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THE LADY’S ISLAND BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATION WISHES ALL OF OUR MEMBERS A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON In the past we have noted that with all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that whether it is attending our normal monthly meeting or the annual oyster roast - it adds to the number of “things to do” for our busy membership. In an effort to reduce the stress of the season we scheduled the annual oyster roast in November (which we have held in December in the past) and will not have a monthly member’s meeting in December. We thank you for your support throughout the year, look forward to working with you next year and hope that our small contribution has helped slow the pace of your holiday season, just a little bit. |
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The 2007 Annual Oyster Roast - A Great Evening
For All: If you attended the annual oyster roast November 13th you are well aware of what a pleasant evening it was for those in attendance. For those of you who were unable to attend, you missed a really great evening. The weather was pleasant, the food delicious and the crowd was the largest in recent history. We fully recognize that evenings such as this do not simply occur and are the result of a great deal of effort on the part of a number of individuals. For our new members, who might not know it, the annual oyster roast is the direct result of the leadership of LIBPA member Pat Harvey Palmer who has, for years, been the driving force behind the planning and execution of the event. In addition to Pat are the “make it happen team” consisting of her husband Jim Palmer, Charlie Schriner and Dr. Jean Trochet, DVM. Bill Rice, once again graciously contributed his special chili and the members brought great covered dishes and desserts. Before we enter into the rush of the holiday season it was nice to enjoy an evening of good food and fellowship with LIBPA members and their guest. We would be remiss if we did not note the generosity of Sheriff P. J. Tanner for his willingness to share the “Sheriff’s Camp” with our organization.. |
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Island Notes: When will Butler Marine relocate to Sea Island Parkway? A quick check with LIBPA member Chris Butler, owner and manager of Butler Marine finds that his move from Lady’s Island Drive to a location directly across from the Lady’s Island Marina on Sea Island Parkway is scheduled for the third quarter of 2008. The last bit of permitting for the new building is near completion and he hopes to begin construction of the new building in the first quarter of 2008. Keller Williams and Ballenger Realty merger! LIBPA member Everett Ballenger is going through a very busy time. First, we offer our congratulations on his election as the 2008 President of the Beaufort Realtors Association. With the recent merger of his real estate company, Ballenger Realty with Keller Williams, Everett indicates he may be able to find the time to do a monthly real estate article for the LIBPA newsletter. Sorry! LIBPA has received a few queries from members as to why their business or organization was not listed in the new Lady’s Island pamphlet published by LIBPA. We solicited inclusion in the pamphlet in the May, June and August newsletter, mentioned it at every meeting from May to August and sent an individual letter to each of the business members. Having said that, we realize our members are busy and will try harder the next time. |
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Nominations For 2008 LIBPA Officers: The nominating committee has submitted, for consideration by the membership, the following Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association 2008 slate of officers. President – Rich Tritschler Vice President – Open for Nomination Treasurer – Roger Talmage Secretary – Cathy Crocker The actual election of officers will occur at our January 2008 meeting. Naturally, additional nominations will be accepted from the general membership at that time. |
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2007 Membership Report: by Gail Clark, Membership As we reach the end of 2007 it is a pleasure to report that our membership consists of 188 businesses and 64 residential memberships for a total of 252 members. We have been privileged to get 22 new members this year. Our total strength has remained about the same from the previous year when our membership was 256. We had a very good retention of existing members during the year, though recruitment of new members dropped in 2007 from the past 2 years (2006 -35, 2005 -36). Although our membership numbers remain stable, please consider sharing the word with your neighbors, business associates and friends regarding the role of LIBPA in the Lady’s Island community. If you need extra newsletters or someone to call a prospective member – just let me know. |
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A Wal-Mart On Lady's island - A Rumor That Won't
