The Riviera will offer 116 large, luxury units on seven and half acres in a residential resort that will not allow rentals of less than one year.

• Located between 77th and 79th avenues North, west of Ocean Boulevard, The Riviera will offer large units (1,800 square feet to 4,962 square feet) designed for luxury, permanent living and priced from $800,000 to $2.5 million.

• The Riviera will offer amenities seen in few previous developments - private cabanas, individually owned garages and private elevators that take owners directly into their units. The rooms have ocean views from the third floor up with a single-family home development between it and the ocean.

• The resort will have formal gardens, singing fountains, two acres of pools, and live oaks will be left throughout the property.

The Riviera is tailored for wealthy baby-boomer buyers looking for a permanent luxury home near the ocean with little upkeep. The project is an example of how new construction on the Grand Strand is moving toward larger, permanent units to balance the glut of rental units on the market.

• Tom Maeser, market analyst and president of the Fortune Academy of Real Estate, said the market is right for an off-ocean permanent homeowner luxury resort.

• “The market has indeed changed. I think their timing is now probably pretty good,” Maeser said.

There has been so much demand for The Riviera that a drawing will be held on Oct. 14 where buyers’ numbers will be pulled from a hopper to pick their unit.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach

For More Information – contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204.

Al Parish, Economist, Charleston Southern University

Summary: Gas prices will fall 10 to 15 cents per gallon, retail sales will continue to climb and commercial construction will take off as investors shy away from residential and pump their dollars into an arena that promises stronger growth.

In a wide-ranging presentation Thursday, Charleston Southern University economist Al Parish predicted mostly good things ahead for the economies of Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties.

Indeed, the Grand Strand will continue to outperform the lackluster United States economy, thanks in part to its allure to retirees, Parish predicted.

• “The Grand Strand community is still growing,” Parish said. “It’s still a popular destination for retirees.”

• South Carolina is not only continuing to draw retirees from Florida, the Northeast and upper Midwest, new residents are coming from Northern California, Oregon and Washington, he said.

• Those retirees will add to the area’s permanent work force, draw more retailers and buy more permanent homes.

Parish’s forecast for 2007 and 2008 by category:

Tourism: Average daily room rates will increase 4 percent to $79 a night in 2007 and to $84 a night in 2008. The occupancy rate will increase 1 percent to average 58 percent for both years. The number of room nights sold will increase to 6.61 million in 2007 and 6.65 million in 2008. This year, Horry County’s total is projected to reach 6.58 million.

Construction: Permit valuation will more than double to $285 million in 2007 and jump to $297 million in 2008, based on the Hard Rock theme park in Horry County.

• “Investor money not only in the Grand Strand, but in the United States, is beginning to flow from housing to commercial ventures,” Parish said.

• Steel prices should begin to fall as demand drops because of slowing growth in China and India. “There’s plenty of steel and rebar and that’s good news, especially if you are a builder,” he added.

Labor: Unemployment should average 6.5 percent for 2007 and 2008. It will be 5.4 percent in 2007 and 5.3 percent in 2008 in Horry County. In Georgetown County, the unemployment rate will be 8.4 percent in 2007 and 8.2 percent in 2008.

Retail: Retail sales in Georgetown County will reach $1.56 billion in 2007 and $1.68 billion in 2008. It was projected to reach $1.44 billion this year. In Horry County, retail sales will increase to $10 billion in 2007 and $10.9 billion in 2008.

Transportation: The Port of Georgetown is estimated to handle 1.12 million tons of cargo in 2007, 1.175 million tons in 2008. Myrtle Beach International Airport should see traffic increase 4 percent in 2007 to 1.48 million passengers and to 1.54 million in 2008. The airport’s biggest problem, said Parish, is its capacity.

• Over the past year, Myrtle Beach’s airport has gotten a boost from Charleston residents looking for cheaper airfare. “They can save from one third to three quarters of the fare out of Charleston,” Parish said.

