Only a few of the 50 properties offered had final bids above what the auctioneer sought as opening bids… at a real estate auction Saturday morning at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort at Grande Dunes, . A number were withdrawn because they had no bids at all and others likely won’t make it to the closing table.

• The auctioneer refused to even consider a $1 million bid on a 7.5-acre Myrtle Beach property with a 3,700-square-foot house. The property was estimated to be worth $10 million and the auctioneer was looking for a $4.5 million opening bid.

• Except for two condominiums near Coastal Carolina University, sellers didn’t have to accept the final bids. The two condominiums, two bedroom/two bathroom units in a building on S.C. 544, were sold as absolute, meaning sellers agreed to accept the final bids before the bidding began. The sellers got $70,000 and $71,000 for the units, $5,000 to $10,000 above what was bid for two other condominiums in the same building.

Bidding opened to a crowd of a couple hundred, at least, but most ended up as lookers, not buyers.

• The auctioneer said he expected more activity at Saturday’s auction from a variety of buyers, but what he saw was a roomful of hesitant buyers and sellers.

• Properties that got no bids included several multimillion dollar homes in Grande Dunes and two vacant, oceanfront lots in Atlantic Beach.

Source: Steve Jones, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

BOTTOM LINE ADVICE FOR OWNERS: If you want to sell, then price your property right. If you don’t have to sell, then keep it. If you’re not living in it, then rent it out.

As home sellers realize how much they’ll have to drop their price to sell - or how long it will take to sell - some are choosing to rent out their properties instead, leaving renters with more options and the ability to be picky about their price in some areas.

Rental agency managers say rents for the most part are continuing to tick upward in price, but in some pockets, like annual condominium rentals and three-bedroom homes, rents are falling.

Unlike home prices, no one tracks long-term rental rates on the Grand Strand.

• However, rental agents say that in some Carolina Forest neighborhoods where there is an oversupply of three-bedroom homes on the rental market… rental prices are dripping.

• Some condominium complexes, like Windsor Green, are also seeing rents fall. Three-bedroom units were renting for between $950 and $995 a month a year ago, but in July six owners dropped the price to $850.

• One-bedroom condos are in the highest demand, and rental rates have not fallen on those.

• Some single-family home neighborhoods such as Hillsborough have all their units rented, and rates are holding steady.

More Realtors are seeing clients pull their home from the market and choose to rent. They do not want to rent it. But they can’t sell. They are frustrated. They feel like they have come down so low in order to sell.

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

The future of The Riviera, an ultra-lush condominium project planned in Myrtle Beach, is up in the air.

• Construction hasn’t started on the property, which was the former site of the historic Ocean View Memorial Hospital.

• Plans for the The Riviera were announced a year ago, and construction was scheduled to begin in January at the site along Ocean Boulevard at 77th Avenue North.

• Property owner and developer Danny Bost said he wouldn’t give details until he released a plan for the property.

The Baroque-style condominium’s architect Tom Pegram said the owner is working to get financing to build the upscale project.

• Project marketer Michael King, of King One Properties, said he’s no longer promoting The Riviera and doesn’t know what the plans are.

• The 7.5-acre site was planned to be transformed into 116 large luxurious condo units ranging from $800,000 to $2.5 million and surrounded by formal gardens.

Developers had said the old-world design was chosen to give Myrtle Beach an iconic building because locals have mourned the loss of the Ocean Forest Hotel ever since it was demolished in 1974 and replaced with condos.

• Signs on the property still advertise The Riviera. The project’s Web site leads to a general site on Myrtle Beach real estate and doesn’t give details on the project.

The Riviera was at least the second condo project planned for the former hospital site. The 112-unit Venice failed six years ago because developers couldn’t sell enough units. That project, like the Riviera, was aimed at wealthy, permanent homebuyers.

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

Centex Homes ranks at the top of a new-home buyer customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power and Associates that included the Grand Strand for the first time.

• Because of its building growth, Myrtle Beach was added to J.D. Power and Associates 2007 New-Home Builder Customer Satisfaction Study - identifying the Grand Strand as one of the 34 largest homebuilding markets in the country.

The addition of Myrtle Beach to the survey list was welcome news for Grand Strand builders, who said it proves that the number of building permits and home sales in the area can stack up against larger cities.

• J.D. Power looks at market share rankings and highly competitive markets when deciding which cities to include. Myrtle Beach was one of four cities added this year.

Centex took the top spot locally in every category of the study, showing that the Grand Strand’s largest builder can sell the most homes in the area and still please their buyers.

• Centex sold 1,185 homes and condos in the three-county area, giving it 10 percent of the market share in 2006, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises.

• For customer satisfaction, national builder D.R. Horton came in second and regional builder Bill Clark Homes third.

• Builders in this category are ranked on their warranties, their construction managers, sales staff and home readiness, among other items. Builders get more points for doing well in categories that are important to homebuyers.