Die: In the past, from a variety of sources, it was reported that Wal-Mart was interested in establishing a store on Lady’s Island and specifically the 25 acre piece of property adjacent to the County Convenience (Drop Off) Center on Highway 21 at the intersection with the road leading to the airport. Recently, that property was the site of engineering survey work and trees being marked for a clearing project. With this there returned rumors that the arrival of a Wal-Mart on Lady’s Island was imminent. So many rumors on this subject have surfaced that you begin to believe there must be some validity to the rumor. A quick informal check with the City of Beaufort which, as a result of annexation, is the permitting authority for the property in question finds that no request from anyone has been submitted for development of that property. This does not mean that such a request will not be submitted in the future, only that it has not to date. As to whether a Wal-Mart, Publix, Walgreen or any “big box” type of commercial development is a good or bad thing for Lady’s Island, LIBPA begins with a basic position. LIBPA welcomes any business (large or small) to Lady’s Island but desires that a very close look be given to its long term impact on our roads before being permitted for construction or operation. To improve our (Lady’s Island) transportation infrastructure and prepare for future growth we are in the process of spending over $42 million, most of which comes from Beaufort County taxpayers, to widen Highway 21 on St. Helena and Lady’s Island Drive, build a new connector road from Lady’s Island Drive to Sea Island Parkway and build another bridge parallel to the McTeer Bridge. The transportation engineering study for the Northern Regional Plan told us that even with these improvements, by 2025 the portion of the Sea Island Parkway near the Wood’s Bridge will still fail and whether the 4 lane Lady’s Island Drive can continue to meet our needs will be a close call. Due to this, the LIBPA position regarding new businesses on Lady’s Island is directly connected to the long term survivability of our transportation infrastructure. If anyone doubts the wisdom of this approach please visit Bluffton via Highway 278. As we all learned when the McTeer Bridge was out of commission, QUALITY OF LIFE ON THE SEA ISLANDS IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO TRAFFIC. Editor’s Note: In future newsletters we will take a close look at the potential impact of large businesses on our local businesses and what role LIBPA can and should have in that regard. |
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Personal Reflections Of Lady's Island Real
Estate: by Deb Fielden of Southern Coast Realty We live in the most beautiful place to work and live on the East Coast. I have looked hard and though I may not be impartial, I can’t find a better value for the dollar. When comparing prices and properties in nearby Hilton Head and Charleston, I feel passionate about the fact that Lady’s Island is still and has always been a tremendous bargain. Especially when comparing prices of waterfront property. As Lady’s Island grows, many are beginning to notice the reasons why it is such bargain – a consistent and trustworthy school district, visionary development, centralized location and miles of waterfront. While helping a variety of pleasant people find and purchase properties there is one common thread we find among them, they all see Lady’s Island as a special find. Lady’s Island boasts a great central location with downtown, medical facilities, and beaches all nearby. Not to mention, the 40 miles of waterfront and marsh front properties which comprise the Lady’s Island coastline. When you add the fact that it is easy to represent property about which you feel passionate, Lady’s Island is a sincere share of a rare blessing. I am fortunate enough to have grown up in this beautiful place among a large loving blanket of family. That being said….everyone is aware that it is a buyers market. The National Association of Realtors held their conference from November 13-16 in Las Vegas. They came up with the answer to the mystery in the November issue of the SCR update when they said: “Mystery Solved – Its All in the Media” The national media, seduced by a few vocal but misinformed analysts have been painting the U.S. housing markets as one huge national market in the clutches of a meltdown, even though the facts paint a very different picture. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun reposted that other national sales downturns in the last 30 years were spurred by broad economic problems. This year, by contrast, economic fundamentals remain solid, with the U.S. gross domestic product expected to grow by a respectable 2 percent, supported by 2 million job gains in the last two years and continuing low interest rates. Through solid facts and figures, NAR promised an improved housing market in 2008. Of course the market is different since 2005 and now is a great time to buy and represent those that buy. The banks that were reputable in the first place are still reputable and have millions to lend. Editor’s Note: Russ and Deb Fielden, Owners of Southern Coast Realty chose to provide their separate personal views of today’s real estate market on Lady’s Island in response to a LIBPA request for such an article. We appreciate them taking the time to share their thoughts on a challenging subject. |
