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by Lisa Anderson

Things have really gotten exciting around here at Grant’s Ferry Cove this summer!  Our clubhouse and model are complete and both have been beautifully decorated by Robert Grayson of Robert Grayson Interiors, Miami Circle, Atlanta.  As you can see by a sampling of the photographs, Robert has chosen a coastal theme with cool earthy hues.  The atmosphere in the clubhouse and model both would be casual elegance.

Our tennis courts, lake and swimming pool are in and ready to be enjoyed.  The landscape and even the mail kiosk are complete.  Our sales and information center is open in the clubhouse, and you will find us available from 10-4 Monday through Saturday, Sunday by appointment.  Please stop in and ask us to give you a tour of the model, site map and design center.  Be sure to ask us about our furnished model package!

We chose the River Birch floorplan for the model, which features two masters on the main level with a third bedroom and bath upstairs, along with a loft overlooking the keeping room.  We have broken ground on our Bay Laurel and Red Cedar floorplans and you will be able to view those on site soon.  Until then, our design center is filled with information about each plan and all of your finishes to choose from including cabinets, countertops, tile and flooring.

On Saturday, June 27, the Sea Palms Golf Resort is hosting a charity golf tournament to benefit Hospice of the Golden Isles. Members of the Hodnett Cooper team playing in the scramble include: Kris Maichle – General Manager Vacation Rentals, Robert Barnard – St. Simons Beach Club Property Manager, and Ron Ako – Sea Gate Inn Manager. 

Hospice of the Golden Isles is a not-for-profit, full-service organization that provides palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support and bereavement services. In the celebration of the worth of each life, the hospice staff strives to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care and support effective grieving.


by Guerry Norwood

A small park located at 15th Street and Bruce Drive provides a great view of the best birding spot on the island, recognized by its selection to the Colonial Coast Birding Trail. This inlet separates East Beach, a Holocene fragment of St. Simons south of the inlet, from Sea Island to the north.

 

The bar and inlet are good examples of Georgia’s barrier island-estuarine interface. The inlet and sand bars are constantly moving, changing shape, preventing vegetation from becoming established, and creating a resting place for many species of birds, as well as a feeding site for certain species. Resident birds seen here include laughing and herring gulls, willets, American oystercatchers, black skimmers, brown pelicans, black skimmers, and royal terns.

 

During warm weather, including fall and spring migration periods, bird watchers may identify black, sandwich, gull-billed, common, and Caspian terns; black-bellied, semi-palmated, and Wilson’s plovers; reddish egrets, marbled godwits, whimbrels, ruddy turnstones, sanderlings, red knots, and western sandpipers. Cold-weather birds include black-bellied and piping plovers; black-backed, and ring-billed gulls; Caspian and Forster’s terns; red-backed dunlins; and red-breasted mergansers. 

 

As the southern part of Sea Island has grown, the northern end of East Beach has lost 1,640 feet of land since the Civil War, according to Schoettle. As you walk or bike south on East Beach toward Coast Guard beach, the homes fall away from the shore, due to the growth of the beach since 1930. These homes used to be beachfront property. They still are, but they are located much farther from the water. 

 

Fishermen sometimes try their luck on Gould’s Inlet Dock, where tidal pulses attract many species of fish and other marine animals.

 

Directions: From Brunswick, cross F.J. Torras Causeway. Go left on Demere Road to East Beach Causeway. After crossing causeway, go left on Ocean Boulevard. Turn right at 15th Street and Gould’s Inlet Park is straight ahead. 

 

Originally posted by Tom Brennan on CNBC.com

Jim CramerResidential real estate has finally found a floor, Cramer told viewers on Tuesday (June 16, 2009). The sector’s long, steep descent is all but over. He had predicted this day would come by the end of June, and he was right – with just two weeks to spare. Watch Video Clip.

How can Cramer be so sure? New housing data reported today showed a dramatic change for the better, especially in some of the hardest-hit areas in the US. That news, along with much lower prices and the working off of inventory, validate his prediction, made last August, that housing would stabilize this month, ending its multiyear declines.

According to the Commerce Department, there were 47,000 more housing starts in May than the 485,000 expected, a number 17% higher than the month before. The two regions seemingly in the biggest hole, the South and West, jumped about 17% and 29%, respectively. Building permits, which can predict the market’s future to a certain extent, showed significant growth as well. Now Cramer – and probably the homebuilders, too – sense an end the morass that weighed so heavily on the markets.

