During the Presidential election, President’s Obama’s campaign “change we can believe in” gained a lot of attention.  It is like people were ready for a change; even though they may not like the change they got, they were just ready for change. 

In the real estate market I often hear Realtors complain over and over again about how the real estate market has changed.  Everything has changed.  Being on the Board of a local Hilton Head Hospital I realize that medicine has changed tremendously.  I often hear older doctors talk about “the way it used to be”.

Growing up in a rural agricultural community I realized that farming has changed.  My father-in-law was a dairy farmer.  The people who have survived in that business had to change to meet the changing times.

Real Estate has changed in many ways.  The way we advertised has changed tremendously; in the old days we used to run ads in the paper and when people would get the Sunday paper and pick out what they were going to look at when they were ready to look.  With the capabilities available on the Internet, most people just pull up everything they want on the web and determine what properties they would like to see that way. 

It has been my experience that if people do not adjust to change, the real estate market will leave them.

I once worked with a Realtor at Lighthouse Realty over 25 years ago and once we went to MLS he came to me and said that the business was changing too much and he could not take it and he would retire.  What if he were in the business today?  He thought that was change. 

I think it is important that we all realize that change will happen and 25 years from now it will be totally different than it is now and there will be some agents running around saying they wished it was “the way it used to be”.

The greatest reason to buy real estate in a recession is because everything is for sale and prices are off.

Sunday there was an article that appeared in The Island Packet in reference to the “Why buy in a recession” symposium that I was a panelist along with Bill Baldwin, Craig Ostergard and Phil Schembra.  We talked about all the reasons why now is a great time to buy real estate.

I jokingly said “I went down to the ocean yesterday and you know what, it is still there”. 

I think sometimes we look at real estate in the wrong way.  We look at it more as an investment tool when it really needs to be more of a family enjoyment tool.  Memories are made at the beach and now is a great time to do so.

*Courtesy of The Island Packet

We saw 106 homes, 33 villas and 23 new lots come on the market last week.  Wow – that is a lot more inventory than we would like to see. 

The good news is that we did have 39 homes go under contract last week; 13 on Hilton Head Island 26 were in Bluffton. 

We had one lot sell in Belfair in Bluffton; lot sales continue to be slow. 

We had eight villas sell last week; one in Sea Pines, two in Forest Beach, one in Folly Field, three in Point Comfort and one in Tabby Walk.  Of the eight villas that went under contract, all eight were priced below $300,000.  The strength in the market seems to be in the lower price ranges.

Of the homes that sold, none sold over $2 million, one went under contract at $1.7 million, and the other two were right at $1,000,000.  Most of the sales were in the Bluffton area in the lower price range. 

What does this mean?  It means that there are some great opportunities out there if people have the ability to make a decision in today’s market.

I ran some Hilton Head real estate activity based on pending date, which in our business is much more important.

For the first two months of 2008, we had 118 homes go under contract on Hilton Head Island with an average sales price of $1,357,000. 

For the first two months of 2009, we had 68 homes go under contract on Hilton Head Island with an average sales price of $887,000. 

The total volume sales for the first two months of 2008 were $48,834,000 versus $24,600,000 in 2009.

One statistic I saw a big discrepancy in was list price versus sales price.  In 2008 we had 92% and in 2009 we had 86% – quite a change. 

There was a minor change in days on the market; 151 days in 2008 and 169 in 2009. 

What does all this mean?  I do not know for sure, but you do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the market is slower now than it was then, but I think this also means that there are some great values out there for people who have “dry powder”.

For the last month it seems like everyone who called me was complaining about the stock market because their assets kept going down in value.  I’m so excited to see that we have had about eight or nine days of good news in the stock market – I think that has a positive influence on the overall real estate market.

