Our Stats Contradict The State…Again

April 16, 2010 by Leave a Comment

State Newspaper Reports Columbia Sales ‘Slid Again’
A few days ago The State Newspaper published an article regarding a rise in home sales throughout South Carolina. Conversly, it’s also reported that sales in Columbia has not fared as well as the other metro areas of The Palmetto State.
I can report from experience that “Columbia Home Sales” is a very broad term. If The State had the ability to paint with pinstripes rather than broad strokes, the picture would show that the intown market is stronger than the outskirts of the Midlands. What I’m saying is that downtown Columbia is “hooked” to broader sales reports.
Anyone that’s been to my office knows that we work off of two whiteboards on one of our walls. The boards have our listings written in green while the homes Under Contract are written in blue. I counted them up today and presently we have 11 houses Under Contract.
I hope I’m not jinxing some of my sales but the three pictured above are Under Contract. I haven’t put “Pending Contract” riders on the signs as the inspections are still forthcoming. Even so, they’re good listings and am confident they’ll close.
I’m glad for our state for experiencing an overall uptick in the market and I’m hopeful that Columbia’s overall numbers will follow suit. I hope too that we can continue to stay ahead of the reported sales curve.
Given that my team manager and I have newborns, I’d be fibbing if I didn’t admit that with sometimes my eyes feel like 20 lb. weights. Nevertheless, we know that our Buyers and Sellers need service and we’re happy to provide it.
Thanks to the best network in South Carolina and hard work, hopefully we can continue to buck the trend and post another property on ‘the board’…in BLUE INK. 🙂
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Kingmaker Morrison Decides To Yield

April 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Morrison Decides To Refrain From Capital City Lore

Every now and then an opportunity comes along when a persons actions can make a real difference. As many folks think they would revel in such an opportunity, the truth is that after one performs a self cost/benefit analysis, the overwhelming pressure can halt the aforementioned opportunity.

Former mayoral candidate Steve Morrison has the pleasure (displeasure) of being in this touchy situation. For two weeks (the runoff time period), Mr. Morrison is the person that could be most responsible for Columbia’s future. However, Mr. Morrison has decided to dismiss himself of this responsibility and let the chips fall where they may.

I wasn’t going to type about this tonight, but Brad Warthen’s post on the subject prompted a thought or two.

I have to think that either my theory about the pressure is correct, or Morrisons pretty sure leading vote getter Steve Benjamin is going to win. The obvious reason for my thinking is that I can’t help but think Morrison will be voting for the Democratic leaning candidate.

It takes massive amounts of courage to make a pick when you know your voice could decide an election. On the other hand, it probably takes wisdom to recognize that a greater good is better served by a yielded opinion. In this example, only Steve Morrison can know.
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Columbia’s Newest Real Estate Hotsheet

April 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Columbia’s Newest Listings; March 23 – April 12, 2010

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Transaction Shouldn’t Hurt KG Comps

April 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment

After Two+ Years 42 Somerton Place Finally Closes

No neighborhood is immune to a head scratching transaction. King’s Grant is no different.
After years of being on the market this home finally closed. It’s one of the smaller houses in all of King’s Grant and although it’s certainly is a nice house, it obviously had a few quirks. Moreover, the house was vacant, rented and then sat vacant again. Sometimes listings have us scratching our heads but this one was tired and stigmatized. A bit of market fatigue had set in.
It pains me to report that 42 Somerton closed at about $140/ft. Even though I wasn’t involved in the transaction, I wouldn’t be feel right if I didn’t report the news. I may have actually lost a breath when I viewed the MLS report. As the sales price certainly surprised me the fact that the sellers actually took it was a shock.
Not to worry…as the news isn’t all bad. This house probably won’t be used as a comp for other sales or refi’s in King’s Grant, as it may be labeled as a “distressed sale” by appraisers and therefore thrown out of their report. Although it certainly wasn’t a foreclosure or anything of that nature, the sheer number of “days on market” will be considered by appraisers.
Consider this. It was only a month ago when 70 Somerton Place fetched a sales price of $670,000, which pulled in a handsome $178./ft. The two homes are ‘just around the bend’ from one another.
Congratulations to the sellers of 42 Somerton Place. Even bigger kudos to the buyers of the property as they paid a deeply discounted price to live in one of Columbia’s premiere neighborhoods.
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Three Ring Circus Destined For Run-Off

