Bluffton SC 3rd Quarter UpdateIt seems only fitting that on the anniversary of the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922, we also take a look at the discovery of numbers for our year thus far.  No relation you say, well I beg to differ.  Discoveries are all about serendipitous findings and how it applies to the future.So the most important statement, iterated by the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors, is that we're having the best sales outcomes in the last 15 years! That's just year over year - 2014-2015 and with sales UP 15.1% and inventory DOWN 16%, that trend looks like it will continue.Specific to the 'Mainland'/Bluffton market, the sales numbers are UP 21.9% and inventory is DOWN about 8.9%, the days on the market are DOWN 3.9% to 78 with many selling much more quickly - so l... 11/04/2015

11th Annual Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival COME ON DOWN to the 11th Annual Historic Bluffton Arts and SEafood Festival - Where Fine Art & The Bounty of the Sea Come Together!When: October 10 - 18, 2015Where: ALL OVER BlufftonHours: Check the schedule!Cost: Depends on the eventContact: 843-757-BLUFWhat is going on?Golly what isn't???? From fishing tournaments to a wonderful Bluffton heritate discovery tour this Saturday 10/10/15 and gospel concert that night to an artist showcase on Sunday and then the finale - the Art & Seafood Street Fest next Sunday, 10/18 from 10:00 AM to 4:00PMIn order to build up to eat all the treats, there's a 10K road race and 5K fun run the day before 10/17/15 beginning at 8AM fom the Bluffton Oyster Factory Park.This year the festival has 5 chefs that hav... 10/07/2015

Bluffton SC Alzheimers Walk Event October 2015WHEN:      Saturday, October 3, 2015                    Registration: 10:15A                     Walk: 11:00AMWHERE:    The Promenade                    Old Town Bluffton at the corner of Hwy 46 & May River Road                    110 Calhoun Street, Bluffton, SC. 29910ORGANIZER: Amanda Newberry                         843-614-6608This event began 2 years ago with a "Crawl" through Old Town Bluffton and has now grown to a wonderful opportunity for family members, caregivers, and those who support the cause to get together and be visible in the community.The Beaufort County Alzheimer's Association invites one and all to come on out and there will be a meaningful tribute to those who suffer or have passed from causes associated with Alzheimer'... 10/02/2015

What's HOT in the Bluffton, SC Home Sale Market?I hate to throw cold water on things, but truth be told, we're in a bit of a slump with malaise thrown in. The reason is good and bad -the inventory is going down and number of qualified buyers is up but prices are not going up as quickly as hoped so sellers are still unwilling to put their homes on the market, thus buyers still have nothing to buy - or the pickings are so slim that they're not motivated. Whew - a Realtor® without product is like a retail store with nothing to sell.This phenomenon often occurs this time of year since admittedly it's summer and kids are out all over the country; thoughts for prospective buyers are not totally on 'where shall I buy a new house' but instead on 'where shall we go for vacation.' If people are h... 06/01/2015

March 2015 Pinecrest Market Report Bluffton, SC It's time to review again where Pinecrest is in the Bluffton marketplace. READ MY POST for the overall Bluffton marketplace review to put things in perspective. Meanwhile, for the first quarter of 2014, Pinecrest had 14 closed sales with an average list price of $257,029 a list price/square foot of $114.60, average sale price of $250,450, average sale price/square foot of $111.60, sale price to list price ratio of 96% and days on the market of 138. This year looks a bit different with 8 sales and average list price of $252,525, list price/square foot of $122.60, average sale price of $243,683, sale price/square foot of $118.70, sale price ratio of 95% and days on the market of 94. Pinecrest inventory continues to shrink and at the moment t... 03/29/2015

March 2015 Island West Market Report Bluffton, SC It's time to review again where Island West is in the Bluffton marketplace. READ MY POST for the overall Bluffton marketplace review to put things in perspective. Meanwhile, for the first quarter of 2014, Island West had 5 closed sales with an average list price of $329,380, a list price/square foot of $128.70, average sale price of $320,200, average sale price/square foot of $125.10, sale price to list price ratio of 97% and days on the market of 106. This year looks a bit different with 7 sales with average list price of $347,714, list price/square foot of $133.40, average sale price of $331,500, sale price/square foot of $126.90, sale price ratio of 95% and days on the market of 109. With the national builder DR Horton getting ready t... 03/23/2015

