Today’s real estate deal of the day is a phenomenal showhome in Hilton Head Plantation – 66 Santa Maria Drive.

This beautiful luxury home sits on the water in Hilton Head Plantation and shows extremely well.  It has top of the line appliances, is professionally decorated and has long marsh to water views.

There is also a 2-car garage.  The kitchen opens to a breakfast area and living room, gas log fireplace, his/her walk-in closets in the master bedroom, concrete bulkhead on the lot, hardwood flooring on the first floor and approximately 4,300 square feet per owner.

All of this for $1,375,000.

Learn more about Hilton Head Plantation and 66 Santa Maria Drive!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 

 As you can see, most of the foreclosures seem to be at the lower end of the real estate market. 

Click here to see a list of my foreclosure and short sale properties.  If you would like, I can also set you up so you are notified every time a new foreclosure comes on the market - simply email me at James@Jameswedgeworth.com and type “Foreclosure List” in the title line. 

There are 43 villa foreclosures; 7 in Forest Beach, one in Shipyard, 2 in Palmetto Dunes, 3 in Folly Field, 22 in off plantation areas and the remaining in Bluffton. 

Looking at a breakdown by price:

27 are priced below $100,000
11 are priced between $100,000 and $200,000
3 are priced between $200,000 and $300,000
One is priced over $400,000

The lot market is the worst by far – there are currently 118 foreclosures on the market; one in Wexford, 2 in Long Cove, 3 in Folly Field, 2 in Indigo Run, 11 in off plantation areas and the rest in Bluffton.

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.

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.

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.