These visualizations Trulia put together for us show the downward spiral many of those real estate owners must go through, and unfortunately, it’s not always a pretty ride.

Just like many over on Charleston’s tip, it’s quite common for East Cooper real estate owners – whether in Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, IOP, or Daniel Island – to wait as much as 4 months before reducing their initial sale price.

When owners finally give in and do reduce their sale price, this 2nd visualization shows that most only give in about 10%, and if they’re lucky, their sale is consummated then.

For the unlucky ones still holding on to the real estate they’re now (usually desperately) trying to get rid of, there’s a 50% chance that they’ll wind up reducing their sale price again.

So there you have it, probably pretty common throughout the world, but it is telling to see how long people hold out here in East Cooper before finally caving in to sell their real estate. After all, whether a home, business, or vacant property, it makes sense to get as much as you can for your equity – the question is: when do you cave in and reduce your selling price?

From the Shem Creek blog.

East Cooper Real Estate Sellers Hold Out… Before Caving In

As bad as we did here, at least Charleston County didn’t do as bad as Greenville County did Upstate for two months in a row – small consolation for all the homeowners in trouble right now, but with President Obama’s foreclosure plan coming online to help many homeowners, many banks have started to cease foreclosures until a concrete plan can be put into action across the country.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Charleston County foreclosure numbers top the state

Homebuyer Tax Credit

An $8000 tax credit will be available for qualified purchases of a principal residence by first-time home buyers between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. The credit does not require repayment. Individuals who purchase in 2009 using financing assistance from state and local mortgage bonds will be permitted to use the credit as well. NAR estimates that the home buyer tax provisions could stimulate up to 300,000 additional home sales, helping stabilize home values and potentially preventing some homeowners from falling into foreclosure.

FHA, Fannie and Freddie Loan Limits

Revised loan limits for FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae to 2008 levels.

Foreclosure Mitigation & Neighborhood Stabilization

Funding for states and local communities to be used for neighborhood stabilization activities for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes are authorized.

“This hopefully will get buyers off the fence and into the marketplace. First-time home buyers not only stimulate the housing economy and therefore the economy as a whole, but since first-time buyers don’t have to wait for their home to sell, it moves the stabilization and revitalization of the housing economy along quicker.” – Herb Koger, legislative chairman of the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS®.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Stimulis package should boost Charleston real estate market

According to an Oct. 31, 2008 Shem Creek appraisal from Atlantic Appraisals, the acreage Mt. Pleasant bought from the previous Ok Tire owners, Mark Mason and Phillip Smith, for $6 million is now worth only half that.

Originally asking $7.6 million for the property, the owners settled for $6 million when Mt. Pleasant threatened eminent domain foreclosure on the property early last year.

Even with proposed enhancements on the property to repair aged docks, etc., the value only gets as high as $4,138,000 based on today’s declined real estate market and economic downturn.

“We’re not going to do anything with it. We’re not moving forward at this point in time. We’re looking at some other possibilities in Mount Pleasant,” -
PRC Commissioner Mark Kearns.

While Mark Mason and Phillip Smith obviously made out, higher property taxes are going to have to pay back the bonds that were used to buy the property.

Mt. Pleasant intends to use the location for a park and public space, so everybody is interested in how this will turn out. Local firm Thomas and Hutton Engineering is surveying the property now to come up with a master plan.

Input from several parties will be noted:

1. shrimpers,
2. the U.S. Coast Guard,
3. the sailing community,
4. adjacent neighborhoods,
5. the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
6. Shem Creek restaurants and businesses,
7. the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC), and
8. the state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

Mt. Pleasant will be announcing when the meeting for public input is going to take place; until then, stay tuned.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Shem Creek appraisal: $3M – after a $6M buyout!

We came in #8 on the ‘America’s 25 Strongest Housing Markets’ list this year.

For all the flippers and investors out there, don’t jump in yet though; according to Forbes, you should wait until the end of ’09 – maybe so they can buy everything up first. Of course, I don’t think the ‘blue blood’ S.O.B.* residents on the Charleston Battery will be going anywhere anytime soon!