  Then and now 1st quarter 2014 and 2015 Bluffton, SC Real estate market data for Bluffton, SC provided by Susan Jacobsen of Carolina Realty Group and personal website - Lowcountry Luxury Homes.  (Information provided by Hilton Head Multiple Listing Service and Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors.) Bluffton, SC Home Prices   We have seen 6 straight months of selling price increases on home prices in Bluffton and with the increased number of ready, willing, and able buyers in the marketplace this spring, I don't really anticipate the the prices will go down .  If this is your year, you need to be prepared financially and do your research as well as engage an experienced Realtor®.  It isn't the time to just make an educated guess; days on the market time is beginning to decrease and ... 03/22/2015

Clydesdales coming to Bluffton, SC March 13, 2015 Who says everything about Friday the 13th is bad???? This Friday the 13th a team of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales will be coming to Bluffton, SC. In honor of the 5th anniversary of The Olde Town Dispensary, these beautiful horses will be hitched to their traditional bright red Budweiser beer wagon and will parade down Calhoun Street at 4PM. For those wanting to see them disembark from their 50-foot tractor trailers - where they travel in great style and comfort - you will need to get there by 2PM! Obviously, the Clydesdales are the best ambassadors for Anheuser-Busch and are made continually famous by their Super Bowl commercials as well as periodic visits throughout the country. These horses were bred for their tremendous strength an... 03/12/2015

PURRRRRfect Idea in Bluffton, SC We have a feral cat problem in our area - yep, I've said it! We have either vacationers who come and may bring their animal and then think that gee, it's warmer here than in Pennsylvania I'll bet my cat will love the warm weather. Or with good intentions someone gets a kitten and oops it grows up and now what to do - and holy cow the kitty has claws and is scratching my furniture. As for our feral population, people who let their cats go without spaying or neutering them unfortunately create a big problem. We see the cats around restaurants and people get nervous about the cleanliness.We have cat colonies scattered throughout either Hilton Head or Bluffton and there are kind people who through the kindness of their hearts, and their own pocketbooks, feed... 02/01/2015

January 2015 Market Stats Pinecrest, Bluffton, SC Pinecrest is a wonderful community located in Bluffton, SC off Bluffton Parkway with another entrance off of H.E. McCracken Circle. Built by Centex there are 495 homes, a community center, community swimming pool, and playground. It is also close to the Bluffton Boys and Girls Club, as well as a Beaufort County County Park. Pinecrest has been recovering from the recession and prices are gradually rising. Having said that, and as indicated by the chart below, there is still a bit of a rocky road ahead. The inventory has been gradually tightening but the prices are at the moment a bit slow to recover. The number of foreclosures and short sales has dramatically dropped and at the moment there is only one home on the market that is a distres... 01/28/2015

January 2015 Market Stats Island West, Bluffton, SC Every month, I do extensive research on three main market areas one of which is Island West in Bluffton, SC.  At the moment, like many communities in Bluffton, there are very few properties available. CLICK HERE to see your choices in Island West. Part of the fun is to not only look at the homes but to also evaluate what has happened in a particular community. The chart below gives you quite a bit of information about the most current information for Island West. In case you're wondering where your children might attend school: Elementary school age children go to the Okatie Elementary School which is very highly rated and was named a National Blue Ribbon School. Located off of Highway 170 it's only 5 miles away. Okatie Elementary enjo... 01/25/2015

  Condo choices for sale in Bluffton, SC There are plenty of condos, or villas, as we call them on Hilton Head. But what about condos/villas in Bluffton? The Reserve at Woodbridge Located off of Buckwalter Parkway, The Reserve is a small gated community (214 units) with its own pool and clubhouse as well as garages available for some of the properties. The buildings are two story without elevators and most have wooded views. There are currently no active listings - they are very popular and are snapped up very quickly. The monthly regime fees are $287 and that includes water/sewer, trash pickup, pest control, and exterior insurance. This property does allow pets. To be clear, these are true condos - you do not own the land. The Townes at Buckwalter These are townhome style properties an... 01/24/2015

Which to choose:Island West,Eagles Pointe,The Crescent & Pinecrest There are many lovely communities in the Bluffton/Off Plantation area identified by our Hilton Head Island Multiple Listing Service. Island West, Eagle Pointe, The Crescent and Pinecrest are all great options and each have their own nuances. Be sure to CLICK HERE to use my website for your search! ISLAND WEST This DR Horton developed community shares space with the public Island West Golf Course which winds through the community. The Palm House is the center for activities in the neighborhood and has a playground, basketball court, tennis courts, and both adult and children's swimming pools. Inside the Palm House is a meeting room as well as fitness center. There are 195 homesites in the community and at the moment there... 01/18/2015

