You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2009.
Al Chapman came home to the unpleasant site of broken car windows last week. Someone vandalized two of his work trucks, stealing his radio, gps system, and other personal belongings.
Al immediately called his wife Mary Chapman, Hodnett Cooper’s Island Office Receptionist, to share the bad news. She, along with neighbors got to work spreading the news of the break-in via Facebook. Mary told one friend, who told another, who told another, and the word multiplied!
Not long after posting to Facebook, Mary had a solid lead – a suspicious individual was seen by another neighbor leaving the area surrounding Mary’s house. Mary notified the police, and they quickly followed up on the Facebook lead. By day’s end, the police had located the thief and their belongings. News article.
For months, housing prices have plummeted in the Bay Area. Now, according to news reports, sales are on the rise. In fact, one property recently garnered 42 offers, a record for 40-year Real Estate veteran Ron Renner. Click here to view the news video.
San Francisco may not be alone. Positive new is beginning to spread from coast to coast about a real-estate rebound. On March 18, 2009 the Wall Street Journal reported an increase in home construction.
“Home construction jumped by a seasonally adjusted 22% in February from the previous month following seven consecutive declines as apartment construction soared and single-family home-building edged higher, the Commerce Department said. Single-family home construction climbed 1.1% to a 357,000 annual rate, while groundbreaking on multifamily dwellings like townhouses and apartment buildings surged 82% to a 226,000 rate.” Full article
Adding to the news, thirty-year mortgage rates hit a record low of 4.85% on March 27, 2009. Fifteen-year fixed and five-year adjustable rate mortgages followed suit, also reaching record lows. Potential homebuyers are taking notice! Full article
Locally, we have noticed an increase in inquiries, showings, and other real estate buying activities. According to the Glynn County Multiple Listing Services, 22 properties changed to pending status (indicating a pending sales contract) in the month of February; while in March, 43 properties changed to pending status. Prices are favorable, choices are more plentiful than we’ve experienced in years, and interest rate are very affordable.
by Cameron Wicker, Coastal Georgia Humane Society
There are roughly FORTY puppies ready for adoption from the Humane Society right now. Just think what a little puppy cuddling, puppy breath and puppy teeth could add to you overall quality of life! It’s not just me, people, I’ve got research to prove it:
“Now there’s new research from the University of Missouri-Columbia suggesting the hormonal changes that occur when humans and dogs interact could help people cope with depression and certain stress-related disorders. Preliminary results from a study show that a few minutes of petting our pet dog prompts a release of a number of “feel good” hormones in humans, including serotonin, prolactin and oxytocin.”
There you have it. You need some puppy love!
To learn more about how you can take part in the puppy zen, contact the Humane Society, a no-kill shelter, at 912-264-1191.
Q. If we plan to retire in the next five years, should we sell our home up North now, even though we won’t make as much from the sale as we would have two years ago?
A. Yes, you should sell now, absolutely, and buy your Coastal retirement home now. You will sell your property up north for less, but you’ll also buy your Coastal property for less.
Think about the area where your current property is located. In the next five years, do you anticipate sufficient in-migration and job growth to off-set the retirees who will be leaving your area to move south? If not, your real estate market “back home” may be depressed for a decade or more. Because real estate pricing is based on supply and demand, you may find your housing value dropping even more. However, in the Coastal areas of the south, retirees in-migrating and expected continuing job growth in the SunBelt will be pushing prices upward. If you don’t act soon, your position may worsen with each year.
Q. Surely, we’re not the only buyers you talk with who are waiting to sell our properties back home?
A. We have many, many buyers who must sell property in other parts of the country before purchasing here. Based on the people we know are waiting to sell before they buy here and the amazing number of new visitors to hodnettcooper.com, a very strong demand for Coastal area real estate is building around the country. Once this pent-up demand is released, inventories will decrease and prices will escalate sharply.
by Beth Burnsed, Jekyll Island Authority
April 11, 2009
10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Tram Ride – 11:30 AM
Admission is Free!
Pier Road, Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District
The Jekyll Island Authority and several Jekyll Island volunteer citizens have teamed up to coordinate the first annual Easter Egg Stroll. The Stroll is a laid back alternative to the Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Festival previously held. It is geared toward young children ages 6 and under. All eggs will be numbered and can be redeemed for prizes at the Easter Egg Stroll Information Booth located near the Sweet Shoppe. One unspecified number will merit a grand prize. There will be 12 of these lucky grand prize eggs hidden. Otherwise small prizes will be awarded based on the number of eggs found, with a limit of 20 per child. Once the eggs are redeemed for prizes, they will be re-hidden for other children to find throughout the afternoon.
In addition to the Easter Egg Stroll, the Jekyll Island History Center will also offer a special free tram ride at 11:30 that day. Guests are encouraged to wear their best Easter attire and take a 20 minute, kid-friendly tram ride through the beautiful Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District. The ride will end near the Easter Egg Stroll Information Booth where the kids can begin their egg hunt. Although the ride is free, spaces are limited. Please make your reservations by calling the Jekyll Island Museum at 635-4036.
