Natural Home Mag Honors Navy Yard at Noisette

The new North Charleston development was chosen as one of the magazine's Top Ten Eco-Friendly Neighborhoods! Here's why:

"Located on the former Charleston Naval Base, this 340-acre brownfield redevelopment will house 7,000 families and become part of the city’s sustainable urban revitalization. All structures are built to a minimum LEED Silver standard.

• Mixture of housing price points
• Some solar and geothermal energy offered
• Green roof and bioswales connected to water retention area to control stormwater flooding and improve water quality
• Within walking distance of public transit systems, schools,civic centers
• Native, chemical-free landscaping"

For the full Natural Home Magazine article: http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/Inspiration/2008-01-01/Top_10.aspx?page=2

For the Navy Yard at Noisette website: http://www.navyyardsc.com/

For Troy's website committed to the area: http://www.parkcircleonline.com/

If you're in the market for a cool addition, read on. These are the latest and greatest in the Jetsons home trend market. Ah, the simple life!


"At the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., last week, more than 1,900 exhibitors showed new and innovative products. 'Many people are renovating,' says Stephen Treffinger, contributing editor for technology and design at the trendy Domino magazine. 'New construction is down. These kinds of things make people feel like they're doing something super-special. It's almost as good as building a new room.'


Here are some of the new products that attendees found the most interesting:

• TurboChef, a do-it-all single oven, cooks up to 15 times as fast as a conventional oven by mixing high-speed heated air with precise microwave blasts. Unlike a regular microwave, it can brown and sear. It’s 30 inches wide, costs $5,995 and comes in 200 custom colors.


• ThermoSpa is a 53-inch-deep hot tub that lets a user soak and work out at the same time. It comes with optional attachments, including a rowing machine and a treadmill. Prices start at $17,000.


• DTV II (digital thermostatic valve) is a computerized control panel for a shower. The computer controls water temperature, water flow, music, mood lights, and steam. It cost $10,000 plus installation.


• Gen Alert Plus, made by Briggs & Stratton, is a device that connects to an outdoor generator and will call a phone number to let the home owner know that there’s a problem with the system or if it has kicked in because of a power failure. The system also allows a home owner to reset a home thermostat, even if it isn’t directly connected to the generator."

For the Realtor Magazine Online article: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008022503?OpenDocument

Housing Stocks Looking Up, Very Good Sign

As we in the Lowcountry read this it is significant to bear in mind that our markets have avoided the wilder fluctuations in much of the rest of the country, so as the wider market is coming out of its downward trend our markets can be expected to be stronger, faster. More evidence of why I always say that here and now more than ever reasonable real estate is always a good investment!

"Investors who bought housing stocks at the beginning of the year after two and a half years of steep declines are being rewarded for their prescience.

As the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates, the stocks of home builders Toll Brothers, Lennar, and Hovnanian rose 40 percent, 52 percent, and 96 percent respectively. Some analysts believe these increases portend sunnier days ahead for the entire housing industry.

'What took us into this malaise will be what takes us out,' Bill Miller, portfolio manager for the Legg Mason Value Trust, wrote this week in a letter to the fund's shareholders. 'Housing stocks peaked in the summer of 2005 and were the first group to start down. Now housing stocks are one of the few areas in the market that are up for the year.'

'Stocks are predictive of the industry about six to nine months ahead of time,' adds Justin Walters of Bespoke Investment Group in Harrison, N.Y. He says he is bullish on the sector, noting that house-price futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have been forecasting a bottom in house prices in many U.S. markets toward the end of 2008.

Source: Fortune, Colin Barr (02/14/08)"

To read this article in Realtor Magazine Online: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2008021501?OpenDocument

2008 Home Trends

O.k. a fair portion of this article is devoted to discussion of consumer usage and green trends, and that's all important to know in the real estate business. On the other hand, it's just fun to listen in on the design industry chatter every now and then to spot a trend on the horizon, watch it blaze across the sky and fade sheepishly, joining avocado and hot pink in their dated twilight.

"Wenge, it’s been good to know you. Sunken Jacuzzis, we had some good times. Blue and brown, I can’t believe it’s over. But after a couple of years of same-old, same-old on the home-front, winds of change are blowing in. Some are driven by fashion, others by economic conditions and lifestyle shifts.

2008 will see waves of mainstream homeowners going green to save green, according to Ann Mack, director of trend spotting at JWT, a New York advertising firm. What Mack describes as a desire for 'Prius homes' is being driven in part by financial incentives. 'Major banks are offering energy-efficient mortgages for homeowners,' Mack said. Some changes are product-based (installing solar panels), while others are behavioral (holding out longer in summer before turning on the AC).

The way we interact with technology will significantly alter interior landscapes this year, experts say. In November, The Wall Street Journal published a story called 'Au Revoir, Armoire,' documenting the large-scale dumping of clunky TV closets in the new flat-panel era.
Michelle Lamb predicted the demise of the armoire in her trendspotting blog (michellelamb.typepad.com) nearly three years before the WSJ article was published. She’s already calling the next piece of furniture that will become obsolete: 'Desks. We don’t need them, now that laptops are replacing PCs.' You read it here first.

Lamb, chairman of Minneapolis-based Marketing Directions, says this is the year we say goodbye to dark, Pottery Barn wood stains. 'There are two things going on: Deep, dark wenge had a long run-it’s time to move on. The other thing has to do with how we perceive wood and use it in decorating,' she said. Homeowners are looking for dramatic graining and patterning highlighted by lighter, natural finishes.

Also on its way out in `08: the powerhouse blue-and-brown color scheme. What will take its place? 'Yellow and gray with white as a foil,' she said. (Martha Stewart is already there, as evidenced by the cover of her January Living magazine.) For more adventurous tastes, Lamb predicts layered blues, moving into purples, will be big, as will the purple-and-red combination."