How to find a Realtor® in Bluffton SC If you're looking to buy a home in Bluffton, click here for a home search link. If you're thinking about selling your home in Bluffton, click here to enter information for a thorough market analysis. After you have finally committed to Bluffton, determined your lender, have done loads of research on the internet, have driven into the neighborhoods, the all-important task of hiring a Realtor(R) to represent you is the last step before actually doing a home search. Choosing your Realtor® (NO an agent is not the same as a Realtor®), is a very important step. You will be providing me personal information, motivation, financial information, family information in order to purchase what is most likely one of the largest purchases you will make or accompli... 01/17/2015

      Bluffton SC 2014 Year End-Gated Community Stats As I explained in another post, the Bluffton, SC market is divided into Bluffton/Off Plantation and Bluffton and the various gated communities. This  market report summary will be relative to those private communities. More clarification, I'm focusing this particular information on communities from the bridge going over to Hilton Head (Moss Creek), as far west as Berkeley Hall and basically every other gated community in between - including Hampton Hall and Hampton Lake. If you're not from this area of the country you're probably wondering why so many places are gated - I'm not going to speak to the crime statistics - which are low - but instead try to explain that the esthetics really dictate this concept It really goes back to when... 01/05/2015

    Bluffton SC 2014 Year End Real Estate Wrap Up It's time to do a summary of what has happened in our local market - at least for the Bluffton, SC or mainland report. To clarify, our market on the mainland is divided up into Bluffton/OFF PLANTATION and Bluffton for gated communities. There is quite a difference in price point for these two main areas so this report will be for the overall Bluffton OFF Plantation market. What was selling? The price point that sold through the fastest - 24 days - was between $200,000 and $249,000. This was surprising to me in some ways since the availability of homes in that price range was greater than for those in the $100,000 to $200,000 range. Our inventory definitely contracted in 2014. Who lives in Bluffton? In neighborhoods where the demographic ... 01/04/2015

JUNE 2014 MARKET REPORT FOR ISLAND WEST, BLUFFTON, SC Here are all the current listings for Island West in Bluffton, SC Island West continues to be a very solid community with lovely amenities and a strong homeowners' association. The new side entrance that takes residents off busy Highway 278 will soon have a traffic light. This will greatly enhance the desirability and ease of access. The Social Committee plans many fun events for the residents and there's always good attendance. This is a very nice community with close proximity to Berkeley Place with its restaurants and 12 screen movie theater. Here is my monthly report for June, 2014 There are plenty of other options in Bluffton! Love to talk to you about this and show you around! 06/29/2014

2014 Bluffton Village Festival Insider Tips Bluffton, SC May Fest on the Horizon! What: 36th Annual Bluffton Village FestivalWhen: Saturday, May 10th - 10AM - 5PMWhere: Calhoun Street, Bluffton, SCWho to Contact: Bluffton Rotary Club, 843-815-2277Cost: FREE to EveryoneDIRECTIONS: Take Highway 46 towards Bluffton. Take first right off traffic circle to Bluffton Parkway. At first light take a left onto Red Cedar. Follow parking signs to the school from May River Road. Take a left onto Red Cedar and follow parking signs to the school. Look for Homes for Sale Close to Old Town Bluffton What you'll see at the Festival! Every year people wait and wait for this family friendly festival. Calhoun Street is closed off and you can wander all the way down the street stopping - and shopping -  along... 05/08/2014

Homes for Horse Lovers in Oldfield, Bluffton, SC Search here for all homes for sale in Oldfield The beauty of the lowcountry is not only about the Atlantic Ocean, The Intracoastal, or all the pretty beaches; we also have exclusive communities that provide for people who love horses and want to live in a development that provides for boarding, trails, show rings, and pastures. HISTORY With a background stretching back to 1732, Oldfield is replete with lowcountry history. Beginning with ownership by a Lord Proprietor's Grant, the land passed through several hands - and even had a plantation home that was shelled by Union gunboats in 1782. Time and generations passed and in 1972 Ms. Robin Carrier carried on the tradition of a working 972 acre plantation by raising horses, pigs, sheep, soyb... 04/06/2014

MARCH 2014 MARKET UPDATE FOR ISLAND WEST IN BLUFFTON SC It's hard to believe that the first quarter is nearly over! The market in Bluffton in general and certainly in Island West has quickened substantially. ISLAND WEST OVERVIEW The snapshot is that there are only 6 homes on the market, 1 is pending, and 7 have closed in the last 6 months. Inventory continues to shrink and prices are rising. Days on the market is also shrinking as evidenced by the chart below. What do all these numbers mean? If you’re a SELLER, it means that the market continues to evolve.  As builders begin to test the waters again with new construction, there will be pressure on resales to be sure that a listed home can compete with brand new construction in location, condition, and price. As a SELLER who wants to pur... 03/28/2014