For new home quality, Centex ranks first, Bill Clark Homes second and D.R. Horton third in the Myrtle Beach area. The category asks homebuyers about the amount and severity of construction problems.

For new home design, Centex ranks first along the Grand Strand followed by D.R. Horton and Bill Clark.

• Respondents say flooring, master baths and the kitchen are the most important part of the design of their homes.

• Nationally, homebuyers report that having a convenient arrangement of bathroom fixtures is more important than the size of the bathroom.

For more information on Centex Homes’ latest buyer incentives: contact Barbara Chartier by phone 843-902-0204 or email barbara.chartier@century21.com.

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

Prices for oceanfront condominiums along the Grand Strand have been on a roller coaster in recent years - and have now plunged to levels seen three years ago before the condo boom.

Condo prices skyrocketed in 2005 - increasing $100,000 in less than six months in many cases - but since then have fallen to the levels in late 2004 and early 2005.

• “We’re exactly where we were three years ago. If we’re not there, we’re really darn close. It’s like we erased the spike,” said one real estate agent who specializes in oceanfront condos.

Re-sale prices have dropped

As prices grew higher, investors couldn’t afford to buy units that wouldn’t generate enough income to cover their mortgage. Flippers got caught with a property worth less than they bought it for, and supply ballooned. Then insurance spikes and mortgage tightening slowed the market to a crawl.

• Real estate agents are telling clients it’s like getting a second chance to buy that condo that they didn’t buy three years ago.

• Only resale condos have seen these dramatic price drops.

• Case in point: Camelot by the Sea, a themed 230-unit condo tower that opened in 2001 in Myrtle Beach, sold a one bedroom unit in January 2005 for $209,900. The sales topped out at $345,000 six months later. In June, one sold for $176,000 - lower than the 2005 price.

New Construction prices are holding

Newly built condominiums seem to be holding their value better, agents say.

• “Preconstruction oceanfront is still doing pretty well,” said Tom Maeser, president of the Fortune Academy of Real Estate. “It’s the resale that’s taking a hit.”

The tide of the condo boom turned so quickly few saw it coming.

• Economists say it’s not necessarily bad that condos on the Strand’s oceanfront have fallen so much. It makes them more affordable to potential buyers, and the price adjustment has happened quicker here than other areas like Florida, said Mark Vitner, economist at Wachovia in Charlotte.

• But he doesn’t think prices are done falling. He expects they’ll go a little further - and sales will rise before prices do.

Agents say these low prices should spur renewed interest in Myrtle Beach’s oceanfront - but they’re not sure when.

• Investors are waiting, looking for signs that prices have hit the bottom.

• High prices had caused many investors to get rid of their oceanfront condos because the rental income wasn’t enough to cover their mortgage costs, analysts say. Lower prices should make that more doable, Maeser said.

• “For the consistent rental investor - those that don’t plan to flip properties - this is a good time to be looking at properties,” Maeser said.

An influx of speculators to the Grand Strand’s oceanfront caused the lightning fast spike in prices. At the height of the housing boom, Myrtle Beach ranked 20th in the nation for the amount of mortgages to investors, Vitner said.

• “The run-up in prices was way overdone. It priced a lot of buyers out of the market, who were hoping to flip properties and make a quick profit,” Vitner said.

• Insurance increases, high prices and now mortgage tightening brought the market to a crawl.

• But the pace at which prices have adjusted is a good sign, Vitner said, although sales will grow before prices will creep up.

So how low will they go?

• Vitner thinks they’ll fall a little bit further.

• “We’re not going to see strength return to the market for another year,” Vitner said.

• Basic economics dictates that prices may still have room to fall because inventory is still slowly rising.

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

A Charlotte, N.C., developer plans to start construction in a month on a small condominium project in Atlantic Beach that will be the historically black town’s first redevelopment in decades.

• The project, at 400 S. 31st St., will build retail on the bottom and six condos on the top - small by development standards, but the ripples could be huge for a town that has struggled to attract significant development for years.

• The two bedroom condos will be second homes or permanent homes with gated parking, oceanviews, large storage space, elevators, a pool and Jacuzzi… and will start at $325,000.

Town officials have spent a year developing a master plan for the four-block community, and they’re ready to see construction start and demolition of derelict structures happen. They want to create a vibrant Main Street with retail, nightclubs and a livable, walkable town.

• Property has been bought in Atlantic Beach in the last couple years, and developers have talked about projects, but many have been waiting for someone to make the first move.

Town officials welcome the change.

Their master plan calls for a walkable shopping community along the main streets with living space above.

• They want a village feel and lower-density oceanfront development that won’t create a wall effect, leaving the ocean view open at the end of the main streets.

• They’ve also set 16 properties in the town for demolition, said Marcia Conner, town manager.

The town’s master plan was designed to reflect the town’s heritage as a recreation haven for black people in the time of segregation, and its uniqueness as one of only two black-owned and black-governed oceanfront towns on the East Coast today.

Since desegregation, the town has struggled to reinvent itself and attract development.

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