Willy Fanning

GREETINGS FROM SHIPYARD !: Here we are! Just in the nick (no pun intended) of time, the Holiday’s are upon us. Wow! Has 2009 been an unbelieveable year or what? History was made when the 1^st African-American was installed as our 44^th President, everyone has felt the effects of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme headed to jail and on and on. Locally, Verizon announced it will not return as sponsor of the Heritage after 2010, Boeing announced it would build its 787 Dreamliner just up the road in Charleston, in Columbia, our Governor was found coming back from a South American tryst and finally our Congressman, Joe Wilson, created a stir at the annual State of the Union address. 2010 will be hard pressed to top this year!

INTEREST RATES : Rates continue to remain at historically low rates in the 4%-5% range for both Jumbo and Conventional loans. Problems do persisit for borrowers dealing with Fannie Mae’s stringent guidelines and bank reluctance to lend, but we do have Washington working hard to rectify the situation.

VILLA & HOME SALES ACTIVITY : As we near the end of another year, I took the opportunity to compare sales numbers of Shipyard homes and villas for 2008 vs. 2009. in 2008, only 3 homes sold for an average price of $567,000 while in 2009, 7 homes sold for an average of $410,285. In the villa market, total units sold in 2008 were 46 for an average of $345,000 while in 2009, total units sold were 37 for an average of $286,400. While these numbers represent a broad brush approach to sales activity, Shipyard has seen an increase in homes sold while villa sales are flat to declining. The big key is the difference between total sales volume in all of Shipyard from 2008 of $16.9M vs. 2009’s volume of only $12.7M or a 25% drop in 1 year. We anticipate that short sales and forecosures will continue to have an impact on the overall Hilton Head-Bluffton market in 2010. If you would like a free market analysis of your home or villa, give me a call or email me, I’m happy to be of assistance.

What’s HOT? What’s NOT! : In Shipyard, currently there is only 1 short sale at 1301 Shipmaster and 1 foreclosure at 171 The Greens on the market.

If you’ve been thinking of taking advantage of the foreclosures in the market, be advised that asset managers have alerted their listing agents to contact prospective buyers to let them know that the asset companies need to move the inventory on their books by years end and have encouraged you to make an offer! For the complete list of foreclosures currently available on the market from Sun city to Sea Pines, click on www.TeamFanning.com

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GREETINGS FROM SHIPYARD !: Here we are! Just in the nick (no pun intended) of time, the Holiday’s are upon us. Wow! Has 2009 been an unbelieveable year or what? History was made when the 1^st African-American was installed as our 44^th President, everyone has felt the effects of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme headed to jail and on and on. Locally, Verizon announced it will not return as sponsor of the Heritage after 2010, Boeing announced it would build its 787 Dreamliner just up the road in Charleston, in Columbia, our Governor was found coming back from a South American tryst and finally our Congressman, Joe Wilson, created a stir at the annual State of the Union address. 2010 will be hard pressed to top this year!

INTEREST RATES : Rates continue to remain at historically low rates in the 4%-5% range for both Jumbo and Conventional loans. Problems do persisit for borrowers dealing with Fannie Mae’s stringent guidelines and bank reluctance to lend, but we do have Washington working hard to rectify the situation.

VILLA & HOME SALES ACTIVITY : As we near the end of another year, I took the opportunity to compare sales numbers of Shipyard homes and villas for 2008 vs. 2009. in 2008, only 3 homes sold for an average price of $567,000 while in 2009, 7 homes sold for an average of $410,285. In the villa market, total units sold in 2008 were 46 for an average of $345,000 while in 2009, total units sold were 37 for an average of $286,400. While these numbers represent a broad brush approach to sales activity, Shipyard has seen an increase in homes sold while villa sales are flat to declining. The big key is the difference between total sales volume in all of Shipyard from 2008 of $16.9M vs. 2009’s volume of only $12.7M or a 25% drop in 1 year. We anticipate that short sales and forecosures will continue to have an impact on the overall Hilton Head-Bluffton market in 2010. If you would like a free market analysis of your home or villa, give me a call or email me, I’m happy to be of assistance.

What’s HOT? What’s NOT! : In Shipyard, currently there is only 1 short sale at 1301 Shipmaster and 1 foreclosure at 171 The Greens on the market.

