transaction is just the beginning. Gaining their respect and trust and conveying a genuine interest in their individual situation is what brings repeat business and referrals.

I love being a REALTOR® and I hope that my passion for this business is unmistakable to those I come in contact with!

With the surge of home inventory owned by financial institutions or on the verge of being foreclosed on, REALTORS® are met with the dicey situation of attempting to negotiate with a faceless REO department representative. Sometimes the process appears to have little regard for the desperation of the owner if they are still trying to hang on, nor for the buyer and their sense of urgency. Our timelines and normal contract procedures we adhere to here in Georgia just don't seem to hold true with these contracts and offers.

I believe there are some wonderful buys here on St. Simons Island and in Glynn County, GA, but certainly caution should be the order of the day. As is means "AS IS" and we as buyer's representatives must impress upon our clients the need to doing due diligence.

Now that the election process is over and new President Obama's administration is in place in Washington, we are all looking to what changes are ahead for housing market. I hope we have hit the bottom and there is hope for a gradual and slow recovery. We have and are experiencing such challenging times with a plethora of bad news and tragedy. But I think it is important to at least attempt to find something good and productive out of this frustrating period.

I can remember when I was so busy and running all over this county showing property and working with buyers and sellers and perhaps took that time a bit for granted. Today's market is slower paced, but we cannot let ourselves be caught up in lethargy and neglect to keep on plugging at developing our business. We should have more time to network and contacting our circle of influence. It's difficult to stay pumped when all you feel is tapped out, but we have to keep moving and trying to grow ourselves and our business---good times and bad.

Hang in there!

From your friend on St. Simons Island, GA

Sally Hardman