Charter One Realty Blog - Paige Rose

Two Ways Homebuyers Can Win in Today’s Market

If your goal is to purchase a home this year, you might be looking for any advantage you can get in today’s sellers’ market. While competition is still fierce for homebuyers, there are ways you can win and secure the home of your dreams, even in a hot market.

Act Early and Save

The earlier you act this year, the more affordable your purchase will be. That’s because experts project mortgage rates will rise as we move deeper into 2022. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is expected to be 3.5% by year’s end. Experts forecast home prices will rise as well.

That means the longer you wait, the more it will cost you to buy a home. Instead, act early and purchase your home before rates and prices rise further.…

2004 Views, 0 Comments

Real Estate Professionals Are Experts at Keeping You Safe When You Sell

If you’re on the fence about whether or not you want to sell your house this year, there’s good news. For nearly two years, real estate professionals have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of buyers and sellers during the pandemic.

Today, they’re seasoned experts, not just in the art of buying and selling homes, but also in how to keep you safe throughout the process. Real estate professionals have learned new technologies plus safety and sanitation measures. As new variants emerge, those lessons continue to be key ways agents add value.

Real Estate Advisors Stay Current on Guidance for In-Person Showings

Agents don’t leave your health up to chance. They follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National…

761 Views, 0 Comments

Lowcountry Real Estate Market Report - December 2021

The 2021 housing market was one for the history books. After three consecutive months of increases recently, existing home sales are on pace to hit their highest level in 15 years, with an estimated 6 million homes sold in 2021 according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales prices reached new heights, inventory hit rock bottom, and homes sold in record time, often for well above asking price. Mortgage rates, which began the year at historic lows, remain attractive, and homeowners who choose to sell in the coming months can expect to see plenty of buyer activity due to pent-up demand during the pandemic.

Hilton Head & Mainland Real Estate Market Update - December 2021

For the 12- month period spanning January 2021 through December 2021,…

1326 Views, 0 Comments

Charter One Realty Welcomes Alan Bedell

BLUFFTON, SC, January 2022 – Charter One Realty is pleased to announce that Alan Bedell has joined the company as an Agent, partnering with the John Weber Team. Alan and his team bring over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and real estate in the Coastal Lowcountry. Alan has joined the company at their Berkeley Hall office located in Bluffton, SC, and can be reached at 804-690-2774 or by email at alan@thejohnweberteam.com.

Alan received a degree in Business Management from the University of Arizona and joined the firm Grubb and Ellis where he began a successful career in commercial real estate. After many years as head of retail for Grubb and Ellis in Atlanta, Alan moved back to his hometown of Richmond, Virginia where he raised his three…

1309 Views, 0 Comments

Signature Sales December 2021 - Charter One Realty

Charter One Realty's consistent investments on behalf of Buyers, Sellers, and Communities for over three decades pay dividends for our clients. Like the international luxury brands, Charter One Realty employs world-class marketing with a global reach. 

But one need only look at actual sales in the area’s luxury communities, and at the area’s $1,000,000+ transactions to understand that Charter One Realty is the Lowcountry’s Leading Luxury Brand. 

Announcing our December 2021 Charter One Realty Signature Sales. Like the international luxury brands, Charter One Realty employs world-class marketing with a global reach. And when it comes to Luxury Properties, we dominate the market.

We successfully listed, marketed, and negotiated the sale of…

992 Views, 0 Comments

Avoid the Rental Trap in 2022

Are you one of the many renters thinking about where you’ll live the next time your lease is up? Before you decide whether to look for a new house or another apartment, it’s important to understand the true costs of renting in 2022.

As a renter, you should know rents have been rising since 1988 (see graph below):

In 2021, rents grew dramatically. According to ApartmentList.com, since January 2021:

“. . . the national median rent has increased by a staggering 17.8 percent. To put that in context, rent growth from January to November averaged just 2.6 percent in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019.”

That increase in 2021 was far greater than the typical rent increases we’ve seen in recent years. In other words – …

1398 Views, 0 Comments

How Much Do You Need for Your Down Payment?

As you set out on your homebuying journey, you likely have a plan in place, and you’re working on saving for your purchase. But do you know how much you actually need for your down payment?

If you think you have to put 20% down, you may have set your goal based on a common misconception. Freddie Mac says:

“The most damaging down payment myth—since it stops the homebuying process before it can start—is the belief that 20% is necessary.”

Unless specified by your loan type or lender, it’s typically not required to put 20% down. According to the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median down payment hasn’t been over 20% since 2005. It may sound surprising, but today, that number…

2376 Views, 0 Comments

Why Waiting To Sell Your House Could Cost You a Small Fortune

Many homeowners who plan to sell in 2022 may think the wise thing to do is to wait for the spring buying market since historically about 40 percent of home sales occur between April and July. However, this year’s expected to be much different than the norm. Here are five reasons to list your house now rather than waiting until the spring.

1. Buyers Are Looking Right Now, and They’re Ready To Purchase

The ShowingTime Showing Index reports data from more than six million property showings scheduled across the country each month. In other words, it’s a gauge of how many buyers are out looking at homes at the current time.

The latest index, which covers November showings, reveals that buyers are still very active in the market. Comparing…

989 Views, 0 Comments

Expert Insights on the 2022 Housing Market

As we move into 2022, both buyers and sellers are wondering, what’s next? Will there be more homes available to buy? Will prices keep climbing? How high will mortgage rates go? For the answer to those questions and more, we turn to the experts. Here’s a look at what they say we can expect in 2022.

Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist, First American:

“Consensus forecasts put rates at about 3.7% by the end of next year. So, that's still historically low, but certainly higher than they are today.”

Danielle Hale, Chief Economist, realtor.com:

“Affordability will increasingly be a challenge as interest rates and prices rise, but remote work may expand search areas and enable younger buyers to find their first homes sooner than…

874 Views, 0 Comments

Why Selling Your House with a Real Estate Professional Is Essential

Selling your house is no simple task. And when you sell on your own – known as a FSBO (or For Sale by Owner) – you’re responsible for handling some of the more difficult aspects of the process without the expert guidance you need.

The 2021 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys homeowners who recently sold their house on their own and asks what difficulties they faced. Those sellers say some of the biggest headaches are prepping their house for sale, pricing it right, and handling the required paperwork.

Working with an agent is the best way to ensure you have an expert on your side to guide you at every turn. Agents have the skills and knowledge that are essential to navigating each…

678 Views, 0 Comments