Golf: The area will continue to see a few golf courses sold for development, but will remain a top destination for golfers.

• “This area is very popular, even as far away as Japan,” Parish said. “It’s an international destination in that regard,” he said.

Gas prices: Gas prices are highest in South Carolina in Myrtle Beach and the lowest prices are in Georgetown. “If it’s $2.25 a gallon in Myrtle Beach, it’s $1.95 in Georgetown,” Parish said. “If you’re down that way, fill up.”

Source: Garrison Wells, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach ranks 11th in the nation in one-year price appreciation for single-family homes, according to a study by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. Single-family homes appreciated year over year by 23.8 percent in the second quarter.

Myrtle Beach also topped the nation in quarterly price growth - ranking third in appreciation between the first quarter and second quarters of 2006 with a 6 percent increase. Only Bend, Ore., and Grand Junction, Colo., were higher.

• The metropolitan statistical area of Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach hasn’t ranked in the nation’s Top 20 for appreciation since 1997, said Andrew Leventis, economist with the Office of Federal Housing.

• “It means that the super high end of the U.S. real estate market - the cities that have had tremendous high appreciation rates - are starting to come down. And places like Myrtle Beach appear to be continuing on,” Leventis said.

• “In general, markets in Florida are deciding to decelerate pretty rapidly. Based on this new data, it looks like the Myrtle Beach market and other areas are not decelerating as much as the south Atlantic,” Leventis said.

Nationwide the numbers show a different trend.

• U.S. home prices continued to rise in the second quarter but showed the biggest slowdown in three decades.

• Average home prices rose 1.17 percent in the April through June period, compared with 3.65 percent in the second quarter of 2005 - the biggest decline in price growth since the Office of Federal Housing started keeping track of home prices in 1975, the report showed.

• The agency cited higher interest rates and rising inventories of homes for sale as factors in the slowdown in price growth.

Leventis called Myrtle Beach’s appreciation an anomaly compared with the rest of South Carolina.

• Local analysts contend the national study proves that the Grand Strand single-family market has a strong future - despite a spike in inventory and slight drop in sales.

• In Horry County, sales of resale single family homes dropped 6 percent in the second quarter but the average price jumped 7 percent, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises, a real estate research firm in Rocky Mount, N.C.

“The crystal ball says that we’re in an adjustment period. We’re not headed for disaster and not in that bursting bubble. We’re in an adjusting market,” said Tom Maeser, local market analyst and president of the Fortune Academy of Real Estate.

• Helping the local market are baby boomers, who are moving in increasing numbers to the Carolinas.

• “I think you are going to see continued strength in the housing market in Myrtle Beach as retirees flock to the area,” said Al Parish, economist at Charleston Southern University.

• Parish added he doesn’t expect single-family appreciation to be as high as 23 percent next year. He says prices will increase about 8 percent.

• “Despite the appreciation, Myrtle Beach is still a good buy [compared with other coastal cities],” Parish said.

Meantime, single-family building continues. Permits for single-family homes increased 7 percent in the second quarter, while condo permits dropped 34 percent from last year.

But single-family lot sales fell 11 percent, signaling a downshift in land acquisition by developers, Maeser said.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Sales for homes and condominiums fell again in August on the Grand Strand, continuing a slower market compared to last year’s record sales.

• Home sales dropped 22 percent and condo sales dropped 52 percent compared to August 2005 - a trend that has stabilized prices somewhat.

A buyer’s market is when there is more than six months worth of inventory.

• Nationally, there’s more than seven and half months worth of inventory.

• On the Strand, there’s about a year’s worth of inventory on the market, said Tom Maeser, market analyst and president of the Fortune Academy of Real Estate.

Maeser expects inventory to be absorbed once the market gets more permanent home and second home purchasers.

• That’s because the market has lost the rental income investor as its main buyer, Maeser said.

Prices are up year-over-year in August except for the average price of homes, which fell to $248,377 from $251,553.

