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!

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.

How Will Rising Interest Rates Affect the Market?

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Lately, I have been hearing the same question: how will rising interest rates affect the market? Interest rates have crept up in the past 30 days from a little below 4% to about 4.5% now. Because of this, there is a great sense of urgency for buyers. They want to avoid the possibility of paying a higher interest rate if they wait. This is great news for sellers on the market now.

If interest rates increase to 5%, the market will slow down a bit, but with current interest rates, buyers are ready to purchase your home. If you have any real estate questions or are looking to buy or sell, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

How to Take the Uncertainty Out of the Transition

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Brightwater Living is an independent senior living retirement community in the heart of Myrtle Beach. I met with Barbara Gans from Brightwater because there are so many questions on how the transition of moving from a home to a facility like Brightwater transpires.

According to Barbara, interested parties should look at as many independent living communities as possible. When you visit, there are many questions you should ask. We’ll look at three key ones. How do you like the community? Can you afford it and can you afford not to move to in? What about the “what ifs?”; what’s available if you need specialized care? Here’s a summary of the advice Barbara shared.

Question 1:  How does the community make you feel?

The best way you can figure this out is by experiencing the environment. You can do a tour, stay in a guest suite, participate in activities and enjoy meals there to see if you want to truly explore it. The best things you should look for you can’t taste and see. It all comes down to how the environment makes you feel. 

Question 2:  How much does it cost and can you afford it? 

Get all the facts and figures. To do so, ask lots of questions. Who owns the property? How long have they been in business? How are they licensed by the state? Ask for occupancy agreement templates to share with financial advisors, attorneys and family members. What are the home prices? What is the financial model? For example, there are many, such as life care, equity, and deed-based models so it’s very important to get all that clarified. Does the family have any liability when you leave the community? Make sure your salesperson is transparent. And, finally, ask for the complete cost analysis upfront. When you take into account all the services, you may be pleasantly surprised because it may be less than it is to maintain your own home.

Question 3:  What about the what-ifs?

What if you need a higher level of care? Be sure to ask about assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, long-term care and physical therapy. What do these areas cost? Can you use long-term care insurance and how does Medicare factor in? Tour these areas, even if you don’t need those areas now. At Brightwater we offer a full continuum of care.  

To reach Barbara at Brightwater, please call (843) 903-8300. 

Give me a call so I can tell you where to be positioned and how to be successful in this market. Please contact me at (843) 251-2693 or email us at greg@gregsisson.com. We’d be happy to assist you. 

How to Use a 1031 Exchange to Save a Bundle When Buying Investments

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If you're a real estate investor or thinking of becoming one, then you can definitely take advantage of this law, and I recommend you do so.

Basically, the "1031" allows you to sell one property and buy another without incurring capital gains taxes.
You simply have to re-invest all your profits into the next property (or properties) within a specific timeline (described later).

However, the property must be “qualifying property.” This is property held for investment purposes or used in a taxpayer's trade or business.

Investment property includes real estate, improved or unimproved, held for investment or income producing purposes.

Be aware that real estate must be replaced with like-kind real estate. This means that “like-kind replacement property” can be any improved or unimproved real estate held for income, investment or business use.

Here are some examples:
·    Improved real estate can be replaced with unimproved real estate and vice versa.
·    A 100% interest can be exchanged for an undivided percentage interest with multiple owners and vice-versa.
·    One property can be exchanged for two or more properties.
·    Two or more properties can be exchanged for one replacement property.
·    A duplex can be exchanged for a fourplex.
·    Investment property can be exchanged for business property and vice versa.

Be Aware: Your personal residence can't be exchanged for income property, and income or investment property cannot be exchanged for a personal residence in you'll reside!

What Are the Types of 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges?

There are three types of 1031 tax deferred exchanges that can take place:

- Straight exchanges—two parties trade properties of equal or approximate value. This is the simplest exchange.

- Multi-party exchanges—this involves three or more parties buying, selling, or exchanging properties. Don't attempt these exchanges without the aid of a tax professional; they tend to be very complex.

- Delayed exchanges—this exchange allows the sale of the relinquished property and the buying of the replacement property to occur at different times as long as stringent rules are followed. This is the exchange most often used.

What's the Advantage of the 1031 in Terms of Taxes?

As the law's title indicates, the capital gains tax is deferred, but not eliminated.

However deferral is a great way to leverage small real estate holdings into larger ones!

Since you can postpone gains, you're able to use a tax-deferred exchange strategy to transfer equity to a larger property, all without paying taxes!

Another advantage is that there’s no limit on exchanges. This means you can make as many exchanges as you want!

So, over the course of your lifetime, you can keep growing income and appreciation by adding new properties without having to pay the capital gains tax!

If you specialize in buying and renovating properties and want to keep reinvesting your profits into larger properties, then this strategy is especially attractive.

Note: If you don’t keep reinvesting, you risk being classified as a real estate dealer by the IRS and will not be able to participate in exchanges.

What Are the Basic 1031 Qualification Rules?

There are some basic rules that must be followed in order to qualify for a 1031 exchange. These include the following:

·    The properties to be exchanged must be located in the United States. Note: You can exchange foreign property for foreign property and domestic for domestic. However, you can’t mix these exchanges together.
·    You must trade only like-kind real estate.
·    An exchange must be made that’s equal to or greater in both value and equity. Any cash or debt relief received above this amount is considered “boot” and is taxable.
·    The like-kind property must be identified within 45 days of the closing on the initial property.
·    All proceeds from the initial sale must be turned over to a "qualified intermediary" (also called a QI, facilitator, exchanger, etc.) who is the person or company playing the role of middleman.
·    Any of the proceeds not under the control of the middleman are subject to taxation.

The middleman holds the funds from the initial property in escrow until such time as the closing on the second property occurs.

The middleman also assists the owner with the preparation of paperwork and other services to ensure the transaction progresses in a smooth manner.

The closing on the second property must take place within 180 days following the close on the first property.

Wow, as you can tell, this is pretty complex subject and can't completely covered here! But if you're an investor or plan to be one, I hope I whetted your appetite for this subject. To learn more, contact me at insert link.