I have had people ask “why does that affect the Hilton Head real estate market”?  It is simple – the most important factor in real estate is consumer confidence.  In other words, when people feel good about their net worth, they are much more likely to go out and buy real estate – especially secondary resort real estate in places like Hilton Head Island.  When people feel bad about their net worth, they are less likely to spend for those “extras”. 

It is my hope that the stock market has bottomed out, prices are up and I think we will see a corresponding trend and increased activity in real estate.  There have been a lot of people sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time to buy – this may be it.

I figured this out in 1978 – the first time I crossed over the bridge and realized that this was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen in my life.  Little did I know that three years later I would quit the only job I had ever had and move my family to Hilton Head Island to go into a business I had never been in before – I did not even have a real estate license.  Why wait until I’m 65 to retire to Hilton Head when I can go ahead and move here now?

Today’s Island Packet states that Hilton Head Island is one of the top ten U.S. and Canadian destinations preferred by Affluent Leisure Travelers.  We are in good company when you consider New York City, Las Vegas, Maui, Orlando, Washington D.C. and Napa Valley are also on this list. 

Tell all your friends – Hilton Head Island is a great place to visit and a better place to live!

We had 10 homes go under contract on Hilton Head Island last week.  Of the 10 homes that sold; 7 were listed under $500,000, one was priced at $689,000, one at $1,300,000 and one at $1,350,000.  By comparison, I went back to 2005 and there were 38 home sales in this same time period.

The biggest contrast was in villa sales.  We had 7 villas sell last week – 4 under $200,000, one priced at $225,000, one at $499,000 and one at $599,000.  We had 57 villas sell in this same time period in 2005. 

There were no lot sales on Hilton Head Island.  This is the 3rd week in a row we have not had any sell on Hilton Head Island.  In comparison, we had 10 lots sell during this same time period in 2005.  If you break those numbers down, we had 17 sales in 2009 versus 105 sales in 2005 – this is quite a difference.

What does this mean?  If you are a seller, it is a tough market, but if you are a buyer it is a great time to buy and there are some great opportunities available.

Yesterday Jane and I were on our way back from the mountains. At noon, we stopped in Columbia at Rush’s, our favorite bar-b-que hangout. We always stop there when we go and come back from the mountains.

When we got off the interstate, I noticed that there were 2 guys holding signs promoting business on the exit. I thought it was interesting to “think outside the box.” Obviously these businesses are slow and they are doing everything they can to try and stimulate some business.

I don’t necessarily think that you will see me standing on Hwy. 278 with a sign promoting a house for sale, but it might not be a bad idea! Maybe I need a sign that says “Buy Now, Great Values” or “We are having a 30% off sale!” I was impressed that these businesses were willing to go the extra mile to try and get the business.

We are continually trying to get the business at the James Wedgeworth Team. We ask ourselves every day if there is a marketing idea we haven’t tried before. We are trying to reach outside the normal areas of where our buyers come from. This is why we have been doing promotions in Europe.

In times such as these, it requires thinking outside of the ordinary. You can be assured that we will do our best to “think outside the box.”

Wow, the stock market dropped 4% yesterday.

Stock market values affect real estate values, even though not directly.

It has been my experience that people buy when they feel good about their investments and are more cautious when they do not feel good about their investments.  7 out of the last 8 days the stock market has dropped and there was another big drop yesterday.  This probably means that now is a pretty good time to buy.

I wrote an article once “When will history really teach us a lesson” – in this article I talked about how the people who bought in 1991 when every single indicator said not to buy real estate, are the people who came out big winners.  I think those indicators are here today meaning it is a great time to buy.

Consumer confidence is a funny thing.  When consumers do not have confidence in the economy, the economy slows down and real estate prices drop.  We have some unbelievable real estate deals today and now might be a good time to shop around.

I recently had a prospect tell me that he thought the market had not bottomed out and he thinks it will bottom out in 6 months.  I told him that he was probably right, but the problem is that he is not buying a mutual fund of real estate – you are buying one specific property. 

There are some great deals available – take advantage of them!