• The median price for homes is up 13 percent to $210,000 from $185,950.

• The median price of condos also increased 13 percent to $175,500 from $154,900.

The number of days that property sits on the market is also increasing.

• Homes stayed on the market for 148 days in August, compared to 130 days last year.
• Condos stayed on the market for 217 days in August, compared to 80 days last year.

Source: Jenny Burns, Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

A downward trend in gas prices is credited to season, increased supplies. Gas prices could approach $2 a gallon in South Carolina and $2.25 in North Carolina in the next few weeks, industry experts predict.

• Prices should drop and remain low until about mid-November, when holiday travel and heating costs rise.

• But disruptions in the Mideast or a major hurricane that affects supply lines could change these predictions and send fuel costs back up to the $3 to $4 a gallon seen after Hurricane Katrina.

• “South Carolina probably has a shot at $2 [a gallon] because we do have some of the lowest prices in the country,” said Tom Crosby, spokesman for AAA Carolinas. “There should be a downward trend between now and Thanksgiving, and it should continue to drop unless something happens.”

Drivers here will likely pay less than the national average price because of the state’s low fuel taxes.

• South Carolina charges about 16 cents a gallon - lower than all states except Wyoming, New Jersey, Alaska, Florida and Georgia, according to a 2003 federal government tally. North Carolina charges between 22 and 25 cents a gallon.

• And Myrtle Beach, which often sees the highest statewide fuel costs in summer months, should approach the state average fuel cost as the tourist season dwindles, Crosby said.

• A drop in gasoline prices could also help retail and tourism on the Grand Strand. Several recent national surveys show consumer confidence at a seven-month high, mostly due to the drop in gasoline prices.

Source: Emma Ritch, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Floridians are leaving the Sunshine State - which they say is overpriced and too hurricane-prone - and heading to the Carolinas.

• Florida has taken the top spot as the Carolinas’ largest in-migration market - overtaking New York in a 2005 survey of those wanting to move to the Carolinas.

• Florida ranked fourth in 2004. In the past 20 years, it ranked sixth or lower. New York, which ranked first in 2004, dropped to second in 2005.

The real estate industry calls them “half-backs” - Northeasterners who move to Florida, end up unhappy, and move “halfway back” to the Carolinas.

• Builders say these buyers want a change of seasons, lower cost of living and closer location to family and friends back home.

• The majority of relocators are not retirees, studies show. About 39 percent of relocators surveyed are older than 50, and 61 percent are younger.

• Experts agree that Florida has fueled the economy of the Carolinas, but whether the phenomenon is a short- or long-term trend remains to be seen.

• The survey shows the median household income of the incoming families is $117,000 and 77 percent have college degrees.

Why they move -

• Hurricanes

• Cost of living

• Taxes

• Overcrowding

• Closer to home

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Hold, Fold or Swap? — Playing Your Hand in a Down Market.
By Stephen A. Wayner, Esq., CES
[Please check out this link to the full article… it’s worth reading.]

SUMMARY: How do you manage your real estate investments when the market is falling?

The evidence is clear that the market is well below its peak: foreclosures are at a ten-year high, and there is a glut of new properties entering the market, just as the market is softening.

The people in the market who are suffering the most are the so-called “flippers”, the speculators, the overextended buyers, and those investors who took advantage of the no-money-down offers and 125% financing deals that were plentiful when the market was peaking.

INVESTOR STRATEGIES:

1. SELL quickly… if your monthly payments are a stretch; if you bought to flip; if you want to protect your gains. Here are some selling tips:

a. Keep Emotional Balance – Today’s market prices are what they are. Don’t become paralyzed by the hope that prices will recover in a falling market.

b. Set Price Aggressively - If you want your property to move quickly, price your property at a bargain level from the start.

c. Spruce Up the Property - You cannot afford to see your property fall in price for several months just because you will not spend the money to fix all of its defects and detractions.

d. Research, Research, Research - In falling markets, buyers will be meticulous and they will comparison shop. Look hard at recent sales for pricing… and do your own property inspection to ensure buyer satisfaction.

e. Offer Buyer Incentives - You can offer to pay the buyer’s points on a new mortgage… or offer partial seller financing.