April 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

After 20 Years Columbia Almost Elects New Mayor
For years I’ve frequently mentioned Columbia should have a “strong mayor” system of government and that election day for the office shouldn’t stand alone sometime in April. Obviously no one cares b/c we’re still a city with a “weak mayor” and given the stand alond election date, will most likely experience low voter turnout at the polls.

All of that aside we have a very interesting election going on. Early on, the race looked to be Steve Benjamin’s to lose. Conventional wisdom tells us that current Mayor Bob Coble saw the writing on the wall that an African-American on the ticket would spell doom for his re-election efforts.

Kirkman Finlay has come on strong of late with the simple message of, “If we don’t have the money, we can’t afford it.” Finlay is also a big proponent of a prominent Main Street for Columbia. We’ll see how the message resonates.
Steve Morrison was the sleeper in the race but seems to knock the debates out of the ballpark. He’s apparently incredibly smart and makes a lot of sense in the very numerous amount of local debates. He and Finlay have certainly put forth solid campaigns.

It seems as though Morrison cut into Benjamin’s base and split the local Democratic party. I know “signs don’t vote” but there are Morrison signs everywhere. It’ll be interesting to see how Morrison’s steady campaign cuts into the early front runners numbers.

As I write this I don’t mean any disrespect to any of the other candidates. At this point, I simply think it’s a three ring circus. If another candidate proves me wrong then I’ll accept an egg on the face.
Given the sheer number of candidates, I’m going to bet that no one will get the needed 50% +1 vote count. I’m often surprised by elections but if I put my sootsayer hat on I predict that Finlay will be in the lead after Tuesday, followed by Benjamin. Of course, I’ll have to post again before my projected run-off, but at this point predict that Benjamin will slingshot over Finlay in the later election to become the next mayor of Columbia.
We’ll see! Go Vote… Early and Often!!!
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Big Day! It’s The First Day of School!

April 5, 2010 by 1 Comment

Finley Will Be Great But Wife Will Need Lots of Hugs
Monday morning is sure to be a dramatic time for our little family as Finley has her first day of school. I’m sure most dads are either stoic about the event or at least feel some sort of anxiety about their childs first day of day school. For me, I’m much more worried about my wife than I am my daughter

Since I haven’t gone through the motions yet I’m not certain how things will go. However, I can say with all authority that my wife will be resemble a 10 zone Rainbird sprinkler system. Ooof.

I can’t decide if I should drive separately to the school. If Jenna is unable to leave the parking lot and my phone starts blowing up, it could easily turn a sweet scene into a tense one. Typing this paragraph actually just tipped the scales to driving separate cars.

For months we’ve had a great day care system. Having two awesome nannies (one morning and one afternoon) has been an awesome situation. Getting into a good day school system however will cost us about half of what we’re spending now. Wallets notwithstanding, I’m sure Jenna, Finley and I will be happy with our new endeavor.

Even though I’m sure I don’t need to go for Finley’s sake, I feel like I need to be there. My wife is going to need someone to hug.

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Richland County Closed Transactions

April 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Closed Homes; March 11 – 31, 2010
This week I included everything in Richland County from $150,000 to over a bazzillion. As you will see, the search includes 79 closed transactions. If I had included everything (from $0 – a bazzillion), nearly 150 homes would be on the link.

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Cute Corner Druid Hills Home For Sale

March 30, 2010 by 1 Comment

2440 Craig Rd. is Intown and Move In Ready
This good looking all brick home on Craig Rd. has 1,886 sq.ft. and features 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. Of course more pics and info are everywhere online but here are some easy links to my CB site and Realtor.com.