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Foreclosure
And Bankruptcy Report: With the many types of mortgages which were authorized during the recent housing boom it is difficult to determine a 100% reliable picture of the local housing bankruptcy or foreclosure situation. With variable rate mortgages what one family can afford today may change tomorrow when their interest rate changes. Accepting this unknown factor, the number of homes being lost in Beaufort County as a part of Chapter 13 bankruptcy or foreclosure appears to have stabilized and may be starting a downward trend. In Beaufort County there presently are 43 homes in foreclosure status with 11 of these being located north of the Broad River. This is a slight increase of 3 homes from the previous month and 1 less in the area north of the Broad River. The real news is that the number of homes in Beaufort County being lost as a part of the bankruptcy process has dropped from 128 in April 2007 to 74 at the present time. During 2007 the number of homes, located north of the Broad River, involved in bankruptcy rose until reaching a high in September of 99 homes and at the present time has dropped to 59. Naturally, there is no guarantee that we in Beaufort County have seen the worst of the mortgage crisis but for everyone’s sake we can hope that is true.. Editor’s Note: The data in this article is taken from www.foreclosures.com. |
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My View Of LIBPA: by Rich Tritschler,
President, LIBPA As we near the end of this year and also my year as the President of LIBPA I would like to take this opportunity to hare some impressions and thoughts concerning our organization. What LIBPA does? Having watched and worked with a small group of volunteers who give so generously of their time and talents to make our island a better place has been both a pleasure and a privilege. The one word that best describes the general nature of LIBPA activities is “facilitate”. Behind the scenes and with little fanfare LIBPA simply makes things happen. We receive requests for assistance with everything from sign permits to zoning. Individuals and companies thinking about establishing a business on Lady’s Island frequently request statistics and guidance regarding location. As an organization we spend a great deal of our efforts and funds to keep the residents and business community informed as to events which may impact Lady’s Island. This includes maintaining a community web site (www.libpa.org), publishing a monthly newsletter and conducting a monthly meeting. In addition, LIBPA sponsors political forums to assist the voting community in determining the merits of each candidate. A less well known part of LIBPA is the Community Preservation Committee which is sponsored by our organization and authorized by the Beaufort County Zoning and Development Standards Ordinance. This group of individuals wrote the present zoning for Lady’s Island and monitors new development on the island. In those incidents where changes to the present zoning are desired or required the committee will review each case and if approved, will sponsor such changes. Since the charter of LIBPA clearly states that its objective is “to promote the planned orderly development and growth of Lady’s Island” it is not difficult to see how important this committee is to our association and our island. This is especially true since Lady’s Island has been the fastest growing area in northern Beaufort County. This coming year will be a very busy one for LIBPA. It is going to be an active year with elections occurring for our state representative, our state senator, a school funding referendum and a new president. At the local level the new year will see the design for Crystal Lake completed, the design work continued for widening of Lady’s Island Drive, the Sea Island Parkway and Lady’s Island Drive Connector Road and the new bridge. The County will review rural zoning and complete the county comprehensive plan. The Town of Port Royal and City of Beaufort will write new comprehensive plans. In 2008 LIBPA will: - Continue to work to “make things happen” or in some cases “not happen” on Lady’s Island. - Continue to support our schools both public and private. - Strive to keep the residents of our island well informed regarding key issues. - Guide growth on Lady’s Island in a positive manner. Finally, I want to express my appreciation to all of the volunteers who have worked on the many projects over the last year. Thank you so much and it is a pleasure to work with you to keep our island a great place to live, work and raise our families. It is because of you that I am proud to call Lady’s Island ‘HOME’. I can not think of another other place I would want to live and raise a family. |
