South Carolina needs to find a way to stabilize the insurance market and find an intelligent solution to skyrocketing rates for the future. Real estate agents said they want legislators to research the effects of wind pool expansion, and enact the best solutions to stabilize rates.

Agents raised these concerns.

• Buyers are asking: “”If rates have increased this much, what will they increase this year?”

• First-time buyers can afford today’s softening home prices but can’t buy because the insurance cost puts homes out of their reach.

• Investors might be able to afford the property but can’t make money with the insurance increase, so they’re not buying either.

• Condo owners who want out can’t sell. Even sellers offering free homeowners association dues for a year can’t sell because there are other condos for sale priced $20,000 below the market price.

• Even investors buying with instant equity are leaving.

Wind pool expansion - mixed effect.

• Condo owners could find relief if standard carriers start writing policies, now that they can exclude wind coverage.

• Single-family owners who already have policies might be dropped by a company that no longer wants to cover wind damage.

• With 12,000 coastal residents being dropped by Allstate, and other large carriers following suit, many homeowners are getting dropped anyway - and frantically looking for insurance in a tightening market.

Market improving?

• Market seems to be getting a little better, but rates haven’t dropped significantly.

• Some condo complexes have been able to find new insurance policies for slightly lower prices than the previous 700 percent increases they were hit with, but nothing near 2005 levels.

Source: Jenny Burns, Myrtle Beach, SC

Fun World

Work is being done at the site of Fun World Family Amusement Park in North Myrtle Beach to replace the park with a new miniature golf course, a restaurant and townhomes. Target date for completion is late spring , early summer on the 14.24 acres of land at 700 Seventh Ave. S.

The new park will have a dinosaur theme and will be called “Dinosaur Adventure Golf.” In addition, Damon’s Grill restaurant, which vacated Barefoot Landing, will move to the new theme park.

Grand Prix Family Thrill Park

A 48,000-square-foot Bi-Lo supermarket that will anchor Barefoot Commons - a new shopping center - will replace the Grand Prix.

In addition to the Bi-Lo, Barefoot Commons is expected to contain restaurants, small retail shops and other specialty stores. Opening is scheduled for August or September.

Source: Janelle Frost, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach

There’s nothing like January’s bitter cold and snow to make people start planning that getaway to the beach. So Grand Strand tourism promoters are trying to make sure they plan a trip here.

They’ve flooded TV markets for the past three weeks with spots plugging the Strand’s beaches and seaside dining. Ads are appearing on 500 stations, including the Travel Channel, in 15 states.

• More than 15,000 people have called the chamber asking for information, and the Web site, www.visitmyrtlebeach.com, has logged 50,000 user sessions.

• Visitors to the site clicked most frequently on shopping, dining and theaters.

Promoters are hoping that interest will translate into more tourists this summer. More than half of those who expressed interest, 62 percent, said they were likely to visit this year. About a third of them, 33 percent, said they were considering Myrtle Beach along with several other destinations.

Promoters have thrown in a little extra to sweeten the deal including:

• Air ticket discounts in markets getting new air service to Myrtle Beach

• A $25 gas discount for drivers who stay at participating hotels for at least three nights. About 6,000 travelers have cashed in on the gas discount by booking rooms.

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

Myrtle Beach begins the New Year as a “Buyer’s Market” for the first time since1990.

• Buyers have more to choose from, can take their time choosing a condo and can find price cuts.

• Sellers are finally giving in to prices much lower than listed price.

In 2006, condo sales declined 30% while homes sales dropped 4% from the previous year. Analysts attribute slowing sales to the departure of short term investors and skyrocketing insurance rates.

• Tremendous price appreciation in 2004 and 2005 cut some buyers out of the market in 2006 and hurt rental investors who found they couldn’t cover their mortgage payments with rental income.

• As homes flooded the market and prices slowed down in early summer, house flippers started to back out.

• Skyrocketing insurance premiums added to the slowdown with condominium associations seeing increases as high as seven times the amount they were paying.

The average price of homes and condos increased 5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, but analysts say the increase is more likely because of the addition of higher-end homes to the mix than a reflection of the year’s appreciation.

Current condo inventories will take a year to clear out if the MLS got no more listings, said Tom Maeser, president of the Fortune Academy of Real Estate.

• The local market must attract permanent second home buyers because the short-term rental investor isn’t likely to return soon, he said.

• Those second home buyers will come in the nation’s 77 million retiring baby boomers. Most real estate agents and industry experts say this will be the saving grace for the Grand Strand real estate market.

• “The baby boomer is a definite positive thrust in this market. We got what they want, and we just need to be marketing to them,” Maeser said.

Economist Al Parish at Charleston Southern University says while boomers will keep the market pumping, the insurance problem needs to be resolved to keep them coming.

• “The rental income investor has been lost and the [flipper] has been lost. It’s the retirees that will keep our market going,” he said.

• Parish said the condo market won’t bounce back until the insurance problem is solved. He expects the single-family market to start showing strength in late spring.

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

Travelers will have another way to fly to New York come March when US Airways becomes the second airline offering direct flights from Myrtle Beach to La Guardia.

