About Beaufort County, SC

Each year Hilton Head Plantation has an Holiday Lighting Contest and Driving Tour. Voting ballots are handed out at the POA Service Center for anyone who wants to take the tour and vote for their favorite homes----and believe me, this is not an easy task! Residents of our Plantation (me excluded for lack of creativity) do a fabulous job preparing their homes for the holidays.

There are just a few rules, however----White lights are preferred and blinking lights are a no-no. Oh, no music after 9:30 and all exterior decorations are to be taken down by January 20.

Winners will be announced in the January newsletter and on the Hilton Head Plantation website.

Now here's a class that interests me---it's just the "time" that doesn't interest me! Seriously though, I think I may join the Early Morning Pilates class that will start on January 8 at the Plantation House in Hilton Head Plantation from 7:00 to 8:00 AM. This is an excellent class and we'll all need it after we survive the holiday parties and dinners.

Cost is $40 per person and a minimum of 10 persons are required for the class to be held. All levels will be covered from beginners to advanced.

For information, contact Keriann @ 843-681-8090.

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HILTON HEAD PLANTATION REAL ESTATE, PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE. I WELCOME YOUR INQUIRIES, REFERRALS AND QUESTIONS ANYTIME.

Although November isn't over yet, I spent some time today compiling statistics for November's Villa sales in Hilton Head Plantation. Keep in mind that villas are but a fraction of the total density for the Plantation, thus numbers are much smaller and for the month of November---smaller yet!

This month we saw 1 new villa listing come onto the market and 3 villas were placed under contract.

The average List Price was $619,000 and average closed price was $545,000

Total dollar amount of sales for the month was $1,090,000

List Price/Closed Price Percentage was 95.28%

Average days on the market was 84 days.

Statistics derived from the Hilton Head MlS and are deemed correct but not warranted.

You may be questioning just what these numbers really mean? Well, simply, they translate that this is an awesome time for a buyer to purchase real estate in Hilton Head Plantaiton. With an increase of inventories and motivated sellers, it's truly a Buyer's Market!

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING OR SELLING PROPERTY IN HILTON HEAD PLANTATION, PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE. I welcome your questions, inquiries and referrals anytime.

November has revealed some interesting statistics for Hilton Head Plantation Real Estate Sales. I'm sure you won't be surprised by the data given the constant stream of bad news that we are hearing everyday.

For the month of November, there were 18 new listings with an average listing price of $718,650.

Pending activitiy reveals 9 homes went under contract with an average list price of $631,933.

We had only 3 closings for this month (so far) with an average closed price of $433,166.

Total sales for the Plantation were $1,299,500 with an average closed percentage ratio of 95.34% with 217 days on the market as an average. The last stat really has jumped up compared with recent months.

How does this translate into good news? Well, we certainly can agree that it's a fabulous time to be a buyer in Hilton Head Plantation. With plenty of inventory and eager sellers, a buyer hasn't had it this good in many years! We're also seeing some foreclosures and short sales which can equate to a tremendous value for ready to purchase buyers.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HILTON HEAD PLANTATION REAL ESTATE? As a resident of the community, I am eager to work with you to assist you in finding your dream home. Please visit my website for more information about Hilton Head Real Estate. I invite your inquiries, questions and referrals anytime.

I was a bundle of nerves going into my Thursday afternoon listing appointment. I was nervous because I knew I would be dealing with a man with unrealistic expectations. I figured I had two choices, either to go along, and get stuck with an overpriced listing, or upset a fellow parishioner of my church by telling him his house wasn't worth what he thought. I liked neither choice.

In a recent blog post, I used sports agent Drew Rosenhaus to make a point about our need as professionals to shoot straight about price.

I heard Rosenhaus explain on an ESPN program recently that a large part of his job representing football players is helping them succeed by telling his clients what they do NOT want to hear. I have sometimes fallen into the trap of being a real estate "yes" man, and have gone along with overpriced listings more than I would care to admit. After listening to Rosenhaus, though, I had determined this would not happen again.

Rosenhaus was so persuasive, and his comments so fresh in my mind, that I knew I couldn't back down on my listing appointment.

The prospective seller and I have talked on and off for three years about listing his home, and I knew from our conversations that he would be unrealistic with his price expectations. But I was ready to walk. There would be no overpriced listing on this day. No sir.

After the small talk was over, I gingerly explained the state of the Beaufort, SC market to this seller, and how residential sales through Nov. 19, 2008, were off almost 50 percent from the same time period in 2005, and that there was a tremendous amount of listing competition from homes similar to his.

As I nudged my way towards the issue price, my nerves strained. This gentleman goes to my church, and the last thing I wanted to do was upset somebody I might be sitting next to on Sunday.

I kept thinking about my two options -- I'd upset him immediately by underrating (at least in his mind) his property, or I would upset him over the long haul by caving to his price expectations and taking a listing which wouldn't sell.

I finally whipped out the Drew Rosenhaus-inspired quote I had been running through my head.

"Don, part of my job is to be honest with you," I said earnestly.

Don shook his head, and said, "That's what I want to hear. Brutally honesty."

Of course, I had not considered the third option going in. The third option was that he would take my advice.

The Rosenhaus advice was sound, and I think it will serve me well moving forward.

But I also learned some other lessons over the years -- Be a good listener. Never assume.