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Great Free Advertising: Each year we conduct a survey of the number of visitors to the LIBPA web site who take the time to also look at the membership roster and while there, pause to visit a member’s web page. This year the 10 most popular sites on the LIBPA membership page are as follows: Keller Williams/Ballenger Realty Morgan Stanley Laura Cody Art Studio Bay Mortgage Home Town Realty Music to Go Turner Home Inspections Apex Realty Lady’s Island Country Club Accurate Reproductions To have your web site linked to your membership listing on the LIBPA web site is a benefit of membership and only requires providing Steve Thompson (LIBPA web master at thewebguy@earthlink.net) wih the address of your web site. Please check your membership listing to insure it is linked to your web site. |
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If You Kill The Goose - Then What?: Recently 522 experts in the field of sustainable tourism and destinations were asked by the Editor of the National Geographic Traveler (a magazine) to review conditions on 111 islands located world wide. The method for scoring or evaluating the islands was based on 100 being a perfect score for a place you would really want to visit and a score of from 0 to 25 deemed a catastrophe with a very grim future outlook in regard to tourism. Hilton Head was evaluated with a score of 46 which, according to the review, fell in the category (26-49) of being “in serious trouble”. To better understand why such a low score was awarded the experts were requested to comment on the island with the following being some of those comments. “Golf and gated communities dominate the Hilton Head landscape; it’s pretty monotonous in a squeaky clean way. Remnants of the Gullah Geechee culture are fading, resurrected at an annual festival. Hilton Head is trying to protect, via growth control ordinances and strategic purchases, what little undeveloped land remains and uses the sea turtle habitat as a teaching tool.” “Hilton Head protects its trees, prohibits billboards and sign clutter, has lots of bike trails and no high rises. Biggest problems are housing affordability and traffic congestion. Service workers have to commute from off island.” “This island is a poster boy for tourism development gone wild. There is extreme pressure to continue development even though the population living there wants to stop development.” It does not take a land planner to recognize that Hilton Head is paying a price for growth which has occurred in its neighboring city, Bluffton. During the period 1997 to 2007 Hilton Head grew in size from 21,326 acres to 21,412 acres for a ten year total increase of only 86 acres of growth. The Town of Bluffton, in 1997, consisted of 640 acres and over the next decade annexed 32,205 acres to reach its present 2007 size of 32,845 acres. With this increased amount of property came approval for new developments and with the new developments came additional vehicles on the roads. It must be admitted that over the same period the Town of Bluffton was expanding, Beaufort County approved a number of developments that added to the problems which comes with rapid growth. If you add into the already approved growth, the plans for residential expansion in Hardeeville and Jasper County it does point out the probability of increasing difficulty in preserving the ambiance of Hilton Head as a top vacation spot. As noted by those reviewing Hilton Head Island, the traffic congestion on Highway 278 has become a negative factor resulting in the present project(s) to widen the road. Along with the need to widen the roads comes the need for more schools, libraries and parks which is projected, over the next 20 years, to cost $400 million more than projected revenue. So why should the residents of Lady’s Island care if Hilton Head declines in attractiveness as a tourist destination. The answer, besides being good neighbors and wanting the best for our neighbors, is money. Approximately 58% of all property taxes paid in Beaufort County come from Hilton Head. If the island of Hilton Head is losing its attraction for the 2.5 million tourists, who in the past have chosen it for their annual vacations, then it is a matter of concern for us all. One thing is for sure, just saying the 522 individuals who evaluated the island as a tourist destination and indicated excessive development is causing it to lose its attraction are wrong, is simply a form of sticking our heads in the sand. Only time will tell in the case of Hilton Head. Here in Northern Beaufort County, as the elected leaders struggle to find ways to control growth through a Northern Regional Plan and intergovernmental agreements, we have a chance to avoid similar over development; the only real question is do we have the political will?. |
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Just A Glimpse Of The Problem: This coming spring the School District and the School Board will ask the Beaufort County voters to approve borrowing a great deal of money to build new schools in the Bluffton area. To put in some perspective the magnitude of the problem causing this request consider that a comparison of the school population for school year 2006/7 and 2007/8 finds the schools in the Beaufort Cluster decreased by 102 students, the Battery Creek Cluster decreased by 67, the Hilton Head Cluster decreased by 82 and the Bluffton Cluster increased by 881 students. In the last 2 school years the total Beaufort County public school population north of the Broad River decreased by 169 students and the public school student population south of the Broad River increased by 799 students. |
