December 2007 Newsletter

October 15, 2007

Fall is slowly coming to Sullivan’s Island. The nights are getting slightly cool and the marsh is taking on its fall golden color. With the daytime temperatures in the 80’s, it is a great time to get out on the water. Margaret, Anna, along with Anna’s friend Sidney Langley, and I spent the afternoon at the South end of Capers Island. This time of year there are only a few people there, so we didn’t make our normal longer trip to the north end of Bull Island. We are fortunate that the state had the foresight to purchase Capers Island. It is one of the few remaining undeveloped barrier Islands in South Carolina.

Yesterday we discovered “Shark Tooth Island”. Funny, I have lived here all my life and I just found out about this great place. It is located at the mouth of Cove Creek at the point where Cove Creek enters the waterway. Go at low tide and land on the waterway side of the spoil area. There is a hard sand bottom. It is a great place to take the kids. You have to look for them, but there are lots of shark’s teeth to be found. I think the great baby sitter, Sara Harper, named this Island. Thanks for the tip. The girls had a great time there yesterday.

Sleeping on the couch Saturday, Anna and Sidney woke me up to say there were two bald eagles on our dock. I didn’t believe them. I thought for sure it was something else. Looking through the binoculars and checking the bird book it was confirmed. A pair of bald eagles spent about twenty minutes on our dock at the turn in Cove Creek. It was so exciting to see them. A few weeks earlier we saw one on a shell bank on the waterway in Awendaw.

Tonight the town will begin the selection process for a consultant to provide a management plan for the accreted land. This is going to be very interesting. The meeting begins at 6:00.

In my never ending pursuit to provide the best service and information to my clients and friends on Sullivans Island I have decided to start writing a Sullivans Island Real Estate blog. This is new to me, so I will see how it goes and how it is received by each of you. I will supply information about the real estate market and perhaps other interesting things as well. You will also find a link to Inman News which is the leader in national real estate news. It is posted twice a day with some great articles pertaining to all aspects of real estate.

2007 has been a year of some adjustment in the market. The numbers on Sullivans Island are particullarly interesting in that in this slow down in the market, the average sales price is up from last year. Also, there have been some new highs in sales on the front beach. There are currently 57 houses for sale ranging from a 644 square foot cottage being sold in a horizontal regime for $350,000 to a front beach house at 201 Atlantic Ave. for $5,499,000. So far this year, there have been 17 sales at a record-breaking average price of $ 2,502,706. In addition, there are another 3 houses and 2 of the condos in the Officers Quarters are under contract for a total of 21 for the year. I have sold 8 of these 21 houses. The average days on the market is longer at 201 days.

Below you will find a chart that shows market statistics for the past 10 years.

It is plain to see that for those of us who own property on Sullivans Island, not only have we had a wonderful place to live, but we have also made a great investment. It is interesting to see what prices have done over the years. I bought my first house on the Island in 1971. It cost $16,000 and I had to rent rooms to make the payment. Real estate continues to be a good investment and this is a great time to buy.

If you would like to be automatically notified about new listings and sales on the Island or any other area in Charleston just drop me an e-mail or call my office and we can set you up.

Thanks for you support over the years. My business cannot be successful without your continued referrals and support.

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