Consumers who purchase a home in the right location can move in with no down payment. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers 100% Loan-to-Value financing through its Rural Development Guaranteed Housing Program! Rural” brings to mind homes miles from towns and cities; however, portions of Glynn County and most of the surrounding counties are eligible for loans under this program. For example, the homes of Planting Hammock, marketed by Hodnett Cooper Real Estate qualify for 100% USDA financing programs. With homes starting at $130,000 and interest rates below 5 1/2%, home ownership at Planting Hammock is surprisingly affordable.
The Wall Street Journal’s recent article (linked here) explains how consumers can purchase a home with no down payment and without purchasing private mortgage insurance. One such program is 502 “Guaranteed Single Family Housing.” In this program, interest rates are fixed over the 30 year term. The program is available for qualifying home buyers, not just first time homebuyers, and does not include any upper loan limits. The loan amount is based on the borrower’s qualifications.
Another program includes subsidized payments based on interest rates as low as 1%. While each county has its own loan limits (Glynn County, for example, has a loan limit of $150,000), consumers whose incomes fall in the low to very low category may use this loan to purchase a home.
If you would like more information about USDA 100% financing programs, contact Hodnett Cooper Real Estate at 888-HODNETT.
In partnership with Monkeywrench Bicycles, on Sunday, April 26 the Humane Society of South Coastal Georgia will Cruise for a Cause. Get your bike tires inflated, chain greased and meet at Monkeywrench at 9 a.m— we’re riding across the causeway! At the halfway mark, the welcome center at the end of the causeway, there will be a DJ and refreshments before heading back across. At the finish, Southern Soul BBQ will provide a bag lunch. It will be lots of fun, great exercise and benefits the Humane Society.
More information on registration to come…for now, mark your calendars and Cruise for a Cause!
by Beth Burnsed, Jekyll Island Authority
Since the inception of the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits: Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival in 2006, Joe Barnett, Jr. has participated and won in every Shrimp & Grits Cooking Competition. His winning streak and jovial personality caught the attention of Food Network. On March 18 at 9:00 PM the amateur chef will go up against world-renowned chef Bobby Flay on Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.”
Taped in Joe Barnett’s hometown of Washington, GA, the show features Joe Barnett cooking his version of shrimp & grits against Bobby Flay’s version. Both chefs use locally caught wild Georgia shrimp provided by the Georgia Shrimp Association, a partner in the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits annual festival. Their dishes are judged by local fans and shrimp & grits connoisseurs. The one-on-one competition was a complete surprise to Barnett. In each “Throwdown” episode, the amateur cook thinks Food Network is shooting their profile for a show. What they don’t know is that Food Network star Bobby Flay is going to drop in for a surprise visit and challenge them to an unexpected cook-off.
“I was shocked when Bobby Flay walked onto the set,” said Barnett. “Of course, I’m always up for a cook-off and was proud to represent the Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival and the Georgia Shrimp Association.”
The annual Shrimp & Grits: Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival is held each year on Jekyll Island in September. This year’s event is scheduled for September 18-20 and will include cooking competitions, celebrity book signing, cooking demonstrations, shrimp boat tours and excursions and much more. More details can be found at jekyllisland.com and the festival Facebook fan page.
Neptune Park, located between the village and lighthouse, is St. Simons’s most popular park, where visitors can picnic, take a trolley tour of the island, fish off the pier, stroll on the pathway, or relax on a bench. Here visitors may listen to the cackling of iridescent boat-tailed grackles in the live oak canopies, or the screech of begging seagulls, or the noble silence of brown pelicans perched on the pier. One might want to examine finned trophies that lie gasping in buckets, if local fishermen have been lucky angling the deep currents that flow past the pier. The beach is best explored at low tide, when one might find whelks, horseshoe crabs, and sand dollars. The park’s name is not in honor of Neptune, the god of sea, but Neptune Small, a slave that belonged to the Thomas Butler King family of Retreat Plantation, today the site of Sea Island Golf Course. During the Civil War, Small accompanied one of the Kings’ sons, who was killed during the Battle of Fredericksburg. Small retrieved the body from the battleground and bore it back to Savannah under very difficult circumstances. The family buried the son at Christ Church, and Small chose to return to Virginia to accompany another son for the rest of the bloody conflict. After the war, Small was given a plot of land on the plantation, located at the park, and he continued to work for the King family as a free man. When he died in 1907, he was buried in a small graveyard on Retreat Plantation.
The Glynn County Board of Commissioners and the Glynn County Recreation & Parks Department invite you to the Demere Skate Park Grand Openings & Ribbon Cutting Cemereony.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
T-Shirts to the first 100 registered skaters! Door prizes to attendees including stickers, beanies, and six “American Ramp Company” decks. Registration begins at 9am. With special guest demonstration and autographs by Jud Heald, American Ramp Company sponsored pro skater.
The Island’s new (and only) skate park is located at Demere Park, near the beach and Pier Village on St. Simons Island. The park is open daily from 8am to 8pm, and admission is free. The park design is geared toward younger skaters, with a variety of elements that are challenging for intermediate skaters, but easy enough to help novice skaters develop their skateboarding skills. The park includes two 3-foot quarter pipes, two 5-foot quarter pipes, two 2-foot bank ramps with flat decks and round grind rail, one square grind rail, one manual pad, one skate bench, and two 3-foot half pipes.
Demere Skate Park is the first of two skate parks planned for Brunswick and The Golden Isles. A second, larger and more difficult park is in the planning stages. It is anticipated that it will be built at the North Glynn Recreation Park in Brunswick.