2. HOLD until market turns back up… if you can afford the cash-flow costs of your properties… lock in a fixed mortgage rate. Here are some holding tips:

a. Lock in Credit-Worthy Tenants - Stable tenants will protect your monthly cash-flow… offer incentives to sign a longer-term lease.

b. Look Hard at New Tenants - Make sure that they are credit-worthy… get a background check, as well as a reference check.

c. Structure Leases Carefully - Have an attorney draft or review your lease with your tenants.

d. Make Those Long Put-Off Improvements - Making improvements will bring increased value long term and construction labor is cheaper in a down market.

3. EXCHANGE high-risk for low-risk properties… if you can find overextended speculators and negotiate a deep-discount transaction. Here’s where to look:

a. Commercial Property already under lease with stable tenants. The income protects you from downturns by guaranteeing a predictable return.

b. Foreclosure Property - Sell your high-risk property and go bargain hunting… use your own appraiser and inspector.

c. Deeply Discounted Property - Search for properties that have been discounted several times… and still haven’t sold.

d. Properties in Other States - Consider exchanging into properties located in areas where growth has been steady and modest… and are less likely to suffer dramatic losses in a market downturn.

4. BUY when prices are falling. A declining market gives a potential buyer plenty of time to shop for the “perfect” investment, a luxury not available in a bull market. Taking your time and doing your homework has the added benefit of mitigating the emotional impact of your real estate investments.

For more information on 1031 tax exchange strategies, contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204.

Less than a week after the sudden closure of the Toski Links North Course at Deer Track Golf Resort, the remaining 18 holes on the property have also been shut down.

The 25-year-old South Course closed abruptly Monday afternoon and there was no play on the layout Tuesday.

Deer Track has more than 400 homes and many course members who are now displaced in the midst of paid memberships. Island Green Golf Club and Indigo Creek Golf Club have agreed to offer Deer Track members special rates through September.

A lawsuit was filed Friday by two Deerfield Plantation homeowners in an attempt to keep the North Course from being redeveloped, according to Deerfield Plantation Property Owners Association president Gary Loftus.

The lawsuit could potentially become a class action suit representing all property owners in the DPPOA.

Source: Alan Blondin, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Bay Tree Golf Plantation’s three golf courses will soon become a neighborhood village as Centex Homes released its plans to build 900 homes including a town center, six-acre park and outdoor ampitheater.

The Grand Strand’s largest builder will break ground in January on the development, now called RiverGrand.

The 529-acre property will be redeveloped in the architecture of the College of Charleston and include a retirement center and shopping center, developers said at a press conference annoucing its plans.

Small retail like specialty shops and eateries will line the first floor of the town center at RiverGrand. Condos will line the top floors, with 500 multi-family units surrounding the center and 900 single family homes.

“We are going to build something that is totally new for the Little River area,” said Ken Balogh, Myrtle Beach division president for Centex Homes. “In fact, there is nothing else like it in this part of Horry County.”

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

For more information on RiverGrand, contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204.

The summer season didn’t add up to what Grand Strand businesses had hoped.

• Whether it was high gas prices or mounting consumer debt, tourists didn’t spend as freely as they have in past years.

• They brought packed lunches to the water park or skipped that outing to an amusement park, restaurant or attraction. That means fewer dollars into cash registers and the local tourism economy.

• “I’d love to tell you [the summer] was a great one,” said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. “But I’d say it was soft, even somewhat disappointing. There were people here, but certainly they were spending less.”

Summer - June, July and August - is do-or-die time for area businesses, especially hotels, restaurants and attractions. They make the bulk of their money during those three months and need to take in enough to make it through the winter lull.

