On Friday November 20th, 2009 Boeing held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Dreamliner facility in Charleston SC.  The impact the 3800 scheduled new jobs in the Charleston area is being seen right now in the Charleston real estate market.   Many Boeing employees have already contacted local Keller Williams Realty Charleston agents and are searching for homes throughout the Charleston area.  It looks like November and December 2009 could be good months for the local Charleston real estate sales.

Sharon Bruner of Keller Williams Charleston who specializes in downtown properties is quoted today on the the positive Charleston real estate trends.   Here is the article from the Charleston Post and Courier November 14th, 2009.   Sharon is bullish on Charleston Real Estate

Pending sales up locally

A key yet overlooked sign of the housing market is pending sales, where deals are preparing to close.

Such in the-works-transactions increased last month from a year earlier in the Charleston area, says Sharon Bruner, an agent with Keller Williams Realty.

She cited the latest figures from the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

“The pending sales for September, like August, were robust in the Charleston region as first-time homebuyers rushed to take advantage of

the final days of the tax credit,” she says.

There were 833 pending sales during the month – up 33.3 percent from the previous year.

Home prices experienced a small decrease, she says. The September median sales price of $177,000 was 7.7 percent lower than in 2008. “This has resulted in improving affordability for potential buyers,” Bruner says.

Charleston Trident Association of Realtors reports September 2009 sales up 7% when compared to September 2008 sales.  The strongest areas were in Mt Pleasant and West Ashley.  As the $8,000 tax credit closes out on the November 30th, 2009 the first time buyers are helping increase sales.  After 3 years of declining home sales in the Charleston area,  we are forming a floor and starting to see a recovery.

As Charleston homes sales continue to improve, buyers are moving to pick up vacant land in specific areas of Charleston.     There seem to be two major buyers.  READ MORE

Investors register now for the Charleston County Delinquent Tax Sale on Monday, October 5th, 2009.  You can register online at Charleston County website.  Real Estate investors like the delinquent tax sale since they have the chance to purchase real estate property at a discounted price or collect interest on the real estate during the one year waiting period.  The current owner has one year from the tax to pay the back taxes and interest on the property.  If owner pays off the back taxes, the investor gets the interest at the following rate (these rates are better than a CD right now):

• < 3 months  3%*
• 4- 6 months 6%*
• 7- 9 months 9%*
• 10-12 months 12%*

* Interest is capped at the amount of the bid on the property submitted on behalf of the forfeited land commission.

If the owner does not pay the back taxes and interest the owner takes title of the property one year later.

If you bid on the property you want to make sure you want to buy the property at a price that provides a good return on your investment and that you do not overbid on the property  causing the interest rate to be capped.  Do your research ahead time and good investing!

Here is are links to the properties that are to be part of the tax sale.

Charleston County Delinquent Tax Sale List and FAQ

Investors register now for the Charleston County Delinquent Tax Sale on Monday, October 5th, 2009.  You can register online at Charleston County website.  Real Estate investors like the delinquent tax sale since they have the chance to purchase real estate property at a discounted price or collect interest on the real estate during the one year waiting period.  The current owner has one year from the tax to pay the back taxes and interest on the property.  If owner pays off the back taxes, the investor gets the interest at the following rate (these rates are better than a CD right now):

• < 3 months  3%*
• 4- 6 months 6%*
• 7- 9 months 9%*
• 10-12 months 12%*

* Interest is capped at the amount of the bid on the property submitted on behalf of the forfeited land commission.

If the owner does not pay the back taxes and interest the owner takes title of the property one year later.

If you bid on the property you want to make sure you want to buy the property at a price that provides a good return on your investment and that you do not overbid on the property  causing the interest rate to be capped.  Do your research ahead time and good investing!

Here is are links to the properties that are to be part of the tax sale.

Charleston County Delinquent Tax Sale List and FAQ

Keller Williams Realty Charleston new agent real estate training classes begin on September 28th, 2009.  All agents  are welcome to attend.  The goal of the classes is to get you 4 listings and 4 sales in 3  months! Sign up today.  Read More> New Real Estate Agent Training

Please welcome Carly Sheen, Dennis English and Laura Rajabi to the Charleston Keller  Williams Realty Charleston West office.  Sheen formerly was an interior designer. English is former chairman of Ringler Associates. Rajabi formerly was with Manaker and Associates.

In this week’s class we discussed how to maximize the use of the real estate listing portals(Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com) Realtor.com is still top dog but Zillow and Trulia are coming up fast with free tools for real estate agents. Click here to read more on this subject.

This month in real estate highlights the positive trends in the real estate market and the positive changes we are seeing Charleston SC.