My family and I spent Christmas in the mountains – we had a “White Christmas” with over 2 feet of snow.  When we left Sunday we knew that the traffic would be heavy on the interstate because there are a lot of people driving to Florida. 

My two sons had left two hours before us and when we were north of Columbia they called to tell us that traffic was totally stopped at mile marker 150 on Interstate 26.  We took Hwy. 21 and when we crossed over Interstate 95 we saw that traffic was at a standstill. 

We took a few more detours – but there was a problem.  There is a 5 mile stretch where we had to get on Interstate 95.

I have a friend who knows this area very well and I called him and he told me a back way to drive and we missed all the traffic.

Why is this important and what does this have to do with real estate?  I have always heard that local knowledge is very important.  For all I know, there are still people sitting on Interstate 95 driving to Florida because they did not have “local knowledge” of the area.

I remember when we were taking my daughter to college and we were on Hwy. 77 and traffic had been stopped for miles around the North Carolina/Virginia border.  I called some of my friends who lived in Galax, VA and they told me exactly what to do – we hit a couple back roads and got around the traffic. 

It amazes me that people think they can get real estate information on Hilton Head from people who do not live here.  People will call and ask advice from agents who are not experts.  I am not an expert in all areas, but for the areas I am not an expert in, I know people who are.  Local knowledge is one of the most important things that a person needs in real estate. 

After all, if you were having heart surgery, you would not call a veterinarian. 

Local knowledge is the key and will always be the key to success in the Hilton Head Island real estate market.