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Mixed Feelings About A Third Elementary School?: When Mr. Herman Gaither was Superintendent of the Beaufort County School District LIBPA requested a third elementary school be planned for Lady’s Island and was told to expect such a school would open its doors in 2009. In 2004 when the Dejong Inc. consultants completed their study of our school facilities they recommended building a third elementary school on Lady’s Island. The recent Kelly Carey study recommended buying the land for a school now, getting the money for its construction from the upcoming 2008 referendum and try to open the doors of the school in 2010. Dr. Truesdale, the new School District Superintendent, recently recommended 2 public referendums as a means to raise the $221 million needed for future educational infrastructure. The first referendum would be held next spring (08) asking voter approval to borrow $113 million of which $1.9 million would be for the purchase of land in the northern part of Lady’s Island for a new elementary school. The second referendum would be held in 2010 asking for voter approval to borrow $108 million which would include $21 million for construction of a third Lady’s Island elementary school. Using the 2 referendum approach, if and that is a big if, both referendums are approved by the voters of Beaufort County the doors of a new Lady’s Island elementary school would open in the fall of 2013. Is this a responsible approach to providing public school facilities for Lady’s Island? Before you answer, as to your personal opinion of the best way to meet the challenge of providing adequate schools for the children of Lady’s Island, please consider the following: (1) Coosa Elementary School, with a capacity of 476 students and 644 students enrolled is overcrowded, has been since August 2000 and presently is operating with 10 mobile classrooms. (2) The Kelley Carey Study recommended school attendance zones remain as presently designed until 2010 at which time he recommended the new elementary school open its doors. If a new elementary school on Lady’s Island is not going to be available until 2013 and that based on two successful referendums, should we continue “business as usual” for the next 5 years? (3) There needs to be an objective look at the student growth on Lady’s Island. It would appear that our student population has leveled off, at least for the moment. At a minimum it deserves a close and objective look. The reason for the recommendation for a closer look at student growth on the island is based on the following comparison of student population taken on school day 45 over the last 7 years.
The question posed by the numbers is that since the housing developments of Telfair and Magnolia Court, which were deliberately priced in the affordable range of families, reached near a “build out” point in 2005 and most of the homes built since then have been priced in the higher price range, have we (Lady’s Island) priced out families with children? If we have, will the housing downturn we (and the nation) are presently experiencing result in less expensive homes and thus another surge of growth in the student population on Lady’s Island. The truth is no one knows the answers to these and similar questions. However, the numbers do indicate that as much as we would love to push for a 3rd Lady’s Island elementary school to be included in the first referendum (2008), the recent enrollment numbers support the path being recommended by Dr. Truesdale. That is, to purchase the land for the 3rd elementary school and watch the enrollment numbers for a couple of years. If student growth continues to support the 3rd elementary school then include it in the 2010 referendum. On the other hand, the numbers do support the need to take a very close look at possible alternatives to relieving the stress of overcrowding at Coosa Elementary School before 2013 when, in the best of circumstances, a new elementary school could be available. Some of the possible choices include a change of attendance zones or going to a year round concept with multi- track as used in Wake County, NC or construction of a Coosa Early Learning Center. These are tough choices without easy answers but they do deserve consideration. Editor’s Note: In 2006 we ran a survey of our members, via the LIBPA web site, as to support for possible solutions to the student overcrowding on Lady’s Island. The results, of those that took the survey, included - 68% opposed reassignment of students to less crowded schools, 80% supported building new schools and increasing the size of the existing schools, 74% supported going to a year round multi-track school calendar and 100% supported delaying approval of large new developments until the necessary school facilities were in place or at a minimum, a source of funding identified. |
