Sago Plantation at Legends is moving at a blistering pace the gates at the North and South entrances are almost complete. Landscaping will be done by Monday and the Natural Gas lanterns will be installed on top of the Entry Walls.
Sago Plantation Private Gated Community is a master-planned community with easy access to airports, excellent schools, colleges, fine restaurants, and world-class shopping. Sago Plantation Real Estate has a beautiful natural environment, great water and wooded homesites, picturesque beaches and much more. Contact us today to get more information about Carolina Living at its finest.
Before you decide anything about your new home, be sure to see Sago Plantation. You’ll discover an extraordinary private community that extends far beyond ordinary expectations.
“This is the type of Real Estate market that two years from now everybody is going to say, “I wish I had bought then.” All the factors are lining up for the next six to twelve months to be that year. Let’s look at those factors.
Financing
Interest rates are dropping below 6% on residential mortgage loans. Rates are seldom that low and when they have reached that level, mortgage loan rates do not stay there for long. According to HSH Associates, the nation’s largest publisher of consumer loan rates (HSH.com) from mid 2003 through mid 2005 rates hovered just above and below the 6% threshold, never below for more than a few months. Before that they had not been below 6% for forty years. The most likely conclusion is that mortgage loan rates will not stay below six for long. So, Buyers would be wise to be actively looking to buy and take advantage very soon.
Mortgage money is available. Real Estate Agents and mortgage brokers from coast to coast are all telling me that there is money available with five percent down or less. The Buyers do need to have steady employment, and a reasonable credit rating. The days of Buyers needing to prove employment, have some cash on hand and credit worthiness have returned for good, hopefully. Violating those obvious principles contributed enormously to our current global financial crisis.
Requiring stability of employment, credit and some cash is not the banks being cautious. It is the way lenders have made decisions since paper money was invented. The last ten years when those fundamentals were ignored have been the exception. Bottom line, solid Buyers can get the best rates and buy at what I believe is at or near the bottom of the market.
Inventory, Foreclosures and Pricing
New home inventories are being absorbed. According to HWMarketIntelligence.com “the number of new homes for sale continues to steadily decline and have not recorded a monthly increase since May 2007.” According to the Mortgage Bankers Association the number and rate of properties entering foreclosure is slowing.
My anecdotal research from my Real Estate Agent Clients around the country is that the foreclosure properties are being purchased at a much higher rate as first time home Buyers and investors in market after market are deciding that we are near enough to bottom.
This Buyer and investor activity will create its own momentum. As more Buyers and investors choose to buy now the demand they create will stabilize and lead to market appreciation. Did people who bought at the height of the boom in late 2005 and 2006 lose equity? In most markets yes, in some markets they lost a lot. Are the Buyers who buy over the next year likely to be buying at the bottom of the market and benefit from excellent appreciation? Every indication that I see says yes.
As Real Estate Agents you need to decide if you are comfortable recommending that this is the time for Buyers to buy, that prices may be at or near the bottom. I suggest that we are at or near the bottom and the Buyers you encourage to buy over the next twelve months will be forever grateful for your advice.
Some Considerations
The Real Estate market, specifically for residential homes is typically not a speculative market. The vast majority of people buy a house to live in it as their home, not to resell it for a profit. Over the last forty years Buyers have come to expect that their home will build equity and appreciate in value. But, the decision to buy is usually based on factors other than anticipated appreciation. The Buyers you encourage to buy want to own the space in which they live. The fact that this is a fabulous time to make that decision just makes your job easier.
Second, there is a continuous demand in most markets. People graduate from school, get better jobs, get married and divorced, have children, upgrade and downsize, among dozens of other reasons that new Buyers come on the market. These life events keep occurring. However over the past two years these Buyers have paused. They still want to buy but they are waiting. Historically when there is a time that Buyers are reluctant to buy for any reason this creates a pent up demand.
As Buyers realize that it is a good time to buy but not necessarily for Sellers to sell; demand will begin to absorb and exceed supply. Over the next year or two the additional demand is likely to lead to a Seller’s market. Because of the severity and magnitude of the current housing supply this turn to a Seller’s market will likely be gradual.
The signs of this shift are occurring now, that is, the supply of new construction and foreclosure homes are being absorbed by first time Buyers, investors, and secure homeowners taking advantage of their financial strength. This spring may be the tipping point when market activity flourishes. I believe it will.
Inflation: The X Factor
I remember a rapidly inflationary period. I remember it for a funny reason. I used to drink a lot of Coca Cola. One day when I put a quarter into the machine to vend my Coke I realized that it was going to cost me forty cents. Soon after that it was fifty cents and within five years it was seventy five cents. Now it is at least a dollar. This is inflation. Your money buys less and the cost of what you buy increases.
If you owned Real Estate during this same period you were very happy because the property you owned in 1981 also doubled in price or more by 1986. That is true even if you didn’t live in a highly populated area. This inflationary period did not discriminate by locale.
