With the mortgage industry crisis topping the news recently, qualified real estate buyers have finally decided that now is the right time to crawl back out of the woodwork. Reports of competing buyer offers are on the rise again, which makes sense because these buyers are focused on the properties that are in good shape and priced to move.

Determining if the market is finally turning around is fairly straightforward. Is the amount of unsold inventory (i.e., listings) trending up or down? What about the number of sales? Number of days the property is on the market? And yes, finally… price.

A good example of a changing market right now would be Washington, DC. One of the hardest hit markets a year ago, the capitol district’s average days on market peaked at 108 days back in February to 75 days in August, and median prices are up a whopping 25% since a year ago August.

With sales along the Grand Strand down a whopping 27% in August 2007 over August a year ago, our buyer’s market is definitely not over, but properties that are in good condition and priced right have been moving in a reasonable amount of time.

And despite the media’s doom-and-gloom predictions, Myrtle Beach is every bit the desirable location it was two years ago - and with prices back to 2004 and 2005 levels, the Grand Strand is even more attractive than ever!

Selling your home - in any market - can be an exhausting experience, both emotionally and physically. But selling in today’s market, with lots of standing inventory, has become especially challenging for sellers and Realtors!

According to new Census bureau data, the vacancy rate of homes for sale is at its highest level since the bureau began tracking it forty years ago. This is not good news for property sellers. The prospect of sitting on a house that doesn’t sell for months on end is frightening, and takes an emotional toll on the seller. But here are our top nine ways to avoid emotional turmoil and sell your property for top dollar.

• 1. Establishing the appropriate selling price for your home is critical! Initially setting the price too high inhibits offers and causes a house to sit on the market and become known as a ’stale’ listing. Setting the price too low may give away thousands of dollars in profit. Either way you lose.
• 2. Accessibility is key. In today’s competitive market, buyers who can’t get easy access to view a home will move on and look - and purchase - elsewhere. Remember, the more accessible you make your home, the greater your chances become for finding a qualified buyer who will pay a fair price for it.
• 3. A buyer’s first impression is everything. Many sales are lost because of cluttered rooms that weren’t de-cluttered, unpleasant odors that weren’t addressed, and thorough cleaning inside and out that wasn’t done! If a buyer is able to look beyond these things, and makes an offer on your home, it will almost certainly be for much less than you’d expect.
• 4. Minor repairs and simple maintenance will often yield more than double the repair cost at the time of sale. Buyers buy what they see. They always perceive repair costs to be higher than they usually are, and makes them wonder what else you haven’t fixed. Simple repairs not being taken care of ahead of time can easily lower an offer on your home by thousands of dollars.
• 5. If your home isn’t warm, inviting, and presented in ’showcase condition’ to highlight the homes best features, it will make a huge impact on buyers’ perception of value . . . again resulting in a lower offer on the home.
• 6. You must remember that once you put your home on the market, you can no longer view it as ‘your’ home. You need to depersonalize the space so the buyers can imagine themselves living there. It is a product to be sold, and should be viewed as a dollar and cents business transaction.
• 7. Every market is controlled by supply and demand. Right now our supply is greater than demand. Buyers are taking this opportunity to shop dozens of homes to compare prices and value. It is imperative that you offer them a home that is in ’showcase condition’, generating a greater perceived value.
• 8. Sellers - and Realtors - who continue to rely solely on traditional methods to market their home will be outperformed by those willing to be innovative in this competitive market. Thinking outside the box in order to find new strategies for attracting potential buyers will greatly increase your chances for a more profitable sale. Be creative with your listing. Offer a home warranty (or other ways to help your buyer sleep well at night) in return for their submitting a serious offer (by being preapproved for financing). Remember, time is money, and why waste time, effort and emotion negotiating with a buyer who ultimately can’t buy?
• 9. Signing with the right real estate agent is key to having a pleasant, profitable selling experience. Their knowledge, marketing methods, negotiating strategy and willingness to go the extra mile can have a huge impact on your success and the profitability of your sale. Choose wisely!

Knowledge can make all the difference in the successful sale of your home. A little time spent now on properly preparing your home as a product to be sold – and a coherent marketing strategy - can save countless hours of frustration . . . and thousands of dollars in profit!

Did you miss the Beach Boogie & BBQ event over Labor Day weekend? This end-of-summer event that draws the annual Myrtle Beach Sun Fun Festival to a close was a huge success and a jewel in the crown of our Chamber of Commerce and the local Shriners. Price & Company Realty’s Tom & Linda Hammond were there!

When we arrived, we were greeted at the handicapped parking area by a truly happy gentleman. As we walked around we were continually greeted by friendly folks, who were thoroughly enjoying themselves, while working to see that all of the guests had a great day. Everything was planned perfectly. Parking was well laid-out with plenty of shuttle busses and golf carts to take you where you wanted to go; driven by happy, courteous people!

The Wheels At The Beach Antique Car Show was terrific! I fell in love with a 1960 white Corvette with silver inserts and black leather upholstery.

Interspersed along the wandering paths around the lake and fountain were local vendors, set up in tents and displaying their wares, including jewelry, games and food. The vendors themselves were an outstanding group of friendly folks having a great time.

Beach music abounded for the entire day, featuring local bands and vocal groups including The Embers, The Footnotes and The Sound Factory. I loved hearing those old sounds that bring back memories of time spent shagging on the beach. Also included on the slate of performers was a marvelous little 7 1/2 year old girl with a great big voice named Gabbie Rae. Remember her name; you’ll be hearing about her again!

Let’s not forget about the food! On Friday, there was the Anything But Pork competition, but Saturday featured the Official Barbeque Competition of South Carolina, called Smoke On The Beach, which made the whole place smell delicious! This was a good thing, since there was barbeque for sale everywhere you looked throughout the event site. But the food highlight was the International Federation of Competitive Eating’s BBQ Sandwich Eating Championship. The winner ate 45 sandwiches in just 10 minutes, followed close behind by a young professional eater with 43.5 sandwiches and a tiny lady professional eater with 25. A local man, non-professional, managed to eat 23 sandwiches in 10 minutes. That means that the winner ate four and a half sandwiches per minute! He is now the World Champion Pulled Pork Sandwich Eater as well as Coney Island Hot Dog Eater Champion!

Kids were well entertained with inflatable rides, games, balloon art, spider jump, tethered hot air balloon rides and more at the Wendy’s Kids Zone.

The success of this festival, only in its second year, is a fine example of how well our community works together to show off our beach and entertainment to the rest of the world. To everyone involved: Well Done!

This Labor Day weekend, take two minutes out of your day to go to www.LetsSayThanks.com. Pick out a thank you card design, and Xerox will print and mail it to a member of our armed forces currently serving in Iraq . Best of all, it costs you nothing. Whatever your political persuasion, and your feelings about the war, our troops can always use tangible evidence of our support!