The Hilton Head Homes Blog

December 2018 Market Reports

Home prices were consistently up again in most markets in 2018 but at reduced levels compared to recent years. High demand for few homes for sale fueled price increases, but evidence is mounting that inventory will finally improve in 2019. This may apply some downward pressure on prices for beleaguered home buyers. A fourth interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in 2018 spooked the stock market to close out the year. The Fed has indicated that the number of rate increases in 2019 will be halved, which may be of little comfort to an already compressed consumer.

New Listings were up 2.8 percent to 336. Pending Sales increased 1.0 percent to 289. Inventory grew 5.9 percent to 2,231 units, the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year…

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Welcome Susie Castellini to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hilton Head Bluffton Realty!

We are excited to welcome Susie Castellini to the Hilton Head office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hilton Head Bluffton Realty!  Originally from the Cincinnati Ohio area, Susie's love for the Lowcountry started back in the late 70's when she vacationed here with her parents as a child.  Now she is lucky to call Hilton Head home and raise her children here.  

Being a "people-person" has helped Susie with her real estate career.  Her dedication to her clients, effective communication, and local knowledge have been beneficial to her clients buying and selling property in the area.  

Learn more about Susie HERE

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Colleton River: One of The United States’ Most Beautiful Communities

There is little risk in verbalizing the obvious and stating that Colleton River is not only one of the more beautiful communities in the South Carolina Lowcountry but competes positively for that title from coast to coast.

A Peninsula

One of the more unique features of Colleton River is a gift of nature and the evolution of the landscape of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

The Colleton River community is located on a peninsula and therefore is surrounded on three sides by water.

With the Colleton and Chechessee Rivers to the north and west, and the historically-significant Port Royal Sound that flows to the Atlantic to the east, its natural topography gives the community a rare foundation of beauty and features on which it developed a truly…

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November 2018 Market Reports

The booming U.S. economy continues to prop up home sales and new listings in much of the nation, although housing affordability remains a concern. Historically, housing is still relatively affordable. Although Freddie Mac recently reported that the 30-year fixed rate is at its highest average in seven years, reaching 4.94 percent, average rates were 5.97 percent ten years ago, 6.78 percent 20 years ago and 10.39 percent 30 years ago. Nevertheless, affordability concerns are causing a slowdown in home price growth in some markets, while price reductions are becoming more common.

New Listings were up 11.0 percent to 533. Pending Sales increased 1.0 percent to 396. Inventory grew 4.6 percent to 2,309 units.

Prices were still soft as Median Sales Price…

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October 2018 Market Reports

If the last few months are an indication of the temperature of housing markets across the country, a period of relative calm can be expected during the last three months of the year. A trend of market balance is emerging as we approach the end of 2018. Prices are still rising in most areas, and the number of homes for sale is still low, but there is a general shrinking of year-over-year percentage change gaps in sales, inventory and prices.

New Listings were up 17.2 percent to 674. Pending Sales increased 2.8 percent to 446. Inventory grew 2.6 percent to 2,327 units. Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 5.5 percent to $334,060. Days on Market decreased 9.5 percent to 134 days. Months Supply of Inventory was down 10.2 percent to 5.3…

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The Sea Pines Forest Preserve

From the moment you enter The Sea Pines Resort Forest Preserve you have no doubt that you have arrived in a very special place.

Established in 1970 via special covenants filed by the Sea Pines founding family, Charles and Joseph Fraser, the Sea Pines Forest Preserve is a protected area for wildlife habitat and outdoor exploration. Since the very humble beginnings of a few hiking trails and resting enclaves, the preserve has grown to include bridle paths, wetland boardwalks, bridges and fishing docks.

This 605-acre parcel of land set aside by the developers of The Sea Pines Resort, features sand ridges, forests, wetlands and ponds, and an extraordinary field of wildflowers.

Having personally hiked and biked the natural, boardwalk and dirt…

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How to Choose a House When You’re Downsizing

Whether you have lived in your current home for decades or only a year, as you get older, you may find that you have too much space.  Additionally, thanks to stairs, slippery floors, and poor central air or heating, your old home may no longer suit your needs.  As a result, many seniors are increasingly choosing to downsize.  The process of selling and buying a home is always difficult, but it can be made much easier with proper planning.  Here are some strategies that can help.

 Choose a house that accommodates your medical needs

The most critical step is choosing a house that will accommodate your unique medical needs while also suiting your design preferences.  For instance, if you have trouble with your legs, hips, or ankles, you may not want to…

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2018 Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance Starts October 26!

In 1997, when Paul Doerring established "The Cars at The Creek" in Moss Creek Plantation it was a show concentrated on the use of the ‘motor’ in automobiles. Paul Doerring’s dream brought together a few hundred auto aficionados that came to display their vintage automobiles and view those restored and displayed by their fellow enthusiasts. The Cars at The Creek was the direct ancestor of Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance.

Twenty-one years later Doerring’s low key (by comparison) dream has expanded to last ten days and take place in two states.

In 2018, the entire festival will last from October 26 thru November 4, 2018 and will celebrate the colorful history of all motoring experiences from motorcycles to airplanes.

An unbelievably…

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September 2018 Market Report

Some economy observers are pointing to 2018 as the final period in a long string of sentences touting several happy years of buyer demand and sales excitement for the housing industry. Although residential real estate should continue along a mostly positive line for the rest of the year, rising prices and interest rates coupled with salary stagnation and a generational trend toward home purchase delay or even disinterest could create an environment of declining sales.

New Listings were up 1.6 percent to 441. Pending Sales increased 31.5 percent to 338, the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Inventory shrank 0.5 percent to 2,253 units.
Prices moved higher as Median Sales Price was up 6.1 percent to $312,990. Days on Market decreased…

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Lowcountry Dining: A Culinary Journey Through Bluffton & Hilton Head

Lowcountry dining has been an experience in healthy, nourishing, fresh foods for as far back as human history in the South Carolina Lowcountry can be traced, 8,000 BC.

Shrimp and Grits, probably the most popular and most consumed dish of the Lowcountry, has been being prepared in much the same way since the mid sixteenth century when it was introduced to the European settlers by the South Carolina coastal tribes of Native Americans.

We are not exactly sure when Native Americans devised the making of Grits from corn, but we do know that Indians were growing maize (an ancestor of modern corn) in South Carolina long before Vasquez de Ayllon, an official in Hispaniola, settled five-hundred colonists on the coast in 1526

Shrimp has been in the…

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