Charleston stats qualifying it for the Forbes list this year

Now we can look forward to more development & traffic, and even less green spaces.

For the current real estate market around Shem Creek and surrounding Charleston areas, just check the Charleston Real Estate page.

Data was provided by Moody’s Economy.com. It looked at metro areas with populations over 500,000 to find those closest to recovery. The firm prepared forecasts through 2011 and compared them to prices in the second quarter of 2008, which are the latest figures available, to calculate how far prices will likely fall before reaching bottom. The percent figures are price drops between second quarter 2008 and the projected bottom. Cities are listed by their percent change to bottom.

* For those unfamiliar, no harm intended. S.O.B. is a common term here in Charleston – it stands for South of Broad, the main street through downtown Charleston that separates the wealthy from the very wealthy, i.e. prime property – including the Charleston Battery on the waterfront.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Charleston’s strong real estate market impresses Forbes

A’las, those good ol’ days are history now, but the same people that came rushing in on the construction boom are a lot of the same ones suffering through the nation’s mortgage crisis right now. Checkout this infograph the NYT’s did illustrating the nation’s foreclosure market.

No doubt it’s tough out there for many, and it looks to get worse over the next year at least going forward. There are good finds for those looking in the right spots though. Sure, it’s all about location, location, location, but Charleston real estate will always be a hot commodity.

Anyway, I think the lesson learned here is to not live outside your means, and always protect yourself financially against the worst of times. Those with safe, secure jobs, are fortunate and should do whatever necessary to make sure it stays that way, but helping out others in need along the way isn’t such a bad idea either – you’ll be glad you did. G/L out there.

From the Shem Creek blog.

S.C. enjoys construction boom, loathes job losses

Not to count one’s chickens before they hatch, Dec. 18th could be a very happy day for the two gentlemen, because that’s when the agreement is scheduled to be closed. Hopefully I will be posting just one more time on this heated topic of discussion!

* Update: looks like the good news for the OK Tire property owners I was waiting on!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Mt. Pleasant says it will do OK Tire right, $6M right!

As a matter of public record, the OK Tire property time line is as follows:

• * Sept. 11: Town Administrator Mac Burdette said that council authorized Town Attorney Allen Young to request issuance of the check pursuant to discussions it held in an executive session.
• * Sept. 25: The $2,285,000 check was based on an appraisal of the OK Tire property by Hartnett Realty Co. Inc. on this date.
• * Oct. 3: Young requests a check for $2,285,000 to be issued on or before Oct. 10 payable to Charleston County Clerk of Court. The funds will be posted with the clerk as part of a condemnation action to be filed relative to the OK Tire property.
• * Oct. 4: A requisition form for $2,285,000 states that the money is for “Mark Mason/OK Tire property condemnation.”
• * Oct. 9: Council votes to “authorize a final offer and, if not accepted, pursue final legal action as discussed” after an executive session to discuss Shem Creek contractual and legal matters. Young declines to name the specific piece of property that the council wants to buy because of ongoing negotiations. Council does not name an amount it is offering for the unspecified piece of property.
• * Oct. 10: Young issues a statement that the town is condemning the OK Tire property after owner Mark Mason rejects an offer of $2,285,000. Mason has an appraisal of $4.6 million for the land.
• * Nov. 16: OK Tire property owners Mason and Phillip Smith file suit against the town, asking for the condemnation to be dismissed. Among the grounds for their countersuit are alleged town violations of the state Freedom of Information Act, including a violation Oct. 9 when Town Council approved the condemnation.
• Young said in response to the FOIA request from Mason that the $2,285,000 was appropriated as part of the budget approved by council back in June. According to documents the town provided Mason, the money for condemnation of his land comes from the town’s tax increment financing fund. One of the documents lists $3 million for “water access acquisition” but does not specify the OK Tire property.

An appraisal done for SunTrust bank by Paul K. Moore & Associates values the OK Tire property at $4.5 million, which Mason says more accurately reflects the value of the tract.

Will this have any affect on your next Town Council voting decision? Inquiring minds want to know.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Mt Pleasant’s OK Tire and it’s eminent domain crisis