Blog | Myrtle Beach Homes | Carolina Forest Homes

Sep 19 2017

Professional Photography Now Added To Listing Services

When it comes to selling a Myrtle Beach Home, it’s important to hire an agent that can deliver the best chance of selling your home for the highest price in the quickest time possible. Statistics show that now more than 92% of all buyers & sellers go online to shop before ever contacting a Myrtle Beach REALTOR®. To help deliver even more value to my sellers, I have recently began hiring a professional photographer to help give my listings a huge advantage over the competition.

Now, my clients that have hired me in the past have done so because of my ability to expose their home online to over 40,000 people within the first 24 hours of listing their home for sale. They like the fact that I have all the professional equipment needed to take professional photos, and to also create awesome videos like I did for the Waterbridge community. I have to admit, I really enjoy doing these sorts of things and find it a lot of fun to get in touch with my creative side and take the photos. I really enjoy spending the time editing the images, cropping, straightening them, and all the other fun tech side of taking photos. Honestly, I can do a pretty decent job with the photos too. Here’s one I recently took for a recent listing.

So, while ability isn’t the reason for me giving up taking my photos, what is the actual reason for me hiring someone? At the end of the day, I simply am getting to the point in my business that I do not have the time to spend doing these items. On average I was spending anywhere from 3-4 hours getting my gear together, going to the listing, taking the photos, and then editing them after. Instead, I need to focus that time & energy on finding prospective buyers for my listings and getting them under contract. So about 4 months ago, I started hiring a professional photographer to take images of my listings. While it is an expense to me as the listing agent to hire someone, I have found that I would rather focus my time on doing everything possible on exposing my listings to as many people as possible.

Since hiring a professional photographer to take images of my listings, I have been able to really focus on getting my listings under contract and sold for my sellers. In just the last two months I’ve been able to sell all of my listings but one. By hiring a professional real estate photographer, I’ve been able to free up several hours each month that gives me more time to work on reaching out to prospective buyers and find clients interested in purchasing my listings.

Not to mention, the professional photographers have even better equipment than I do. While I have a lot of gear, I don’t always have the proper gear for each situation and usually would have to improvise to get the right lighting by bringing along large work lights and reflector shields and all other types of equipment, whereas a pro will come with their camera on a tripod, and some external flashes to get the job done. I used to waste hours loading gear in and out of the car and and & out of the properties.

If you are thinking of selling a home in Myrtle Beach, contact me at 843-222-9402 and we can discuss in greater detail how my marketing plan can get your home exposed to my database of over 40,000 people online within the first 24 hours of listing your property for sale. We will discuss how to price your home properly to get it sold for the most amount of money in the quickest time possible.

Listing Update

Remember the property I mentioned in the video above being listed? Well, the photos turned out great, I shared with an agent in my office and we were able to put the property under contract in less than 24 hours with a cash offer site unseen. Professional photography works!

Jul 12 2017

The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk

When visiting Myrtle Beach, the one iconic areas of land is the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. While the actual boardwalk opened in 2010, many of the businesses that sit along the boardwalk have been there for over 30+ years. This is a segment along the ocean in Myrtle Beach that is 1.2 miles long and runs from 1st Ave N to 14th Ave N.

The crowning jewel along the boardwalk is the Skywheel which standing 187 feet tall and lights up the sky during the night. From inside one of the 42 climate controlled gondolas, you can see most of the city behind you as well as for miles out into the ocean and up and down the coast.

Some other fun things to do along the Boardwalk is a trip to the Fun Plaza where you can enjoy some of the old style arcade games that were popular back in the 70’s & 80’s. If you are looking for a great place to play some old school games, this is definitely the spot in Myrtle Beach. If live concerts is more your style, you can catch some great bands along the beach on many weekends during the summer. There are also many great places for shopping and a bite to eat like the iconic Peaches Corner.

There definitely is plenty to do along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk to keep you and your family entertained for days. Make sure to check it all out on your next visit!

Jun 29 2017

Where To See Fireworks In Myrtle Beach 2017

It’s almost 4th of July here in Myrtle Beach, SC and one of the top questions people from out of town are asking, is where should I go to see fireworks in Myrtle Beach. There are tons of places where you can go to see the skies light up, but in my opinion as someone who has lived here for almost 20 years, some displays are better than others. Now, the reasons that some are better than others isn’t because it has more fireworks, or they go longer, or use better equipment, but as a father of three, I look at other things when picking where we are going to go see fireworks.

