It’s been a while since I’ve done an update on the real estate market on Hilton Head Island; so here we go!

During the month of February we had 71 home sales, 68 villa sales and 15 lot sales on Hilton Head Island.  Of the 154 sales on Hilton Head; 27 in Sea Pines Plantation, 17 in Forest Beach, 3 in Shipyard Plantation, 4 in Wexford Plantation, one in Long Cove Club, 18 in Palmetto Dunes, 15 in Folly Field, 5 in Port Royal Plantation, 16 in Hilton Head Plantation, 3 in Palmetto Hall, 4 in Indigo Run, one in Spanish Wells, one in Windmill Harbour and 40 in off plantation areas. 

During this same time period in 2010 we had 98 home sales, 57 villa sales and 10 lot sales.

Some good news in the market; Yahoo Finance reported yesterday that mortgage applications are at their highest level in 3 months.  Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, rose 15.5 percent in the week ended March 4. 

Let’s hope that this real estate market is turning around!

Following is an update on the Hilton Head real estate market last week: November 1st-7th, 2010. 

We had 7 home sales last week on Hilton Head Island; 3 in Sea Pines Plantation, 3 in Hilton Head Plantation and one in Ashton Cove (Hilton Head off plantation).  There were 23 sales in the Bluffton/Beaufort areas.   

We had 11 villa sales on Hilton Head Island between November 1st and November 7th; 2 in Sea Pines Plantation, 2 in Forest Beach, one in Shipyard, 3 in Palmetto Dunes and 3 in off plantation areas.

Just a quick update on what happened in the Hilton Head Island real estate market last week: October 25th – October 31st.

Last week we had 64 sales in the Hilton Head Island MLS; 36 homes, 6 homesites and 22 villas. 

Following is a breakdown of sales by area: one in Sea Pines Plantation, 6 in Forest Beach, one in Shipyard, one in Wexford Plantation, one in Long Cove Club, 3 in Palmetto Dunes, 5 in Folly Field, 2 in Port Royal Plantation, 3 in Hilton Head Plantation, one in Indigo Run, 2 in Windmill Harbour, 8 in Hilton Head off Plantation areas, 11 in Bluffton off plantation areas, one in Moss Creek, one in Colleton River, one in Rose Hill, 3 in Berkeley Hall, 5 in Sun City, one in Oldfield, 3 in Beaufort and one in Hampton Hall.

Click here to visit my featured listings or to see a list of Hilton Head Island short sale and foreclosure properties.

Here is a brief update on the Hilton Head Island real estate market during the week of October 18th – 24th. 

There were 43 sales last week in the Hilton Head Island MLS; 28 homes, 9 villas and 6 homesites.

Following is the breakdown by area of these sales: 2 in Sea Pines Plantation, 3 in Forest Beach, 2 in Shipyard, 5 in Palmetto Dunes, one in Port Royal Plantation, 2 in Hilton Head Plantation, one in Indigo Run, 5 in Hilton Head off plantation areas, one on Daufuskie Island, two in Bluffton off plantation areas, two in Moss Creek, one in Belfair, one in Berkeley Hall, four in Sun City, one in Oldfield, four in Hampton Hall, four in Hampton Lake, one in Jasper County and one in Barnwell County. 

Of these sales, 10 were foreclosures and 6 were short sales.  Click here to see a list of current foreclosure and short sale properties in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.

I have had many people ask me how many foreclosures are in our current real estate market.  At the present time there are 134 homes that are in foreclosure in the Hilton Head area; 3 in Sea Pines Plantation, one in Forest Beach, 3 in Wexford Plantation, one in Long Cove, one in Palmetto Dunes, one in Folly Field, 7 in Hilton Head Plantation, one in Indigo Run, one in Palmetto Hall, 2 in Windmill Harbour, 9 in off plantation areas and the remaining in Bluffton. 

Looking at a breakdown by price:

39 are priced under $100,000
23 are priced between $100,000 and $200,000
12 are priced between $300,000 and $400,000
6 are priced between $400,000 and $500,000
5 are priced between $500,000 and $600,000
3 are priced between $600,000 and $700,000
2 are priced between $700,000 and $800,000
one is priced between $800,000 and $900,000
one is priced between $900,000 and $1 million
3 are priced between $1 million and $1.5 million
2 are priced between $1.5 million and $2 million
one is priced between $2 million and $3 million
one is priced over $3 million  (more…)

We just listed a fantastic home in Hilton Head Plantation at 33 Dolphin Point Lane which is directly on the water with spectacular views.  Click here for additional information on 33 Dolphin Point Lane or watch the virtual tour below.

Spring is here on Hilton Head Island and there are a lot of things going on in the real estate market.  Here is a quick snapshot of what has happened during the first quarter of 2010 in the Hilton Head Island Real Estate market. 

We have had 393 sales on Hilton Head Island from January 1, 2010 through March 31, 2010 (homes, lots and villas).  Area sales are as follows:

Sea Pines Plantation – 41
Forest Beach - 55
Shipyard – 16
Wexford Plantation - 7
Long Cove Club – 3
Palmetto Dunes/Shelter Cove – 50
Folly Field – 20
Port Royal Plantation – 4
Hilton Head Plantation - 60
Palmetto Hall Plantation – 11
Indigo Run Plantation – 18
Spanish Wells - 3
Windmill Harbour – 10
Off Plantation – 95

During this same time period last year there were only 219 sales – so we have seen quite an increase in activity.

I was recently talking to another Hilton Head Island Realtor who showed me a mailing that another Realtor had mailed out to Hilton Head Plantation.  In this particular mailout, this Realtor was proclaiming that they were the “Hilton Head Plantation Specialist”. 

After looking in MLS, we soon found out that this Realtor had not even sold one property in Hilton Head Plantation - it made us wonder how they came to the conclusion that they were a “Hilton Head Plantation Specialist”.  It is hard to call yourself an expert in a market when you have not even made one sale in that particular area. 

The truth is, in advertising, people  say almost anything they want – but that does not necessarily make it true. 

I believe that you become a “real estate specialist” in a certain area by producing.  I consider myself to be an Island Club Villa specialist because I have been involved in over 150 transactions in the Island Club - I know that area, Iknow the amenities, I know the amenities and I know the disadvantages.   

If you needed heart surgery, would you go to a regular doctor, or would you want to find a “heart specialist” who has performed s surgery often and has had good results? 

I think this works the same in real estate, if you want to get your property sold, do you list with just anyone, or do you find your “real estate specialist” who has listed and sold lots of property and can show you results.

One of the agents in the office was showing me the numbers this morning concerning home sales in different areas.  They are as follows:  Sea Pines Plantation – 121, Forest Beach - 18, Shipyard – 7, Wexford – 15, Long Cove - 10, Palmetto Dunes - 45, Folly Field – 5, Port Royal - 35, Hilton Head Plantation - 164, Palmetto Hall - 14, Indigo Run - 37, Spanish Wells - 4, Windmill Harbour - 12, Off Plantation – 63 for a total of 516 sales. 

Villa sales were as follows:  Sea Pines Plantation - 61, Forest Beach - 120, Shipyard – 42, Palmetto Dunes - 98, Folly Field – 53, Hilton Head Plantation - 7, Hilton Head Off Plantation – 124, Windmill Harbour - 1, and Indigo Run - 4 for a total of 510 sales. 

Unfortunately, there were only 47 lots sold on the island during 2009. 

The total home sales volume was $399,000,000, villa sales volume was $133,000,000 and lot sales volume was $20,000,000 for a total of $552,000,000 in sales.