2240 Craig Rd. sports many cool things that other homes in the area can’t touch. In my bias, the most glaring of these is the enormous master bedroom. As you can see from the photo above, the home has been “bumped out the back.” This bump-out has made for the huge master that may be close to 20′ long. Another awesome feature about the master is that it opens to the back deck (through french doors of course).

Looking further you’ll find a nicely finished area underneath the main level. This space can be used for a number of functions. If my family lived here it would probably serve as a ginormous “man room” and office. If Finley were a few years older it would be a huge play area with a “Wii Room.”

Before entering the marketplace the finished area beneath was rented out. With it’s own entrance and full bath, this could be a great income producing opportunity for the next owner.

This cute home sits on a desirable “corner cul-De-sac lot”. The backyard is a gentle slope and very large. Having such a large backyard and elevated back deck, this home presents a nice setting for BBQ’s and other outdoor gatherings.

2440 Craig Rd. is a fun home and 5 minutes to anything downtown. The owner of this home can qualify to send children to Brockman Elementary, an extremely popular public Montessori style school.

Please email fjones@cbunited.com or call if you have any questions or would like to view 2440 Craig Rd.

Thank you!

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$200/Round Caledonia Was Slammed

March 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

On Friday, six of us we made our way to the coast for a quick beach weekend. As usual, we had a great time relaxing and hanging out in a way that only the Litchfield/Pawley’s area can produce.

For a fleeting moment the guys thought about catching a round of golf. Almost every time we’re in the area we have our regular rotation of courses, with Caledonia Golf & Fish Club as a favorite.

When we inquired about a tee time we learned that Caledonia was proudly charging $200 a round. Yikes! I have to admit I was pretty surprised that even this top course had such a big price tag these days. In case you’re wondering…it was booked solid.

Good for Caledonia for being so popular. It just goes to show that when a superior product is produced, there is a market. Given its lush landscaping and awesome atmosphere, Caledonia is often called South Carolina’s “Augusta.”

As you can imagine we decided to let the snow birds enjoy this awesome track on Saturday. Even though we love playing a good round of golf, we’re (at least I’m not) quite good enough to pay this kind of coin for a round…especially when I know we’ll be back another day. Nevertheless, I know the players on the course enjoyed it as much as we always do.

In the end, we did have a little fun at Caledonia. Sunday afternoon, five of us watched the golfers finish #18 from the veranda (pictured above) while we enjoyed a delicious fish sandwich. 🙂
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State House Being Blackmailed? Hmm..

March 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Lawmakers Put S.C. on National Map Again
Today we learned that members of the SC Legislative Black Caucus have been calling high school seniors to inform them of the racial imbalance of the USC Board of Trustees. I have to admit, when I first read the headline I let go of the mouse, leaned forward and had to read the article again.

After shaking my head a little I leaned back and thought the same ole’, “Can’t we all just get along?” Hmmm….I guess time will tell.

I wrote a few points but given the sensitive nature of the subject I clicked it all away. This is an incredibly tangled web that includes public money, public officials, free educations from a public institution, a statewide and local community, paying fans, a network of paid coaches and professors, parents of athletes, and on and on. I guess I’ll leave it with the notion that perhaps the legislature needs to look into changing the system rather than hooking high school seniors (and therefore their parents) into a political poop fight.

There’s no question that the racial makeup of The Board of Trustees doesn’t reflect the snapshot of South Carolina or the diversity of USC. I just don’t know if this is the wisest action for the group to take.

On the surface, it seems the bigger picture may produce a larger negative than the immediate goal intends. Then again, perhaps all of the facets mentioned above are microscopic in the larger point the Caucus is trying to make. I guess it depends on who you ask.

Either way, I’m sure Coach Spurrier, Coach Beamer and the rest of USC’s recruiting team are frustrated, to say the least. Their jobs are hard enough without our own legislators undermining their hard work and long hours.

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