My comments below are made primarily based on these criteria:

How easy is it to get a good spot for my family to view the fireworks display for the family.
Can I find parking easily in an area that is safe for us to walk down together as a family.
How much will it cost me to park?
How easy will it be to keep an eye on my kids before, during, & after.

That’s basically the main things our family considers when watching a show. Our kids will be happy seeing fireworks anywhere they go. In fact last year because of some family issues, we simply went in the back yard & watched our neighbors set off a rather fantastic display. Our kids were beyond delighted by those.

Where to see fireworks in North Myrtle Beach

If you are on the northern end of the beach, you can see great shows at two places. Barefoot Landing starts their show at 9:30PM. There are plenty of places to find a good spot to watch from around the lake the awesome display they do. What I would suggest is making an evening out of it by showing up early evening, picking a restaurant to eat and then do some shopping around the area. If you wait till 9PM and then try to show up here, you are going to have a hard time finding a place to park and a really hard time finding somewhere to stand with your family to watch. There are plenty of places to go eat, one of my favorites is of course Wild Wing Cafe. (Try The Boss Flavor, my favorite!) In fact, you can catch fireworks here every Monday evening if you would like during the summer.

Another good spot on the northern end is the Cherry Grove Fishing Pier. This show begins at 9:30PM and will be right on the beach. So dip your toes in the sand and watch a great show. Since I live down on the southern end of the beach, I’ve never been to this one, but I know a lot of people who have gone and really liked this spectacle.

Where to see fireworks in Myrtle Beach

In Myrtle Beach, there are a couple of places to catch some great fireworks displays. I’ve been to all of these over the past few years and I have to admit, they all put on a great show. The first place you can see a show is at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans game. The show will directly follow the game. Obviously, to see these fireworks, you would need to purchase a ticket to the game, but you can also see our champion Myrtle Beach Pelicans play. Honestly, there’s not a bad seat at all in the entire building.

The next place where you can go see fireworks in Myrtle Beach is at the Second Avenue Pier. The show here starts around 10pm. I will share from experience, this show can become rather chaotic. It’s an awesome show out over the ocean, but it’s pretty crazy down on the beach. I remember trying to find a place to park a few years back and finally finding a space at a local business. We pulled in and were told that if we wanted to park there, we needed to come in and use the business. So, I went into the bar to purchase a soda, but didn’t have any cash on me. Their minimum purchase for using a card was $20.00. Yeah, I paid $20 that day for a soda, but it was worth it to finally have a parking space and not have to keep searching after already spending 30 minutes driving up and down every street within a mile of each side of the pier.

The third place inside Myrtle Beach that is a great spot to see fireworks is over at Broadway at the Beach. They put on a tremendous show over the lake that will start at 10PM. During the summer you can see fireworks every Tuesday evening here. With the way Broadway is laid out, you honestly can see the show nicely from anywhere on site. There are bunches of great things to do here throughout the day/evening, so plan on making it an all day affair.

As I mentioned the other day in a post, my personal favorite spot for watching the show at Broadway is from Ripley’s Aquarium outside deck. There are plenty of tables/chairs for you to relax, it’s fenced in and normally isn’t that full. If you wonder what the show looks like from there, here is a clip from last year’s show. If you can’t tell by the jumping, my son really liked the show.

Where to see fireworks south of Myrtle Beach

Down in Murrells Inlet, there is a great show that takes place as well along the Marshwalk. This show will start at 10 and is located at the end of Veterans Pier in Murrells Inlet. I’ve gone to this show before and while it was very nice, it was once again very difficult to find a place to park and I remember walking along side of the road in the dark being extra careful of drivers coming by.

You can also see fireworks in Surfside Beach at the Surfside Beach Pier. It starts at 10PM. I’ve never been to this show, but I’m assuming the city of Surfside Beach puts on a great show like all the other places in Horry County. Once again, I’ve had friends delighted by this display in the air.

Where else to see fireworks in Grand Strand & Pee Dee

If you are wanting to find some fireworks displays in areas that might not be right along the coast, there are plenty of those options out there as well. Our local news has given a complete list of places all along the Grand Strand & Pee Dee where you can see shows. Click here for the full list of places to see fireworks along The Grand Strand.