For the full RISMedia Real Estate News story: http://rismedia.com/wp/2008-02-05/whats-hot-whats-not-spotting-the-new-home-trends-of-08/

"Peeling Back the Past"

Part of the charm of a place where people have lived for so long is finding evidence of those who have come before. I think that my favorite find in this article is the message from the German POWs – read on for the whole story!

"Imagine a day 200 years from now, when earnest anthropologists start combing the hallways, garages, and kitchens of 'historic homes' once occupied by folks who packed Lowe’s charge cards and pored over Restoration Hardware catalogues. Why, they’ll wonder, did they cover up these pink and black tiles? How, they’ll muse, did stainless steel become such a rage? They’ll ponder motivations as they chip away at fake parquet.

Indeed, the structures in which we live have many secrets to tell. And it’s this wealth of knowledge—these glimmers of the past—that attract so many of us to the historic buildings that grace Charleston. Once-modern life is now revealed, if only in whispers and echoes, as we dig up gardens and pull up and repair old floorboards.

What follows is a patchwork quilt of treasures revealed in a handful of old buildings and yards. These secrets rested, sometimes for more than a century, in the nooks and crannies of walls, floors, even trees. As one local anthropologist noted, Charleston is full of such untold stories: 'You can scarcely walk down a sidewalk without kicking up something old and interesting.'"

For the full Charleston magazine story: http://charlestonmag.com/feature1.html

Commuter Rail Coming to Charleston?

It's amazing to consider the difference a good commuter rail service could make in Lowcountry real estate. What if the commute from Summerville or Moncks Corner was an easy 30 minute ride, instead of an hour in nightmarish traffic? I love being a part of the exciting growth of my favorite city!

"The phrase 'commuter rail' has been hot on Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.’s lips recently, but with so many policy decisions up in the air, most notably about who would foot the multimillion-dollar bill, it seems that train is still a long time a-comin’. 'We must do it now,' Riley said last month during his ninth swearing-in ceremony in downtown Charleston.

For years, local political and business leaders have discussed the possibility of commuter rail as a transportation option that could help thin traffic congestion on Interstate 26. Still, the reality is that commuter rail has yet to move beyond the study phase.

In a June 2006 report commissioned by the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, the price for rail service between Summerville and downtown Charleston was pegged at $45.8 million. That amount did not include the cost of utility modifications, land acquisition or construction.

The same company that wrote the report, North Charleston-based Wilbur Smith Associates, is now conducting a second study examining the feasibility of extending service to Moncks Corner on behalf of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments. There are no available cost estimates for the service.

None of the studies has looked at the possibility of rail service connecting to Mount Pleasant, but the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge was designed in such a way that a rail line could be added beneath the bridge for light-rail service, Smith said.

A commuter rail service in the Charleston area would likely run on existing freight rail lines, specifically the Norfolk Southern Corp. line that runs parallel to I-26 from near Summerville to downtown and the CSX Corp. rail line that runs along U.S. Highway 52 to Moncks Corner.

'One of the challenges is to work out an operating schedule with the freight operator,' said Jeffrey Burns, senior planner with COG. Additionally, Burns said, COG is about to kick off another study funded through a $450,000 federal grant that will examine ridership interest in the tri-county area. The firm selected to administer the study will interview regular CARTA bus riders and also conduct phone polls to gauge interest in commuter rail service.

The intensive study phase is necessary, Burns said, because there is relatively stiff competition among cities for Federal Transportation Authority funds to implement commuter rail service. The federal government generally funds about 80% of capital construction costs, but on a discretionary basis, Burns said.

'We’re on course,' he said. 'I think this is a huge step in our region’s development.'"

For the full Charleston Regional Business Journal article: http://charlestonbusiness.com/pub/14_3/news/11316-1.html

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition!

Unwilling to rest on their laurels, SEWE just keeps getting better and better with great interactive exhibits in Marion Square and emphasis on family-friendly fun. Hope to see you there!

"Now in its 26th year, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition has grown to be the largest event of its kind in the nation, attracting over 500 artists and exhibitors from around the globe who present their offerings to over 40,000 attendees. A 3-day celebration of nature that has earned a reputation for excellence, SEWE now hosts the world's foremost experts in wildlife and nature art, as well as conservation research and environmental education."

To view the SEWE video: http://www.sewe.com/default.asp

"Cool Houses Daily"

Most of the time I try to share really useful information and keep a fairly tight focus on the Lowcountry, but every now and then I come across something that's just too much fun not to share! Check this out:

"Looking for a cool place to call home but unsure what you want? Inspiration strikes each day on Cool Houses Daily. A new theme and a new set of cool houses debuts each day, Monday-Friday."

Here's the link: http://www.frontdoor.com/news/article/432

Review Your School's Report Card

For plain facts and hard data on the performance of SC schools the SC Education Oversight Committee Searchable Report Card Database is an excellent resource! The report cards are searchable by county, district and individual school with advanced options that narrow the range to certain grades and by Poverty Index as well.

To offer a general idea of who compiles and publishes the report cards, I've copied the following from their home page:

"The South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (EOC) is an independent, nonpartisan group made up of 18 educators, business people, and elected officials who have been appointed by the legislature and governor to enact the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998. The Act sets standards for improving the state's K-12 educational system.

The EOC provides regular, routine and ongoing review of the state's education improvement process, assesses how our schools are doing and evaluates the standards our schools must meet to build the education system needed to compete in the next century. The committee accomplishes its work through three subcommittees and the full committee. Each of the subcommittees addresses issues that support higher levels of student achievement."

For the SC Education Oversight Committee website: http://eoc.sc.gov/

For the School Report Cards Searchable Database: https://ssl.sc.gov/SchoolReportCards/