Are we on the verge of another inflationary surge? I don’t know. I have been reading what I can find on this and it seems to be a largely ignored topic. I notice that gas prices are declining but not much else. I think about the trillions of dollars worldwide being spent on the bailout. The definition of inflation is when the amount of money in circulation increases and the available goods decreases. It seems to me that is what is happening.
If inflation does devalue our money then house prices, along with the price of almost all other hard goods will increase and this year’s Buyers are going to get benefit tremendously. Whether this happens or not it is time for buyers to get in the market.
First Time Buyers and Investors
For certain Buyers it is time to get active. I am saying to anyone and everyone that will listen. FIRST TIME BUYERS THIS IS YOUR TIME! The federal government is still offering a $7,500 tax credit that is scheduled to conclude in the summer of 2009. Prices and interest rates are down. If you are employed and credit worthy you can buy with a small amount of cash out of pocket. FIRST TIME BUYERS THIS IS YOUR TIME!
Another group that I am encouraging to buy now is investors of residential rental property. Investors still have to do their investment analysis. They still have to carefully look at occupancy and vacancy rates. In other words, investors have to make smart, calculated buying decisions. This is always the case.
The reason it is a good time for these investors is because the market is soft. As long as there has not been a population exodus in your community, that is, as long as people are choosing to live in your community and employment is stable, the rental property is going to sustain value. At the same time market conditions right now, with more challenging underwriting standards and only those who really need to sell putting their property on the market creates the opportunity all investors are looking for, buy low, particularly those with some cash.
Get in the Game
So, I have been telling my Agent Clients and my audiences to shout from the rooftops that first time Buyers and investors should get in the game. Call the people in your spheres of influence and your past Clients and be honest with them about whether it is a good time to sell.
At the same time encourage them to tell their relatives, friends and any one that they care about that if they are first time Buyers to call you and start looking. If they are investors with some cash suggest that they start looking for golden opportunities with you.
Look for articles from legitimate sources about what is going on with the global financial crisis. But then look at your local market and discover the opportunities for first time Buyers, investors or any other group or type of property that may be a shining beacon through the fog.
Be the optimistic and intelligent voice of opportunity and you will both survive this market you will become a roaring success as the market improves; which it will. When? For most markets, the prediction is late 2009. For some it will be spring of 2009 and for others it will be longer.
I have led Agents to success in four of these major shifts since 1979. Every one of these soft markets creates strength in those that survive it. And those who survive it by discovering the opportunities for their Clients become the highest producers and the leaders of the healthy market that is likely to be just around the corner.
Welcome to Myrtle Beach’s finest golf resort, The Legends. No other resort on the Grand Strand has the amenities or facilities that are offered to our guests. Choose from six (6) award-winning courses, including the only five-star course in the area, the TPC of Myrtle Beach. The Legends Resort is a total golf experience. Relax in the splendor of our luxury Golf Villas; enjoy first class amenities and one of the finest lighted practice facilities in the Southeast. See why we are the number one golf resort on the Grand Strand, The Legends Golf Resort.
The excellence of the resort does not end with our award-wining courses. It carries over to our golf villas, which are surrounded by the Parkland Course. We have taken great care in both the condition of our courses and villas.
We have created the feel of a Scottish Village in which everything that you need is available and accessible. We consider our villas the best that Myrtle Beach has to offer. You will not only enjoy the golf, but also the serenity of our resort. The result is a terrific combination of world-class golf and well-appointed, spacious condominiums.
Centrally located within our resort is our exclusive Ailsa Pub named after the Ailsa Craig, a famous Scottish landmark off the Turnberry Links, where you can gather with friends, watch the game on our 2 wide-screen TVs and relax after an exhilarating day on the links, or simply enjoy the adjacent pool and hot tub. Everywhere you turn, you’re surrounded by exceptional amenities and a professional staff dedicated to providing you with the finest golf vacation you have ever experienced. With plans in place for a new conference center and a health club, Legend Resorts is poised to become one of golf’s greatest meeting destinations.
Resort guests will enjoy preferred tee times, a welcoming gift and a hearty breakfast buffet. In addition, we have a world-class 30-acre lighted practice facility and our very own Scottish Tavern, the Ailsa Pub.
We truly believe that the Legends Resort offers each of our guests the finest golf accommodations and value on the Grand Strand.
Please call about our distinctive Real Estate opportunities or feel free to browse around on our Website
GOLF DIGEST NAMES MOORLAND #37
- Golf Digest recently published their Top 50 Toughest Courses in America and the Moorland course at Legends Resort was named #37 on the list. Moorland was the only course from Myrtle Beach and one of only two from South Carolina (the other was Kiawah’s Ocean Course which was rated #1).
THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.
So … I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.
Why?
A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.
A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor’s best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America’s future at a marked-down price.
Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.
Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn’t. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.
Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”
I don’t like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I’ll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: “Put your mouth where your money was.” Today my money and my mouth both say equities.
Warren E. Buffett is the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company.
The biggest obstacle facing the real estate market today is excess inventory. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ Research department estimated that as of December of last year, there was a 9.6month supply of homes on the market. Until this inventory returns to more normal levels, home prices will continue to decline.
Yet, with homeownership already falling to 68.2 percent in the third quarter of 2007 from the historic high of 69.2 percent in the second quarter of 2004 and the tightening of mortgage loan credit in response to excesses of subprime lending, it’s unlikely that the homeownership rate will increase in the near future. When you add growing concerns about an economic slowdown that may keep even qualified buyers on the sidelines, we are left to ponder how this excess inventory will be absorbed so that we can return to a healthy real estate market.
Still Feeling Effects of ’86 Tax Act
The most effective way to stimulate new demand for real estate is by making home purchases more attractive to — and profitable for — real estate investors. Unlike buyers who plan to live in their homes, investors are less likely to shy away from a changing market, provided the deal is a good one. One very effective and immediate way to make more home deals financially attractive to investors is to revise the current limitations on tax deductions for passive losses incurred from real estate investments.
These limitations on deductible losses were set in tax legislation passed by Congress in 1986, in response to what some felt were excessive tax shelters for investment real estate. This legislation limited the amount of loss that investors who did not actively participate in the management of the real estate they owned could deduct from their taxes to $25,000 a year. In addition, the full extent of these deductions was available only to those passive investors with adjusted gross incomes of $100,000 or less. Note that this limitation doesn’t apply to most people in the real estate business.
As a result of these changes, many real estate investors took severe losses, and some even walked away from their properties.
Indexing Loss Limits
I’m not suggesting that we return to the unlimited deductions from before 1986. But I do believe that Congress needs to take another look at passiveloss deductions. The problem is that the $25,000 limit on deductible passive losses and the $100,000 limit on maximum adjusted gross income were not indexed for inflation in the original law. This same failure to index limits for the alternative minimum tax has caused a political furor that Congress has temporarily addressed with an adjustment.
If the act’s limits had been indexed to the 3.1 percent annual inflation that’s been the norm over that period, the deduction for passive losses would be approximately $47,500 annually today and the adjusted gross income limit would be $189,900.
By adjusting 1986 tax rules to current levels, more investors would have the opportunity to deduct losses they incur from repairs or vacancies at their investment properties. This financial incentive would make them more willing to purchase property — including today’s excess housing inventory. Reducing the supply of housing on the market, in turn, would help stabilize home prices. Finally, as markets normalize, more buyers and sellers would gain the confidence to reenter the residential real estate market.
Investing in real estate is already an attractive way for investors to build wealth. By increasing the tax incentives for investors to reflect current income levels and costs, Congress would not only help to alleviate a shortterm oversupply of homes but would help ensure the future prosperity of many more Americans.
Writer Mark P. MacKenzie, ABR®, CRS®, is president of Mark MacKenzie Real Estate Planning, a real estate investment services franchise in Phoenix. He is the author of Marketopoly(Fortune Publishing, 2007) and The New Gold Rush: Real Estate (Fortune Publishing, 2003).
This fully furnished two bedroom – two bath condo is the perfect home away from home.Ideal for family getaways and golf outings this condominium has all the amenities of home.The unique thing about this property is you may even elect to have the Resort rent it out for you while it is not in use.Many people send friends, family, and clients to use during the offseason.
Turnberry Park is a Scottish themed village located at Legends Resort in Myrtle Beach. With 6 golf courses Legends is renowned as one of the premier golf destinations in the entire Southeast. Its three magnificent onsite courses (Heathland, Moorland, & Parkland) have received widespread acclaim and its master planned real estate offerings have already established Legends as the ideal home base for owning real estate in the Myrtle Beach area. Providing easy access to everything Myrtle Beach has to offer, Legends is just six miles west of the wide, friendly beaches that grace the Grand Strand. Or perhaps you would enjoy driving through the peaceful, private residential enclaves of our beautifully designed neighborhoods connected by walking/biking trails winding through a series of park-like settings. With 3 award-winning golf courses, a stunning Scottish clubhouse, an Old World pub, a 30-acre lighted practice facility, 4 pools, 2 hot tubs, tennis courts, two restaurants and an elegant guard gate, Legends has truly first class amenities already in place.
The Myrtle Beach Home Blog is your source for Monarch Real Estate updates and the latest Grand Strand real estate news. We cover new home sales, condo sales, Myrtle Beach foreclosures, real estate industry news and a wide variety of community interest stories. We also look forward to your comments & feedback on our posts.
If you own land in #MyrtleBeach - Horry County - Will consider a trade for this beautiful home - text MLS13942 to 70734 for info and pics 1:30 AM May 11th via TweetDeck
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