Please remember, if you are going to be enjoying the Fourth of July at home and setting off your own, please do so responsibly and safely. Fireworks are nothing to play around with. They could cause serious injury.

Happy Fourth!

photo by: EpicFireworks

Jun 27 2017

Broadway At The Beach Changes For 2017

If you have visited Myrtle Beach over the past 22 years, then my guess is that you are familiar with Broadway At The Beach and all of the amazing things there are available to do. However, if you have visited in the past and are planning a trip back to Myrtle Beach expecting to go visit the Pyramid, you will be hard pressed to find it. Over the past year, the section of Broadway known as Celebrity Square has been completely renovated and give a major overhaul.

Gone is the giant pyramid that used to be Hard Rock Cafe and it has been replaced by a brand new building housing the all new Dave & Buster’s. Here you can enjoy a tasty meal and hours of endless fun playing games or watching your favorite sporting event on one of the many TV’s throughout. I recently visited here with my Broker for lunch and the Classic Goldfingers were delicious. He had the Bang Bang Chicken with Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles which also looked very good.

If you are sad about the removal of Hard Rock Cafe, do not fret, Hard Rock Cafe simply moved down the street to a brand new location which can be seen from afar by the giant 40′ giant red rotating guitar. You can still catch live entertainment here and have the full rock star experience that you have grown to love. During the summer, it looks like they have live entertainment almost every evening.

Back in the winter of 2016, the Wahlburgers family owned by Mark, Donnie & executive chef Paul Wahlberg opened their doors at Broadway At The Beach. Stop by there and enjoy a delicious burger. My personal favorite is the O.F.D or Originally from “Dorchestah”. Of course the sweet potato tots and the mac ‘n cheese with smoked bacon are a must to making any meal better too.

Another recent addition that opened is Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen. This restaurant features southern cuisine at it’s finest in a family style dining experience. After looking at their menu, the fried chicken and fried catfish have my mouth watering to go & give it a try. Of course, I’m sure Paula adds a pound of butter to everything, because we all know, butter makes everything better.

Now if you are thinking that all of your favorite things to do at Broadway have been shut down, you will be glad to know that they are all still there. You can still go enjoy going underwater with the sharks & see the mermaids at Ripley’s Aquarium, catching a new flick at Broadway 17 Cinemas, or going upside down at Wonderworks upside down house.

Fireworks At Broadway At The Beach

Another great thing to check out at Broadway At The Beach during the summer is the fireworks display that they do every Tuesday evening at 10PM over the lake. We haven’t been able to catch one yet this year, but below you can see a video snippet from when we saw one of the shows last year. You can see my how excited my son was during this show by all the jumping he did. The shows are great to catch and are free. Our favorite place to catch the fireworks is from the deck at Ripley’s Aquarium after visiting with the sharks & rays.

A tip from a local: If you watch the fireworks from Ripley’s, you can also enjoy a free bag of popcorn and a soft drink that they provide during the show.

Jun 14 2017

Myrtle Beach Real Estate Market Minute- May 2017

How is the real estate market in Myrtle Beach these days? Well, I’m glad you asked. In the video below, I will give you an update of how things are doing in comparison to the month before in our local market. I tried to keep the video short and to the point so obviously that means I could not give a bunch of details in the video. Check it out.

Single Family Homes In May

Here’s the stats I shared in the video for single family homes in Myrtle Beach:

Current Active Homes June 13, 2017: 3,911
SOLD single family homes during May 2017: 823
Average SOLD price for May 2017: $251,695
Increase of 87 more homes SOLD over month prior.
Average SOLD price increased $16,125 over month prior.

Condos in May

The condo market also saw some great increases during May:

Current Active Condos June 13, 2017: 3,704
SOLD condos during May 2017: 559
Average SOLD condo price for May 2017: $147,421
Increase of 42 more condos SOLD over month prior.
Average SOLD price increased $1,003 over month prior.

Wrap Up

As you can see, the Myrtle Beach real estate market is pretty strong right now and is continuing to increase month over month. Over the past few years we have seen increases in home values of 7%-10% each per year. If you have been thinking of buying a home in the area, you might want to consider talking to a Myrtle Beach REALTOR® soon as home prices are going up as well as interest rates on mortgages. As this trend continues, your ability to purchase will continue to decrease. Contact me today for to get your search started or call me at 843-222-9402 now.