• Attractions, which rely on tourists having extra dollars to spend, were especially hit hard. Admissions taxes, collected by businesses that charge for access, were down in June by 5.8 percent for Horry County and 1.5 percent in Georgetown County. July and August figures aren’t yet available.

• Tourism promoters aren’t panicking just yet, but already are trying to line up additional dollars to market the beach, especially to what they consider the core market of repeat visitors: North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Business leaders agree spreading the word about what Myrtle Beach has to offer is a must-do to bring more people here.

The chamber also is trying to pinpoint why tourists weren’t spending as much, with plans to survey visitors whose information is on file.

• Occupancy - the percentage of lodging rooms filled - dropped from last summer’s levels, mainly because there are so many more units. The lodging supply has grown by about 23 percent from January 2003 to December 2005, CCU estimates. This summer, June’s occupancy dropped by 1.3 percent, July by 5.2 percent.

• Traditionally the busiest time at the beach - from July 4 through the end of July - never arrived in the force it usually does, Dean and others say. And surprisingly, August, which typically lags as kids return to school, posted the only summer jump in occupancy.

• Tourists booked their rooms later and seemed to stay fewer days.

On the bright side, the shoulder seasons are getting busier. Occupancy was up each month from January through May, except March.

• Some of March’s decline and April’s jump is because of the timing of the busy Easter holiday, which occurred in March during 2005 but April this year.

• From January through August, occupancy is up over last year by about 3.2 percent, according to CCU.

• “We had a fantastic spring,” Loftus said. “Spring was basically off the charts.”

Along the Grand Strand, business owners say extra dollars for advertising are crucial.

• The chamber expects to have about $10 million to spend on advertising through June. The money represents chamber funds, state grants and private matches needed to get the grants.

Still, the Grand Strand isn’t spending as much on advertising as destinations such as Virginia Beach and Gatlinburg, Tenn., Dean said.

“Bottom line,” McGonigal said, “we are going to have to bring more people to the beach.”

Source: Dawn Bryant, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Overall mortgage applications were up 1.8 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, as refinancing activity dropped for the first time since July, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

• The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.31 percent from 6.39 percent, with points including the origination fee increasing to 1.1 from 1.03 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.

Points, which are fees charged by lenders for loan processing, are expressed as a percent of the total loan amount.

• The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.97 percent from 6.06 percent. Points including the origination fee increased to 1.14 from 1.06 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.

• The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 5.91 percent from 5.97 percent, with points including the origination fee decreasing to 0.83 from 0.91 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.

Source: Inman News

Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes said Wednesday the state’s coastal towns should come together to find a way to bring relief to property owners throttled by spiking insurance rates.

Rhodes and City Manager Tom Leath asked representatives of three other towns at the first meeting of the newly formed Grand Strand Coastal Alliance to help figure out a solution, possibly through state grants to offset the costs of rising premiums or by setting up a pool of shared money.

The Coastal Alliance includes Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Briarcliffe Acres and Atlantic Beach. Atlantic Beach did not attend the meeting.

• Homeowners, especially those who own condos, have seen their insurance rates rise up to 700 percent in some cases, hurting seniors and those on fixed incomes.

• Some condo owners are now paying more for their homeowners association fees - which includes the insurance - than they are for their mortgages, homeowners say.

Source: Jenny Burns and Lisa Fleisher, The Sun News

SUMMARY: Permits for new Myrtle Beach condos are down sharply. Resale market slows; single-family homes still sell.

The softening real estate market in the Grand Strand has slowed condominium building.

• The number of condo building permits in Horry County dropped 34 percent in the second quarter, from 1,105 last year to 724 this year.

• New condo sales fell 31 percent and the resale of condos fell 26 percent, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises, a regional real estate market research firm in Rocky Mount, N.C.

But some analysts don’t see the slowdown as a long-term problem.

• “We don’t see this as an extended downturn. Although it seems sharp right now, it is sharp only in the very short term as builders try to adjust from the excess of their starts late last year,” said Bernard Helm, president of Market Opportunity Research Enterprises, which tracks real estate markets in the Southeast.