• US Airways, Myrtle Beach’s largest airline, will start the daily La Guardia flight March 4, when most carriers step up service for the busy tourist season.

• The airline intends for the flights to continue year round, a goal that’s been tough for carriers to pull off in the beach’s seasonal market.

• Spirit, the beach’s second largest carrier, also flies direct to La Guardia, even during the winter lull.

US Airways added the La Guardia connection to serve tourists from the New York area wanting a beach or golf vacation, said Valerie Wunder, the airline’s spokeswoman.

• New York is one of the Grand Strand’s top five tourist markets behind the Carolinas and Ohio, and the No. 1 golf market, according to the chamber and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.

US Airways flight details

• Start date - March 4

• Times - Plane departs La Guardia daily at 9:31 a.m. and arrives in Myrtle Beach at 11:36 a.m. The flight to La Guardia will leave Myrtle Beach at 12:10 p.m. and arrive at 1:57 p.m.

• Jet - 50-seat Embraer 145 aircraft

More flight options

• Spirit will start flying Feb. 15 to Fort Lauderdale.

• Southern Skyways will begin service on March 2 to Charleston, W.Va., Allentown, Pa., and Cincinnati.

• Myrtle Beach Direct Air will start service to Pittsburgh, Newark, N.J., and Niagara Falls, N.Y., on March 7.

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

In 2007, at least four major projects - the likes of which the area has rarely seen - and several crucial leadership changes promise to transform the Grand Strand as we know it.

By the end of the year, the place will be well on its way to having a higher-end, more year-round identity with fresh faces leading the charge and trendy developments sprouting. There’s the Hard Rock theme park, Market Common and yet-to-be-announced developments at the former Myrtle Square Mall and Pavilion Amusement Park, just to name a few.

“[These] major projects … will shape our economy for at least the next 20 years, maybe longer,” said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. “Combined, they amount to nothing short of an explosive economic environment for the next several years.”

• The area’s first pedestrian-friendly mix of apartments and stores will start to take shape at Market Common, ushering in the “urban village” concept where residents will stroll from their homes to Brooks Brothers, P.F. Chang’s or to catch a movie.

• Across town, Myrtle Beach could finalize plans for the first arts district as part of the development of the former Myrtle Square Mall site - a cultural amenity many have wanted for years, saying it will help Myrtle become more metropolitan.

• Then there’s the Hard Rock Park off U.S. 501, the first theme park to be built in the United States during the past decade. It will open in 2008, but locals will get the first glimpse of the entire park plan this year.

• Details also are expected, possibly in 2007, on two unknown, yet highly anticipated projects at the former Myrtle Square Mall and Pavilion Amusement Park.

Gone are those longtime landmarks that once defined this place: The Pavilion, the Grand Prix Family Thrill Park in North Myrtle Beach, the mom-and-pop motels lining the oceanfront.

Population growth - in permanent residents and those that stay six months - has helped fuel the development spurt, said Al Parish, an economist at Charleston Southern University. For residents, the Grand Strand will start feeling more like a bigger city - with the good and bad.

“It’s going to mean more traffic. It will mean a greater demand for public services. … But it will also mean more places to shop and grocery stores closer to where you live,” Parish said.

Source: Dawn Bryant with Jessica Foster, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Excerpted from article by Ilyce R. Glink - Inman News.

What’s coming up for 2007? Interest rates should continue at the current, historically low level although some mortgage industry observers are forecasting that the Federal Reserve Bank will lower the Federal Funds rate, and long-term interest rates will fall as well. There will be good deals on existing homes and perhaps even better deals on new construction.

In all, it should be a good year. If you’re planning to buy a home in 2007, here’s my annual list of New Year’s resolutions you should consider making:

1. Get my credit and finances in order.

If you keep one resolution this year, choose to clean up your credit.

2. Get my credit in shape.

Put a lid on your spending, perform “plastic surgery” on your credit cards, and don’t max out any one card or your credit score will suffer. Don’t forget that good credit also means job stability.

3. Know how much I can afford to spend before shopping for a home.

Your lender will look at your income, debt, assets and liabilities, and come up with the maximum amount you can spend on a home. Once you know how much you can afford to spend, you’ll avoid making a common, heartbreaking, home buyer error: looking at homes you can’t afford to buy.

4. Know my neighborhood, and be comfortable with it, before I buy a home there.

Everyone wants to live on the best block in the best neighborhood. Unfortunately, that location may not be in your budget. Balancing affordability with location means you may have to compromise. Get to know the neighborhood and its residents inside and out before you buy.

5. Interview at least three brokers before hiring one.

Many buyers today opt to use buyer agents, or buyer brokers, who represent the interests of the buyer rather than the seller. One study showed that buyers using buyer agents or exclusive buyer’s agents paid 5 percent less for their home than those who use traditional agents. That’s $5,000 saved on every $100,000 spent.

6. Read and understand all documents before signing them.

Take the time to read all documents thoroughly. Ask an attorney or broker to explain things that don’t seem to make sense. It’s important that you understand what promises have been made and what warranties have been granted, and what implications these documents have for your personal financial and emotional well-being.

If you are looking for a realtor to represent your interests in Myrtle Beach, contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204. She’ll look out for you!