It looks as if the debate about the effectiveness of Myrtle Beach open houses as selling tools isn’t going to be settled any time soon. Part of the reason is the difficulty of getting accurate feedback about prospective buyers’ actual behavior as opposed to their intentions. Pollsters do their best, but you have to question the answers they come up with.

A good example was a couple of surveys that tried to pin down how future buyers intended to find their next home. The major online web giant Trulia found that more than 90% of folks who were in the market said they planned to attend open houses as part of their home search! And 62% of U.S. home buyers “reported using/planning to use online sites to find open houses.” If true, that should definitely end the debate. If nearly two out of three buyers are heading to the web to find open houses, when you add in the number who would undoubtedly see street signs or other notices, what Myrtle Beach home seller would choose to ignore what amounts to the majority of potential buyers?

The problem is that a similar study done for the National Association of Realtors® came up with very different results. The NAR found that 44% of buyers used open houses as an ‘information source’—less than half the number Trulia reported. Which survey is more accurate? There’s no telling. But there’s not much question that open houses can benefit prospective buyers. Although the Myrtle Beach internet listings provide an efficient way to survey and compare descriptions of what’s currently out there, being able to casually pop in and out of several open houses on a Sunday afternoon is a convenient way to get a more in-depth feel for what’s available in various neighborhoods.

The downside for sellers is the usual: the inconvenience involved in getting the property in top condition, making sure that pilferable objects are securely out of reach, and having to vacate the premises for the duration. On the other hand, opening the property to prospects who might not yet be as committed to buying as those who seek showings through their real estate agents is a way to widen the field of possible buyers—especially true for some Myrtle Beach properties which don’t photograph as well as they show in the flesh.

And it’s definitely a marketing plus—a foolproof way to bring wide attention to the fact that yes, the house is seriously up for sale! When the subject comes up, neighbors and passers-by are more apt to make a mental note of the house over on the next street that I remember is for sale. More than one home has been sold because a friend of a neighbor has an aunt who’s been looking for a place…

An open house can be one useful marketing tactic—but like all others, whether or not to use it is the client’s choice. If you are contemplating marketing your own Myrtle Beach home, or are soon to be in the market to buy, don’t hesitate to give us a call at (843) 796-2111 to speak to one of our Real Estate Experts, or visit our website at www.PlantationRealtyGroup.com

You would think the outside competition for Myrtle Beach foreclosure bargains might have up and disappeared by now…but no! As The Wall Street Journal described it last week, the shrinking number of foreclosure opportunities hasn’t driven Wall Street’s professional investors completely out of the market. But new techniques are altering their approach.

Local Myrtle Beach foreclosure investors have had to worry about a previous incursion by big national private equity investment firms. In the aftermath of the real estate bust, sales of distressed properties assumed an ever-larger proportion of real estate activity. National firms seized on the growing supply of cheap foreclosed homes as a ‘sure-thing’ trade for investment firms backed by money from private equity companies who wanted ‘in’ on real estate.

Wall Street knew full well that depressed real estate prices were a temporary phenomenon. They would swoop down, buy foreclosures en masse, rent them out, and wait for the bounce-back. Myrtle Beach foreclosure investors suddenly had to worry about bargain-hunting by the national firms, instead of just the usual local competitors. It took agility and cash to compete with some very deep pockets. Even where they weren’t active, their impact was felt.

But by last summer, the New York Times was headlining “Investors Who Bought Foreclosed Homes in Bulk Look to Sell.” Where, at the height of the foreclosure onslaught, a full 50% of home purchases was made up of foreclosures and short sales, by this February, the percentage had retreated to barely 11%. Companies like Waypoint Real Estate Group began quietly shopping for buyers as they took their profits and tiptoed away…

So could Myrtle Beach foreclosure investors breathe a sigh of relief, knowing the big boys had carted off their wheel barrows full of cash? You’d think so, but not so fast! The WSJ article describes a new phenomenon from outside. “Racing to Buy Homes Sight Unseen” was the headline. Enter the speed-based investors!

Just as trading firms had developed systems that made equity trading a competition between banks of computers trip-wired to trade at the speed of light, a milder phenomenon is emerging in foreclosure investing. According to the Journal, one example is the investment trust executive who no longer goes to public auctions to find buys. It described a recent morning in which it took him seven minutes to bid on a Georgia home “he had never seen.” He uses a quantitative data analysis program as a way to accelerate searches for the “dwindling supply of available homes that can be transformed into rental properties.” In other words, some of the big buyers are finding ways to stay in the market.

But Myrtle Beach foreclosure investors don’t really need to throw up their hands. Although the data analysis programs are getting better, local knowledge and on-site evaluations should continue to give sharp Myrtle Beach investors the kind of fine edge that national data maps and renovation cost generalizations can never quite match. It’s like the difference between a perfectly-engineered robotic customer service system…and a knowledgeable human: no contest.