If you’ve been thinking of taking advantage of the foreclosures in the market, be advised that asset managers have alerted their listing agents to contact prospective buyers to let them know that the asset companies need to move the inventory on their books by years end and have encouraged you to make an offer! For the complete list of foreclosures currently available on the market from Sun city to Sea Pines, click on www.TeamFanning.com

GREETINGS FROM SHIPYARD !: The fortunate few to visit our Island over the past few weeks have enjoyed the splendid weather, quiet beaches, golf courses and bike paths. Now with the Holiday's upon us we begin a season of giving thanks for among other things the oportunity to call Hilton Head home, family and friends. We want to offer our sincerest thanks for all we take for granted most of the year. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with those you love.

INTEREST RATES : The President has signed into law an extension of the $8,000 1^st time homebuyer tax credit for those who have not owned a home in the past 3 years and added a $6,500 tax credit for those who have owned a home for the past 5 yers and wish to make a move. If you have questions or know someone who wants to take advantage of either of these programs, please let us know, we're happy to be of service. Interest rates continue to hold steady (5% range +/-) as does the Prime Rate which gives some measure of hope for those with mortgages (and credit card rates) tied to the Prime.

VILLA & HOME SALES ACTIVITY : The aftershocks and over corrections from past lending and credit abuses continues to have an impact on mortgage availability and buyer credit worthiness in the Conventional, Jumbo and Villa markets. Some potential buyers consider investments in the stock market and gold futures more desireable than real estate. Overall sales activity is what we consider to be normal 2009 seasonal activity. All that being said average price of sold homes and villas in Shipyard continue to drift down and should contiue that trend through mid-2010.

What's HOT? What's NOT! : Click on www.TeamFanning.com for the complete list of foreclosures, short sales and entire MLS inventory.

If you, or someone you know, have been thinking of selling or are interested in knowing more about the best values in the Hilton Head- Bluffton- Sun City area, click on www.HomeValuesinHiltonHead-Bluffton.com for a Market Snapshot of available properties, recent sales, FREE Community and School Reports all emailed directly to you in minutes!

Reading through the morning online news today a recent article from Business Week entitled "Boomtown Slowdown" (click on- http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/106554/Boomtown-Slowdown) gave an overview of the top boomtowns in each of the 50 states.

I searched out the boomtown for South Carolina and low and behold wouldn't you know it, there was Bluffton, SC! Click on http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/02/0205_boomtowns/41.htm to see more.

There is lots going on in Bluffton. To find out more or to earch for homes online, click on http://teamfanning.com/ .

Check out the video of Bluffton http://www.travelistic.com/video/show/11017/Bluffton,-South-Carolina,-by-Erik-Hastings

I've lived and raised my family in Bluffton for the past 10 years. We love the lifestyle- the history, the rivers, the proximity to the beach and Hilton Head, Savannah and Charleston.

If you have any questions about this slice of paradise, let me know. I can be reached at http://teamfanning.com/

Greetings from Hilton Head Island! We're glad to have enjoyed the Holiday's in unseasonably warm temperatures. It felt more like spring than Christmas with temps in the mid-70's! Wow, Santa must have been somewhat confused when he flew into the Lowcountry.

New Years Eve found us in Jacksonville, FL for the Gator Bowl festivities. We really enjoyed ourselves with fireworks at midnight along the St. John's River with thousands of our newest friends ringing in the New Year. It was tons of fun! New Years Day we had our Orange on but the Huskers were able to hold off a late rally by the Tigers. I've never been to a bowl game before, so it was lots of fun in spite of the outcome. We really enjoyed the game. Even while sitting in a sea of Red, we still had a smile on our faces at the end of the game.

The New Year has ushered in a sense of relief for some and anticipation of improvement for all. Real estate volume or the lack thereof and activity continues to be a major topic of conversation in the traditional, as well as the new media formats. What to do? Where is it headed? Will the Recession cause prices to continue down? Will Obama save the day with his Trillion Dollar Stimulus Package? Will foreclosures still be a huge factor and drag prices further? and so on and so on....

Let me say this, right now on Hilton Head Island there is a sense that things are picking up. It may be a hold over of Holiday exuberance or maybe things really are beginning to improve. Time will tell and time always heals.

As for the numbers, what has happened and where things possibly could go; I have been studying them and will report back in a few days to give you my- as objective as possibe- insight on market conditions.