What Can We Expect this Year in the Grand Strand?

There are many great Myrtle Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (843) 654-1212 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Welcome to 2015! As we begin the new year along the Grand Strand, we wanted to give you a forecast on what we anticipate the real estate market will be bringing us in this coming year. 


After talking to a lot of home builders, appraisers, and top producers, the consensus is that we will trek along the same path in 2015 as we did in 2014. This means continued growth in both the single family home and condo markets. We expect to see low inventory for another few months until spring rolls around, along with a steady 4 or 5% appreciation.


In the spring, we predict days on market to continue to be around 5-6 months. Inventory will definitely rise, but so will demand. We're predicting a fairly active market, so there will be a lot of options for buyers to choose from. 

Thanks again for checking out our blog. If you've got any specific questions about real estate or your property, be sure to give us a call or send us an email. We can't wait to hear from you!

Today, we want to discuss the dangers of overpricing your home

There are many great Myrtle Beach area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (843) 654-1212 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

Today, we want to discuss the dangers of overpricing your home 

When you list your home and ask for more money than it's worth, no one will take a look at it. When you look at the $600,000-$850,000 price range last month, only seven homes sold out of a supply of 300! We guarantee the seven homes that sold were priced at a fair market value. The homes that sit on the market for a long period of time are asking for too much money.

It's critical to know the market statistics and where your home needs to be positioned so you can price it correctly. As a buyer, on the other hand, you also need to do your market research. If you want to get your dream home, you need to make an offer that's fair. It's no longer 2010, where buyers were able to get up to 20% below list price. You need to be educated enough to know when a lowball offer is appropriate.

If you're selling, especially in the high-end market, you need to take every offer seriously. Buyers know they have a lot to choose from, as more than 250 homes in the high-end market failed to sell last year alone! Often times, buyers will throw a number out to try to get a reaction. You can either make a small counter to show that you're open to working with them, or go back to the buyer and tell them you're serious about selling, but you need a more serious offer before considering a counter offer. We encourage you to make a counter offer, because there just aren't many buyers in the high end-market right now.

Thanks for stopping by our blog. We hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions or topics you would like us to discuss in a future, please give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to hear from you!

Let Sellers Know You're Serious with a Pre-Approval from the Bank

 

The Importance of Getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

Today I'll be talking about an important topic for buyers, and give three reasons why you need to be pre-approved if you're planning to buy in Myrtle Beach or the Grand Strand.

1. Knowing What You Can Afford: You need to know how much you can buy before you start looking. This can avoid heartbreak and setbacks that are unnecessary in the buying process. If you know how much you can buy, it can also help to pinpoint an area for you to buy a home in.
2. It Can Give You Leverage: Most of the top agents that I work with will not even let our sellers sign a contract with a buyer that does not have a pre-approval letter from the bank. It doesn't make sense to do business with someone who may not be able to pay for a property. However, if you are pre-approved, you will stand out in the eyes of the seller and will be much more likely to land the property that you want.
3. The Market is Competitive: Our real estate market here in the Grand Strand and Myrtle Beach is very competitive right now, and there are a lot of properties available. However, I believe that 80% of the buyers are competing for 20% of the properties. There are lots of properties, but consumers only shop around for the best ones. Even in a market with lots of inventory, there is still a lot of competition, and you will need to stand out from the crowd with a letter of approval.

So, what is the difference between being pre-qualified and pre-approved?

If you're a seller, you should pay attention because when a buyer sends you these documents you should know the difference between them. A pre-approval is when a lender pulls the credit of the borrower, gets a social security number, and will probably also look in to your credit history. Pre-qualifications are only statements from banks that indicate how much you might qualify for, and are not indicative of your ability or financial readiness to buy a home. If you're selling, you will want to see a letter of pre-approval, and not just a letter of qualification. 

So, if you need any help finding property in Myrtle Beach or the Grand Strand, then please feel free to contact me and I would be very happy to assist you with all of your real estate needs. You can call me at (843) 251-2693 or email me atgreg@gregsisson.com

3 Reasons to Sell During the Holidays

Welcome back to my video blog. The holidays are here and a lot of people have been asking whether now is a good time to sell or not. I get this question every year and my response is always the same.

Yes. List your home now. Why?

1. Inventory is low right now - There are fewer homes on the market right now and that means less competition for you. Less competition means you can get a better price for your home.

2. Buyers are more serious - Yes, there may be fewer buyers on the market, but the quality of buyer is much better. They want to buy a house, they aren’t just window shopping.

3. You can restrict showings - You may be worried that showings will interfere with your holiday plans, but we can restrict your showings to times that work best for you.

These are just a few reasons why you should list your home now. Give me a call today and we can talk about your home and what’s best for you.

Thanks for watching and have a great Thanksgiving.

Myrtle Beach Real Estate Market Update Fall 2013

Welcome back to my blog; thanks for joining me! Today I wanted to talk about what’s going on in our market and what we can expect to see in the future.

Now I can’t predict the future, but I do have some information that could shed light on what’s to come. Just last week I got back from a real estate conference in Miami Beach.

South Florida has one of the hottest markets in the country right now. They have virtually no inventory. Properties sell almost immediately with multiple offers. This is great news for our market! Why?

I’ve found that we typically trail the South Florida market by about 18 months. In 2003 and 2004, their market began to heat up. In 2005 and 2006, we can began to heat up. 

While we might not see the international buyers that Miami does, I am encouraged by its active market!

Right now we have a low inventory, but the Wall Street Journal recently published an article stating 9 of the top 30 national markets have seen an increase in inventory. That means more competition if you’re selling.

If you want to know how much your home is worth in today’s market, give me a call!

Should You Sell Your Condo?

Is it Time to Sell Your Condo?

Hey, guys. Welcome back to my video blog!

Recently, I had a friend ask me whether he should sell his condo to move into a single-family home.

This is an interesting question. The local condo market here has been very flat, lately. Homes, though, have been appreciating. 

So, if you are thinking about selling your condo to move into a home, do it quickly so you earn appreciation on your new home.

If you are thinking about selling your home and downsizing to a condo, try and wait a little longer so you can add appreciation to your home and get more money for your sale.

If you have any more questions about appreciation or where our market is going, please don’t hesitate to give me a call!

Is Fall a Good Time to Sell?

Welcome back to my video blog! I can’t believe summer is almost over!

With fall right around the corner, a lot of people have been asking me if the fall months are a good time to sell.

That’s an interesting question. The time to sell is less seasonal now and more about market conditions. What does this mean?

In the fall, there are fewer showings per contract. Buyers looking during the summer months are very different than buyers in the fall. In June, July and August there are a lot of people on vacation and they are viewing homes with this emotional charge; rarely, though, do they actually purchase a home.

During the fall, however, buyers are more strategic. They have an actual plan to view and buy a home. So, while the summer has more activity, the net sales of both seasons are nearly the same.

So, yes, fall is a good time to sell, but it very much also depends on your situation. You need to look at the market conditions.

If you have a desire to sell, call me at 843.251.2693 or email me at greg@gregsisson.com I can do a market analysis and we can create a plan that is best for you based on your situation.