Everyone agrees that South Carolina needs more teachers, but now the state is doing what it can to lure new teachers here with generous housing assistance.

The state Housing Authority is making $20 million available for home loans to new teachers. This works out to be approximately 175 new loans (i.e., new teachers) this year, which will feature a 5.9% interest rate and up to $7,000 in down payment assistance (including the possibility of not having to pay the down payment back). Loan amounts of up to $240,000 are available from more than 200 South Carolina lenders.

Price & Company Realty knows a little somthing about teachers. Just ask our very own Bill Lagan.

Census Bureau data released last week show that Myrtle Beach continues to outpace most metropolitan areas in growth - despite the gloom and doom perpetuated by our friends in the national media.

The fastest-growing areas in the United States are in the Sunbelt. Experts credit much of the growth in the South to strong local economies and housing prices that are the most affordable in the United States.

The ten fastest-growing metro areas in the country are:

1. Palm Coast, Fla.: 7.2 percent
2. St. George, Utah: 5.1 percent
3. Raleigh-Cary, N.C.: 4.7 percent
4. Gainesville, Ga.: 4.5 percent
5. Austin-Round Rock, Texas: 4.3 percent
6. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C.: 4.2 percent
7. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.: 4.2 percent
8. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.: 4 percent
9. Grand Junction, Colo.: 3.7 percent
10. Clarksville, Tenn.-Ky.: 3.7 percent

We received an email this morning from an owner of a condo in a waterway community here in Myrtle Beach. His HOA announced insurance rates for 2008 and he was kind enough to share the numbers with us. The difference was as dramatic as it was expected… and you can hear a big sigh of relief from Myrtle Beach real estate owners and investors alike. Take a look:

” …received competitive bids from three carriers and we selected the one with the best coverage for the dollar. The new policy cost is $163,037, which represents a significant savings from our 2007 policy cost of $360,000 and a huge savings from the $917,000 policy that we had in 2006.”

The long-awaited Hard Rock Park soft-opens today. As Myrtle Beach’s first full-scale theme park, excitement is high and the park expects to draw more than 40,000 visitors each day. It’s sure to make the top five list of what to do in Myrtle Beach for many returning and new visitors to this beachfront town.

But there is another option in Myrtle Beach that should not be forgotten with all of the hoopla surrounding the “New Kid” in town. Our area is also home to a seaside gem, Family Kingdom.

More than 40 years ago, when Family Kingdom was built, seaside amusement parks were commonplace and virtually every beachfront resort town from Maine to Florida had one. But today there are fewer than twenty oceanside parks along the entire East Coast, making Family Kingdom all the more special. Its oceanfront location is unique; its wholesome atmosphere is appealing to families, and its status as Trip Advisor’s “#5 Amusement Park” in the country (outside Orlando) distinguishes it from all other coastal attractions between Virginia and Florida.

Family Kingdom offers attractions that parents will remember well, and that today’s kids should absolutely experience: the legendary Swamp Fox wooden roller coaster, the largest Ferris wheel in the state of South Carolina, and more than thirty other rides and attractions. It offers a complete amusement park experience with midway games, family entertainment and traditional park temptations such as funnel cakes, cotton candy and corndogs.

For some, Hard Rock’s $50 admission fee will be hard to swallow. Family Kingdom’s “no general admission” is a budget-friendly policy that enables families to stroll the midway affordably, buying tickets by the ride or purchasing unlimited-ride wristbands.

Family Kingdom is taking advantage of Hard Rock’s opening by using a new tagline for this summer: “Nothing Rocks Like Family!” Now, now. We say that there’s room in this town for both of you!

Visit them both at Hard Rock Park and Family Kingdom.

Time to make more room in the award storage cabinet.

Southern Living’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards, which reflect the view of the magazine’s 47,000 readers, announced for 2008 that Myrtle Beach is second only to Walt Disney World as a family vacation destination.

This just confirms what those of you who are lucky enough to vacation here with kids already know… and why the Myrtle Beach real estate market is poised for a spectacular rebound once the media moves on to a new whipping boy.