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The Cost Of Solid Waste Management: The City of Beaufort, Town of Port Royal and the Town of Bluffton provides curbside collection of private household solid waste and recycling items. This is one of the municipal services provided as part of the benefits for residing (and paying taxes) in their town or city. Beaufort County provides 12 staffed and 1 un-staffed (Daufuskie Island) convenience centers for collection of solid waste and recycling of solid waste in the unincorporated part of the county. Naturally, those residents or businesses located in the county that desire curbside service can purchase it directly from one of a number of commercial companies. This falls in line with the concept that when you pay more (taxes or monthly fees) you get more. It also is designed to support the basic premise that the county provides services for sparsely populated rural areas and the municipalities provide services for high density areas. So what is the right course of action for the county since some of the unincorporated areas have become more densely populated and want or need expensive municipal type services? Does the county government simply say no or raise taxes and begin providing municipal types of services? It should be no surprise that of the 12 county convenience centers those located at Hilton Head, Burton, St. Helena, Lady’s Island and Bluffton account for 80% of the traffic. Interestingly, the Town of Hilton Head provides no mandated curbside collection opportunities, which is probably due to the large number of gated communities, but still generates about 30% of the residential waste in Beaufort County. In these high use areas, such as the Lady’s Island Convenience Center, the volume of solid waste creates a constant challenge for the County Public Works Department to handle. Frequently on weekends, when the hours of the landfill are limited and the volume significantly increases, these facilities are simply being overwhelmed. In FY 2007, the county disposed of 138,700 tons of solid waste from the convenience centers, all of which was paid for by the tax dollars of county residents; as compared to the commercial companies which picks up your household trash at curbside and pays the landfill for its disposal. This poses the tough question of when should the county simply stop providing the service and tell the residents of those areas which have reached urban density to either use a commercial enterprise to dispose of their trash, incorporate into their own municipality or annex into a municipality. It is not an easy question to answer but as the competition for tax dollars gets more intense, expect that it will be asked with increasing frequency. Lady’s Island, Burton and the unincorporated portion of Bluffton have already been designated to be among the first to be considered for mandatory commercial curbside trash pick up at the expense of the individual resident. Somehow that concept appears unfair in that the individuals living in those areas would simply continue paying the same number of tax dollars but receiving one less service or at least access to a service. Editor’s Note: The data utilized for this article was taken from Chapter 11, Community Facilities of the proposed new version of the Beaufort County Comprehensive Plan. If you would care to read the original document please visit the Beaufort County web site.. |
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We Are Going To Have A Real Lady's Island Park -
Thanks Councilman Sommerville : County Council recently approved the purchase of 17.5 acres on Springfield Road and the development of those acres into an active (with ball and soccer fields) community park. Hopefully, in time, another 7 or 8 adjoining acres can be added to this property to provide the full 25 acres which is the size recommended by those who design community parks. The location is great, in that it is centrally located in regard to most of the communities on Lady’s Island. This means that property for 2 parks on the island has been purchased – Crystal Lake and Springfield Road. So when can you expect to take your family to either of these parks? The 10 Year Capital Improvement Plan developed for the new Beaufort County Comprehensive Plan sets forth the following plan for funding (general obligation bonds and impact fees) of the new parks. - Crystal Lake Park is scheduled to receive $1.5 million in 2009 to pay for development of the park with a completion date of 2010. - Springfield Road Park is scheduled to receive $1 million 2009 for Phase 1 development followed by another $1 million for Phase 2 in 2010 with a projected completion in 2011. The dates in the Capital Improvement Plan are simply part of a plan and do not, in themselves, ensure the money will or can be obligated in the indicated years. The simple truth is that it is up to us, as a community, to ensure our parks receive fair and equal consideration for funding by the Planning Commission and County Council. LIBPA has been working for over 10 years promoting