There are also a lot of condominiums on the market… about three times as many condos on the market this year compared to the same time last year.

• Developers are cutting back on what they build because they may have trouble meeting bank requirements that say they should sell 80 percent to 100 percent of the units before getting a construction loan.

Meanwhile, the market for single-family homes in still going strong in Horry County.

• Single-family building increased 7 percent over last year to 1,535 homes, even though sales of new houses stayed flat and resale homes fell 6 percent.

• This could be good for home buyers, some analysts say. “Builders will have some excess inventory, and that will end up being good news for consumers. They have to work out that inventory and that means softening prices,” Helm said.

Source: Associated Press

A slower condominium market has oceanfront condo developers offering some big savings - such as covering the cost of owning for two years or cutting payment costs by lowering interest rates.

Buyers at Calypso Keyes in North Myrtle Beach, a new 14-story oceanfront resort, can get their mortgage and homeowners association fees paid for through a two-year “developer leaseback” program.

• Developer Keye Communities will lease the unit from the owner, paying the mortgage and HOA fees for two years and earning any rental income the unit makes - unless that rental income outweighs the payments and then the profit goes to the owner.

• Since the building won’t be built for a year and a half, buyers basically have “no cost on the investment for three and a half years,” said Russ Baltzer, a partner in Keye Communities.

• The leaseback is only offered at a special event on Sept. 30 for 35 units. Developers say they have sold more than half of the 109 units in the building.

The developer of conversion Coral Beach Resort, 1105 S. Ocean Blvd., is offering a “buy-down” with a 4.875 interest rate for a 30-year term with Investor’s Mortgage Company.

• The company will lend up to 90 percent of the purchase price. The interest rate is fixed for the first three years.

Developers at the oceanfront Tides and Driftwood buildings, which is part of the Sea Mist redevelopment in Myrtle Beach, are offering a similar 4.875 percent financing through Investor’s Mortgage on a 30-year term with the first three years interest rate fixed.

• The mortgage company will lend up to 90 percent of the purchase price, which means a 10 percent down payment.

• With the buy down, investors are paying a lower rate than the national average 5.93 percent for a primary residence mortgage, he said.

Bottom line, total out of pocket costs are minimized with a below market interest rate with actual costs predictable for the first three years. This takes a lot of the uncertainty out of the equation that a buyer typically sees with an adjustable rate program.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach

For more information on Oceancront buyer incentives, contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204.

WASHINGTON - U.S. home prices continued to rise in the second quarter but showed the biggest slowdown in three decades, federal regulators reported Tuesday… providing the latest indication that the housing market is cooling substantially.

GROWTH RATE DECLINE

Average home prices rose 1.17 percent in the April-June period, compared with 3.65 percent in the second quarter of 2005 - the biggest decline in price growth since the housing agency started keeping track of home prices in 1975, the new report showed.

The agency cited higher interest rates and rising inventories of homes for sale as possible factors in the slowdown in price growth.

HOUSING BOOM OVER

Data issued last month provided proof that the housing boom is over. The Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes dropped in July by 4.3 percent, the largest amount since February, while the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high. Sales of previously owned homes fell 4.1 percent in July to a 2½-year low, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales of both new and existing homes set records for five consecutive years as the housing industry enjoyed a boom powered by the lowest mortgage rates in four decades. But rates have been steadily rising this year as the Federal Reserve tightens credit conditions.

EXPECT HOME SALES DECLINE

Analysts expect home sales to drop 10 percent this year.

Still, the housing agency report noted, house prices grew faster from the second quarter of 2005 to the same period this year, by 10.06 percent, than did prices of other goods and services, which rose 4.41 percent.

The report, based on data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on repeat sales and refinancings of single-family homes, also found that metropolitan areas in North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington state have entered the list of markets with the fastest-growing prices.

Source: Marcy Gordon, The Associated Press