The phone calls have started coming in about the bridge situation and I felt that it was time to talk about it.  Traffic has vastly improved with the opening of the McTeer bridge in opposing directions.  There is no longer traffic sitting on Sam's Point Road past Exxon trying to get off of Lady's Island.  I zoomed over the Woods bridge this morning and returned to the Island over the McTeer bridge about 30 minutes later with no stopping.  I am, as every one else is too, elated at the current traffic situation.  I personally feel as though the bridge situation is unpleasant yes, but a reason to panic, no!  This is temporary. The bridge will be repaired and traffic will improve every day.  There are traffic plans in place for when then bridge is being repaired and utility lines are to be worked on.  I do realize that we have had several days of hot tempers, long commutes, and inconvenient travel routes, but anyone who has ever lived in a big city is already accustomed to driving in traffic to get anywhere.  I guess that is one thing we love about Beaufort.  As a real estate professional, I spend many of my days in my car showing properties.  I enjoy how small Beaufort is because I can whip all around town and cover a much smaller area than where I lived prior.  I can assure you that life will be back to normal when the bridge is repaired.  As for the people who think property values just took a dive and that no one wants to live on Lady's Island, YOU ARE WRONG!  I am still getting phone calls daily from buyers relocating to the area from out of town that are interested in buying on Lady's Island.  The bridge situation aside, Lady's Island still has some of the best schools in the district, Lady's Island  still has one of the lowest crime rates of Beaufort County, and buyers can still afford decent homes on Lady's Island.  The bridge being damaged does not change all of that.  We send out 8-10 relocation packages a week.  A large majority of those packages are for buyers interested in living on Lady's Island.  The biggest question we are hearing is will the bridge be repaired?  When the answer is given as a yes, the buyers are no longer concerned. I too am not concerned!      

I get the same question every day.  "How's the real estate market?"  My answer is always the same.  "Things are busy."  The other person often looks confused and perplexed wanting to know how it is that I am busy while other Realtors are very slow and worried.  I attribute my attitude about the market and my schedule to hard work preparing for a slow market.  There are many new agents who got into this business during a booming market because they saw that the market was great and that is seemed like an easy job.  Now that the market has slowed significantly, there are real estate agents across the country scratching their head wondering what happened and what now.  I have always run my business the same way with the same goals no matter how slow or fast the market is.  There are certain things that need tweaking during a slow market, but the general practice is the same.   There are still homes selling in Beaufort.   The concern of many is that the number of homes sold in the last quarter compared to those still for sale is scary.  I  know it is very stressful and frightening to sell a home right now.  So how do you make your home stand out among the rest?  Well, to start you need to look at the competition.  How does your home compare to the others in a similar price range and area?  Are there features in your home that are unattractive to most buyers?  Are there any repairs or renovations that you could do to make the home stand out?  Should you paint?  Should you replace the flooring?  Should you hire a professional landscaper?   I know that there are many that would say absolutely not.  Why paint?  Most buyers paint themselves anyway, right?  Why should I replace the flooring?  I am trying to make money not spend it!  Well, my professional opinion is that when trying to compete with so many other homes for sale in the price range, your home has to be in stellar condition and as attractive as possible.  There may be a lot of inventory but the buyers are going to pick one.  At the end of the day, after looking at 50 other homes, which house are the buyers going to remember?  Do you think they will think of the home with the hot pink bedrooms, mauve kitchen, and green carpet?  NO!  They will remember the home that fits their family's lifestyle and is already fixed up the way they want it.  The other part of this intricate puzzle is the price. I am not sure why every seller in Beaufort, SC has not gotten the memo that this is a buyer's market.  If I bring you a buyer who is ready, willing, and able to buy your home and they ask you for their closing costs to be paid and they offer a little less than your asking price, you should take it and run!  I can assure you that buyers are well aware that there are many sellers in desperate situations and if you are not willing to negotiate with them they will move on to another home.  If you have time to wait, I guess it won't matter, but is the risk of not selling for a while worth the $1500 you were squabbling over?  In summary, the homes that are selling in Beaufort, SC are the homes that are in fantastic condition, possess attractive curb appeal, and are the most favorably priced among the competition.  Call Advanced Real Estate Company today to find out what we can do to improve the odds of selling your home.