parks for the Lady’s Island Community. The problem was finding enough land at a price which was deemed affordable. As the price of land on the island continued to sky rocket the definition of what was deemed affordable also increased. In the case of Crystal Lake, Mr. Dick Steward of 303 Associates purchased the 6 acre lake in 2003 and gave it to the county for use as a park. In 2004 the Trust for Public Land, as part of the Rural and Critical Land Program, purchased the 4.3 acre property on which Butler Marine is presently located for $1.25 million and granted a 3 year lease to the business to allow relocation. An adjoining 3.9 acres was similarly purchase for $300,000. The 17.5 acres on Springfield Road was purchased for $750,000. As can be seen the land on Lady’s Island is not getting cheaper and the sooner we can purchase what we need for parks and schools the better off we will be in the future. The purchase of the property for a community park on Springfield Road did not just happen. The Director of Parks and Leisure Services (PALS), John Miller, has worked for years to obtain property for a Lady’s Island Park. Tom Mobley, Lady’s Island representative to the PALS Board met with many land owners and spent a great deal of time attempting to find land for a park on our island. Mark Generales, the former Lady’s Island County Councilman, was tireless in his efforts to find and purchase park land and, in the case of Crystal Lake, did succeed. However, when our present County Councilman, Paul Sommerville, was elected last November he stated both publicly and privately that while campaigning for office he had reached the conclusion that the top priority of the residents of Lady’s Island was to have a park and, in turn, would be his # 1 priority. Without fanfare Councilman Sommerville met with Lady’s Island land owners, as part of a personal search, to promote attaining land for a park. Without going into how much time or how many meetings Councilman Sommerville devoted to making the recent purchase of park land on Springfield Road a reality; it can be said with 100% certainty that the purchase of the property would not have happened without his personal efforts. On behalf of the entire community – thanks Councilman Sommerville. |
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The Lady's island Real Estate Market From My View:
by Russ Fielden, Southern Coast Realty Lot sales this year show a significant decrease but the decrease for each quarter was not as dramatic as last year. Lot sales were the same for this year’s 2nd and 3rd quarters suggesting a possible bottom in quarterly sales of about 11 lots per quarter. Builder activity on spec homes has slowed which has contributed to the slow down in lot sales.  Home sales this year are showing the same sales pattern over the same periods as last year but are lower in number. This year’s home sales show we are down about 35% as compared to the same period in 2006. 65% sold both years were under $300K. Average days on the market this year are 178 versus 114 for last year.  Homes sales have shown an increase in closings over the last 30 days. These homes would have gone under contract about the same time the media turned its attention away from the real estate and mortgage market to cover the O.J. Simpson fiasco. Maybe coincidental, maybe not.  Homes and lot sales are obviously down but with all the positive attributes Lady’s Island has to offer we are confident the market will pick up. There are a lot of folks out there, both off island and on island, that are interested in buying on Lady’s Island. Most are just waiting to sell what they already own to make the move. We still have buyers for property on Lady’s Island and price, presentation and marketing is still the name of the game. If you have property for sale, just realize there is more competition and it will probably take a little longer to sell. Commercial real estate on lady’s Island has seen some activity this year. Hamilton Village condominiums have broken ground and the first of three buildings is underway. Commercial space is available in two planned 6,000 SF commercial buildings to be located at the front of the site along Sea Island Parkway. Two restaurants are slated for the site and there are several 1500 SF units available for lease or purchase. The old Outdoor Outfitters building was demolished to make way for the new South Carolina Bank & Trust, a very attractive building and addition to Sea Island Parkway. Lady’s Island Commons next to the movie theater had a couple of sales and the commercial units in Palmetto Business Park behind BB&T have seen some recent sales activity. While it is fair to say that seller’s should get top dollar for prime commercial real estate, the prices of the commercial developable properties currently on the market on Lady’s Island are testing the top of the market. If prices should become more realistic in regards to what a developer can afford for bare land cost, we will see some major projects come on line which will boost the local economy and the overall real estate market on Lady’s Island. |
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