Myrtle Beach foreclosures may be less omnipresent, but without question they continue to represent great investment potential—and not just for the national investment firms. If you’ve ever thought you would like to hear more about today’s opportunities, call me for an on-the-ground analysis! (843) 796-2111 

When you Google “seeking the best professional,” in about a half a second you are presented with 403 million candidates (not to play favorites, SearchEngineWise, when you ask Bing the same thing, it gives you a mere 62.6 million…which might actually prove more useful, since it would only take you a little more than a year to scan each for 2 seconds).

Narrowing the quest, when you Google “seeking the best Realtor®,” it gives you just a few less than 2,000,000 likely results. Since anyone seeking the best real estate professional to buy or sell their home isn’t after one eight states away, almost everyone quickly narrows the search to ‘best Realtor in Myrtle Beach.’ That number varies from time to time, but almost always more than 500,000 show up (the ones at the top are paid ads).

This isn’t actually as whimsical a quest as such results suggest: it’s a quite serious undertaking. Even if you are a veteran homeowner—someone who has bought and sold homes multiple times in the past—today’s market is so vastly different from what it was even ten years ago (thank you, Internet!) that you need to connect with a Realtor in Myrtle Beach who will bring you success in this vast new arena. This will be someone whose marketing knowhow is as current as this morning’s Tweet—but whose depth of knowledge and experience in adroitly handling the old-fashioned local workings (and, alas, paperwork) are also encyclopedic. Today, your “best Myrtle Beach Realtor” will have mastered it all.

So, what’s the right way to go about finding her/him? What’s a homeowner or prospective home buyer to do when they are bound and determined to actually find the best professional in Myrtle Beach? There are positive steps to take:

a) Word of mouth: ask around to people whose opinions are substantial. Even if you are looking to sell and someone whose opinion you trust has experience only as a buyer, take the agent’s name. The best Realtors in Myrtle Beach are great on both fronts!

b) When you are out and about in the neighborhood, note the “For Sale” yard signs planted in the lawns of appealing-looking properties. Jot down the agent’s contact number.

c) Check the newspapers (and even notices posted on local store bulletin boards) for open houses…then attend them!

d) Check the Myrtle Beach MLS: see which agents are prominently represented in the Myrtle Beach listings—especially for properties in the same general price range. Look for eye-catching, well-written listings.

And finally, having compiled a list of your likely suspects, take the final and most important step of all:

e) Stop Googling—and start interviewing!

The search for the best Realtor in Myrtle Beach will take a bit of energy—and a bit of your time—but given the significance of the task ahead, is guaranteed to be worth your while.

Since you’ve found my Myrtle Beach blog, I hope you will put me on your list of best Myrtle Beach Realtors—please don’t hesitate to give me a call! (843) 796-2111 or visit our website www.PlantationRealtyGroup.com

Last week, The Wall Street Journal ran an article about personal finances that Myrtle Beach mortgage payers who are at or near retirement age should find thought-provoking. It centered on the idea that today’s retirees are often making a decision that differs from what past generations have chosen.

The basis is twofold. First, it’s undeniable that the 60- or 65-year-olds of today rightly expect a future that’s likely to stretch one or more decades longer than was the case for their grandparents. Improved health care and health awareness have combined to extend life expectancy considerably. The WSJ didn’t mention it, but some quick research reveals that while a baby boomer’s parents (assuming they were born in the 1920's) had a longevity expectation at birth of only about 55 years, the CDC says that today’s average 65-year-old male can expect to live another 18 years—with ladies even out-surviving them by another 2½ years.

Such a radical advance combines with a second development—today’s low mortgage interest rates—to create a shift in thinking by many as they hit retirement age. Experts believe that previous generations tended to feel “they were in the last inning” of life, and thus needed to pick a safe path regarding their residences. Paying off their home’s mortgage was given very high priority—one that was almost universally unquestioned. Home ownership unencumbered by a mortgage was taken to be a sound part of a worry-free old age.

But today’s Myrtle Beach retirees are significantly less defensive in their thinking. According to The Journal, “Maybe their parents paid off the house before retiring, but many baby boomers say it makes more sense to carry a mortgage.” Instead of surrendering their cash or investments, the 21st Century trend is for mature Americans to take advantage of today’s low interest rates. The long time run-up in the stock market has also made the choice that much more appealing.

Myrtle Beach seniors may also be departing from the way previous generations behaved. A Merrill Lynch/Age Wave study in August found that 30% of relocating retirees were moving to larger homes! And let’s face it: the whole notion of retiring is undergoing a transformation as more and more of the 60+ set realize they don’t want (or can’t afford) to quit working altogether. With so many good years before them, many are embarking on new careers—often elatedly following pursuits they’d “never had time for.”

With mortgage rates in Myrtle Beach continuing to roost down in the bargain basement, today’s seniors aren’t alone in recognizing that this spring represents a rare home buying opportunity. If you are coming to the same conclusion, I hope you will give me a call to chat about today’s many Myrtle Beach offerings (843)796-2111!