What does a bottom look like? It’s the combination of ramping sales, and sales in certain areas are up ten times those of last year, and an end to falling prices. That’s exactly what we’ve seen for the past three months, Cramer said.

Of course, this doesn’t mean home prices skyrocket right back to their bubbly heights. Cramer’s call was about only price stabilization, not appreciation. So he isn’t about to recommend homebuilders like Pulte or Toll Brothers just yet. The increased building at this point is more a chance to unload land these companies have been financing, leaving the eventual sale almost profitless.

Another point worth noting: Tuesday’s numbers also disproved the talk about higher mortgage rates hurting a housing recovery. Prices are down, rates are still low compared to a year ago and the tax credit for first-time buyers is drawing people into the market. All the forces needed to boost the sector are there.

Also, don’t think the new starts, combined with foreclosures, will lead to a new glut of inventory. Builders aren’t going to make that mistake, Cramer said, putting up homes they can’t sell. Nor do the banks need to rush foreclosed homes back onto the market. They now have the capital, thanks to Washington and a spate of secondary offerings, to hold on until they get their price.

Cramer thinks the best way to play the housing bottom is with the banks holding the most mortgage exposure: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and definitely Bank of America.

Finally, if you’re wondering why the market didn’t rally because of housing starts, that’s because people are as blind to the bottom as they were to the top, Cramer said. But you can’t wait for some analyst to make the call. You have to buy now if you want to make some money.

by ALAN ZIBEL

WASHINGTON (AP) – Pending U.S. home sales in April posted the biggest monthly jump in nearly eight years, a sign that home sales are finally coming to life after a long and painful slump.

The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in April rose 6.7 percent to 90.3. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index would edge up to 85 from a reading of 84.6 in March. It was the biggest monthly jump since October 2001.

Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future existing home sales. The index was 3.2 percent above last year’s levels and has risen for three straight months after hitting a record low in January.

JMM Ghostbusters Poster

JMM Productions proudly brings you Ghostubsters, Who You Gonna Call this weekend in Neptune Park. This classic movie features Bill Murray, Dan Aukroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, and Rick Moranis.

The movie will start at dusk on Sunday, June 14. This is a fabulous, free, community event! Bring blankets, chairs, and as many friends and family as you like. We’ll see you there.

iStock_000008025024XSmallA May, 2009 article entitled “Coastal Dream Towns,” named Brunswick, Georgia as one of the best places to live at the shore. Coastal Living Magazine cited Brunswick as “Most for Your Money,” and featured four photographs of downtown’s waterfront area.

From the article: (writers Kay Scheller & William G. Scheller)

Allure Factor – Brunswick – little more than an hour from Savannah and Jackosnville¬ –has concentrated on revitalizing its downtown and waterfront, where shops, restaurants, and a marina now thrive. Founded in 1771, Brunswick boasts more historic buildings than any city in Georgia outside Savannah, including many handsome downtown Victorians.

iStock_000007147798XSmallLocals Love – the 14 golf courses in and around the city and on nearby Sea, Jekyll, and St. Simons islands.

Home Prices – In Old Town – Brunswick’s historic district – houses have been selling recently at an average price of $167,000, but they can go much higher. Riverfront condos now in the works start at $300,000.

iStock_000007613931XSmallWatch the world famous frisbee dogs perform at Howard Coffin Park in Brunswick, Georgia – FREE!!

This all day event is sponsored by Suzie’s Friends, a no-kill volunteer shelter working to spay/neuter the local feral cat population. The frisbee dogs will perform at 10:00 am, 1:00 pm,  and 4:00 pm on June 13, 2009.

Other fun activities include face painting, photo opps, and a costume parade. “Putting on the Ritz” is open to all breeds ($5.00 entry fee) and will begin at 11:15 am. “Strut a Mutt” costume pageant is open to adopted or unadopeted “mutts” only (no entry fee) and will begin at 2:15 pm.  Judging categories include: Cutest, Ugliest, Best Trick, Best Dressed, Best Behaved, Worst Behaved, Mirror Image, Best Personality, Best Bark, Swim Suit, Biggest, Smallest, and Most Congenial.

All animal lovers will enjoy this family-friendly, free, community event. Please come show your support for our furry friends.