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Some tourism promoters want people to come to Myrtle Beach -- and stay here permanently.
Advertising for the “Think Myrtle Beach” program started last week, aiming to lure new buyers and visitors to the Grand Strand and jumpstart a real estate industry that was hammered during the past few years and has been slow to recover.
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce’s real estate initiative comes at a time when buyers can snap up real estate at much lower prices than a few years ago and interest rates are at an all-time low around 4 percent. Realtors are optimistic that the chamber’s effort might help boost sales and help the overall local economy because real estate is such a big part of it.
Advertising for the “Think Myrtle Beach” program started last week, aiming to lure new buyers and visitors to the Grand Strand and jumpstart a real estate industry that was hammered during the past few years and has been slow to recover.
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce’s real estate initiative comes at a time when buyers can snap up real estate at much lower prices than a few years ago and interest rates are at an all-time low around 4 percent. Realtors are optimistic that the chamber’s effort might help boost sales and help the overall local economy because real estate is such a big part of it.
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber has started an initiative to attract new home and business buyers to the area as well as new visitors. Gary Falconer, who is from New York, decided he was going to retire in Myrtle Beach and bought his Mt. Gilead home in Murrells Inlet in 2010. Falconer illustrates the buyers the chamber is trying to attract: those looking to relocate, retire, or invest. Photo by Steve Jessmore sjessmore@thesunnews.com
“Real estate and development is a key economic pillar in our community and it’s no surprise it has struggled in recent years,” Brad Dean, chamber president and CEO, said in an email. “Our goal is to increase jobs and help improve the local business climate, so we’re keenly interested in helping boost our real estate industry.
“While our primary marketing focus continues to be on tourism, we’re hopeful that we can leverage the investment in tourism promotion to attract new buyers, in addition to new visitors,” Dean said in the email.
The chamber is interested in reaching likely buyers who are not thinking about investing in the area and persuading them to consider a long-term investment along the Grand Strand, Dean said.
The Grand Strand is full of residents who moved to the area after vacationing here for years.
“Every person who has ever bought property here first came as a vacationer,” Rod Smith, director of general brokerage for Coldwell Banker Chicora Real Estate, said in an email. “Whether as a summer excursion, golf outing, business trip or snowbird getaway, they all came first as a visitor. By touting the benefits of purchasing real estate here, they are tapping into the visitors who may purchase in the future, and the ones who plan to buy now. It might also be a tipping point for someone who has thought of it before, but just hasn’t followed through.”
Mark Kirwan, who lives primarily in Maryland, bought a beach home in Surfside Beach in December to use as a summer home, and in the future, as a retirement home.
Kirwan, who has vacationed in Myrtle Beach for the past 10 to 15 years, said the area is a good place to have a retirement home with the nice weather and because his wife, Michelle, is originally from Charleston.
“She’s never got used to the cold weather [in Maryland],” said Kirwan, who said it would be another 10 to 15 years before he retires. “We looked at the market and decided it was the right time to buy.”
Changing vacationers into homeowners helps strengthen the Grand Strand’s economy, officials said, because those new residents will spend money here.
“Capturing new visitors benefits our economy through hotel, restaurant and retail establishments,” Smith said. “Reminding former vacationers of the great times they had here and why now is a great time to buy can help our economy grow.”
The National Association of Realtors estimates that one job is created for every two existing home sales nationwide, and each home sale contributes about $60,000 to the economy, according to the NAR’s website.
“Real estate truly does make the world go around with so many different industries benefiting from each sale,” Smith said. “With our economy finally on the mend, focusing visitors’ interest on the value of real estate for long term benefits and personal use, is a very wise investment in our future.”
Brad Lofton, president and chief executive officer of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp., said the chamber’s initiative is so important that the EDC has developed a real estate relocation committee to work with the chamber.
“Our focus is to create a lot of high paying jobs that would attract home buyers and home builders to the area,” Lofton said. “We’re marketing the community as a great place to open a business and that there’s real estate lots to move.”
The chamber consulted with the EDC and the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors to fine tune the strategy, and wants other groups to participate as well, Dean said.
The program includes online and television advertising, digital promotion and direct mail marketing, he said. The marketing campaign will be funded with private contributions from local businesses, Dean said.
The chamber also created a new magazine for those who express interest in buying in the area and a new website, www.thinkmyrtlebeach.com. The website gives information about relocating or retiring in Myrtle Beach, as well as investing in a second home and starting a business. It also touts the area’s strengths, including the mild climate, low cost of living and number of golf courses.
“We have always tried to capitalize on the 66 percent investor market---many of whom come from outside the area, and are brought here through the efforts of the chamber,” Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, said in an email. “It definitely has an impact on real estate sales in our area---plus it is through the chamber’s efforts that many retirees come here to retire, and they are permanent residents.”
Golf, the warm climate, and nice people are what attracted Gary Falconer to the Myrtle Beach area.
Falconer, a retired deputy from New York City’s sanitation department, had been coming to the area about 10 years to play golf.
