I was visiting with some clients yesterday who had just flown into the Hilton Head Island Airport from Minneapolis, Minnesota.  They told me that they were astounded that within 10 minutes of landing they had rented a car and had arrived at their home in Port Royal Plantation - they had never flown into and airport like this before. 

I think that I sometimes take the Hilton Head Island Airport for granted; the Hilton Head Island Airport is a great asset to Hilton Head Island.  People coming on vacation have a limited amount of time and they appreciate the fact that they can get where they are going quickly once they arrive on the island. 

There has been a lot of talk recently about the airport and whether or not the runway will be extended.  I think this would not only benefit all of us who live on Hilton Head, but the many people who visit the island throughout the year.

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.

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.

Beautiful Home in Port Royal Plantation

We just listed this great home at 10 Piece of Eight in Port Royal Plantation on Hilton Head Island. 

This home features beautiful double fairway views with plenty of privacy on a cul-de-sac street.   This home is superbly maintained with generous room sizes and many updates throughout.  Abundant storage, terrific floor plan and wonderful outside living areas. Even better – just a half mile walk to beach.  Enjoy the Port Royal amenities. 3,257 square feet per owner. 

Want more information on 10 Piece of Eight - visit my website at www.JamesWedgeworth.com.

Last week we had 100 homes, 36 villas and 25 lots come on the market in all of Hilton Head Island MLS. 

Of the homes that just came on the market on Hilton Head Island, 14 were in Sea Pines Plantation, one in Forest Beach, one in Shipyard, one in Wexford, 9 in Palmetto Dunes/Shelter Cove, one in Port Royal, 5 in Hilton Head Plantation, 2 in Palmetto Hall, one in Indigo Run, one in Spanish Wells Plantation, one in Windmill Harbour and 6 were in off plantation areas. 

Of the homes that just came on the market in the Bluffton area, 22 were in off plantation areas, 5 were in Moss Creek, one in Colleton River, 6 in Belfair, 8 in Rose Hill, and 14 in Sun City. 

Sales seemed to increase slightly with 19 homes on Hilton Head and 25 homes in the Bluffton area going under contract; 3 in Sea Pines Plantation, one in Forest Beach, one in Shipyard Plantation, one in Folly Field, one in Port Royal, 6 in Hilton Head Plantation, 3 in Indigo Run, one in Windmill Harbour, 2 in Hilton Head Island off plantation areas, 14 in Bluffton off plantation areas, one in Moss Creek, two in Colleton River, 2 in Rose Hill, one in Berkeley Hall and 2 in Sun City.

We also had 12 villas and 3 lots go under contract. 

There are some great buys available and if you are in the market – now is a great time to buy.  Please visit my website at www.JamesWedgeworth.com to view all my best buys in the Hilton Head Island Real Estate market!

We had a total of 8 homes sell on Hilton Head Island last week which is much less than we would normally see this time of year.  Of the homes that sold; 2 were in Sea Pines Plantation, one in Palmetto Dunes, one in Port Royal, two in Hilton Head PLantation, one in Indigo Run and one on Shamrock Circle which is on the north end of the island.  Having this few sales puts a lot of pressure on the island.

We had 96 new homes come on the market so inventory is continuing to increase which is not good for us. 

We had 11 villas go under contract last week – one in Sea Pines Plantation, 3 in Forest BEach, one in Shipyard, 3 in Palmetto Dunes and 4 in off plantation areas.  Of the villas that went under contract, only one was listed above $500,000 – a 3-bedroom Inverness Villa in Palmetto Dunes.

We had 44 new villas come on the real estate market last week. 

We had no lot sales last week and 28 new lots came on the market.

Spring is here and March is traditionally the best time of the year for real estate sales.  Hopefully we will see more activity this coming week because there are more people on the island.  The cold weather has hurt us a little – people usually do not buy a lot of real estate when it is cold on Hilton Head.  We are looking forward to spring right around the corner.

Activity last week showed 88 new homes, 43 new villas and 32 new lots listed on the market. 

As far as home sales, we had two go under contract in Sea Pines, two in Palmetto Dunes, one in Port Royal, two in Hilton Head Plantation, three in Palmetto Hall and one in Allenwood which is near the rec center.

As far as villa sales, we had one go under contract in Sea Pines, one in North Forest Beach, one in Shipyard, three in Palmetto Dunes, one in Hilton Head Beach and Tennis and one at Tabby Walk Villas.

We did not have any lots go under contract in Hilton Head MLS last week which is hard to believe. 

It is good that we did have some homes sell last week but when you have 88 new homes coming on the market and only 11 selling, we are headed in the wrong direction. 

There are some excellent properties available this time of year.  I would encourage all of you if you have friends that NOW is a great time to buy.  Please feel free to give us a call with any questions concerning your real estate needs.

Jane was talking to me about the half price sale at Outdoor Hilton Head.  Even with the slow economy there was a line around out the door and she had to wait to get in the door.  She said it was like a $1 sale at Walmart – people were grabbing things off the shelves.

I think this shows how people are looking for a value in today’s market – this applies to real estate as well.  People will buy if they feel like they are getting a deal.  If they do not feel like they are getting a deal, they will wait for the market to bottom out.

All you have to do is look at the local newspaper; yesterday the headline read “Economic Forecast to Worsen”.  Obviously, anyone understands that if the press is saying that the economy is going to get worse, people are not going to buy today unless they are getting a deal.

I do not expect us to sell our property at 50%, but there are a number of motivated sellers that for whatever reason, have said they would sell at whatever price it would take to sell in today’s market.  I had one of those this weekend in Port Royal Plantation and the seller said he wanted it sold and adjusted the price.  Even in this slow market, there were some buyers and we had some people look at the house.

What does all this mean – my wife got a great deal on a coat at Outdoor Hilton Head and you can get a great deal on real estate on Hilton Head if you are ready to act today.