When he told his wife, Priscilla, 10 years ago that he was going to retire in Myrtle Beach, she said he was crazy, Falconer said.
The couple bought their Mount Gilead home in Murrells Inlet in 2010.
“I love it here,” said Falconer, who has friends that moved to the area prior to him. “There’s so much to do down here.”
Radha Herring, the broker-in-charge of Watermark Real Estate Group, said the chamber’s “Think Myrtle Beach” program is a great opportunity to attract not only potential buyers, but their family and friends who will follow them to the area if they buy.
“We have 14 million people that visit the Myrtle Beach area each year,” said Herring, who sold Falconer and Kirwan their homes. “It’s a perfect time to take that audience that already visit Myrtle Beach and have them think about real estate here.”
“While our primary marketing focus continues to be on tourism, we’re hopeful that we can leverage the investment in tourism promotion to attract new buyers, in addition to new visitors,” Dean said in the email.
The chamber is interested in reaching likely buyers who are not thinking about investing in the area and persuading them to consider a long-term investment along the Grand Strand, Dean said.
The Grand Strand is full of residents who moved to the area after vacationing here for years.
“Every person who has ever bought property here first came as a vacationer,” Rod Smith, director of general brokerage for Coldwell Banker Chicora Real Estate, said in an email. “Whether as a summer excursion, golf outing, business trip or snowbird getaway, they all came first as a visitor. By touting the benefits of purchasing real estate here, they are tapping into the visitors who may purchase in the future, and the ones who plan to buy now. It might also be a tipping point for someone who has thought of it before, but just hasn’t followed through.”
Mark Kirwan, who lives primarily in Maryland, bought a beach home in Surfside Beach in December to use as a summer home, and in the future, as a retirement home.
Kirwan, who has vacationed in Myrtle Beach for the past 10 to 15 years, said the area is a good place to have a retirement home with the nice weather and because his wife, Michelle, is originally from Charleston.
“She’s never got used to the cold weather [in Maryland],” said Kirwan, who said it would be another 10 to 15 years before he retires. “We looked at the market and decided it was the right time to buy.”
Changing vacationers into homeowners helps strengthen the Grand Strand’s economy, officials said, because those new residents will spend money here.
“Capturing new visitors benefits our economy through hotel, restaurant and retail establishments,” Smith said. “Reminding former vacationers of the great times they had here and why now is a great time to buy can help our economy grow.”
The National Association of Realtors estimates that one job is created for every two existing home sales nationwide, and each home sale contributes about $60,000 to the economy, according to the NAR’s website.
“Real estate truly does make the world go around with so many different industries benefiting from each sale,” Smith said. “With our economy finally on the mend, focusing visitors’ interest on the value of real estate for long term benefits and personal use, is a very wise investment in our future.”
Brad Lofton, president and chief executive officer of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp., said the chamber’s initiative is so important that the EDC has developed a real estate relocation committee to work with the chamber.
“Our focus is to create a lot of high paying jobs that would attract home buyers and home builders to the area,” Lofton said. “We’re marketing the community as a great place to open a business and that there’s real estate lots to move.”
The chamber consulted with the EDC and the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors to fine tune the strategy, and wants other groups to participate as well, Dean said.
The program includes online and television advertising, digital promotion and direct mail marketing, he said. The marketing campaign will be funded with private contributions from local businesses, Dean said.
The chamber also created a new magazine for those who express interest in buying in the area and a new website, www.thinkmyrtlebeach.com. The website gives information about relocating or retiring in Myrtle Beach, as well as investing in a second home and starting a business. It also touts the area’s strengths, including the mild climate, low cost of living and number of golf courses.
“We have always tried to capitalize on the 66 percent investor market---many of whom come from outside the area, and are brought here through the efforts of the chamber,” Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, said in an email. “It definitely has an impact on real estate sales in our area---plus it is through the chamber’s efforts that many retirees come here to retire, and they are permanent residents.”
Golf, the warm climate, and nice people are what attracted Gary Falconer to the Myrtle Beach area.
Falconer, a retired deputy from New York City’s sanitation department, had been coming to the area about 10 years to play golf.
When he told his wife, Priscilla, 10 years ago that he was going to retire in Myrtle Beach, she said he was crazy, Falconer said.
The couple bought their Mount Gilead home in Murrells Inlet in 2010.
“I love it here,” said Falconer, who has friends that moved to the area prior to him. “There’s so much to do down here.”
Radha Herring, the broker-in-charge of Watermark Real Estate Group, said the chamber’s “Think Myrtle Beach” program is a great opportunity to attract not only potential buyers, but their family and friends who will follow them to the area if they buy.
“We have 14 million people that visit the Myrtle Beach area each year,” said Herring, who sold Falconer and Kirwan their homes. “It’s a perfect time to take that audience that already visit Myrtle Beach and have them think about real estate here.”
1 comments:
it is really important to ask for advice from realtors and attorneys when planning to buy a real estate.
Find a real estate agent in Massachusetts
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