Blog | Myrtle Beach Homes | Carolina Forest Homes

Jun 24 2014

The Importance Of Online Marketing To Selling a Myrtle Beach Home

It’s no secret that selling your Myrtle Beach home can be a difficult task to do on your own. With all the new regulations on financing, and laws in place. With that being said, selecting the right real estate agent to sell your home is imperative. One of the most effective parts of selling a home is how the property is being marketed on the internet. Below is a list of items that are helping to sell homes. If you are thinking of selling your home, you may want to print this out to ask the real estate agent if your home will be marketed in these places.

Real Estate Website– Does the agent have an effective website that is drawing in buyers? Recent statistics show over 85% of all buyers begin their real estate search on the internet before even contacting an agent. Also ask the agent if they have their own domain name website instead of just the website provided by the company. For my team we have MyrtleBeachHomesBlog.com plus our local company, RE/MAX Southern Shores website. In addition, we have exposure the RE/MAX national site.
Real Estate 2.0- Social Networks & other websites are rapidly gaining in popularity. Buyers are using sites like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn & Twitter to find out the information about a community, the agent, and the surrounding areas before making contact with a real estate agent. Our use of social media helps expose our listings to our connections on Social Media which is now over 37,000!
Real Estate Blog– Buyers who begin their online searches are finding blogs each and every day with the information they are interested in. On average, consumers read over 27 blog posts every week. They are going to major search engines entering the keywords for information they want. If you have shared content related to the terms the consumer is searching, you have the potential to be found and gain their business.

Remember these three areas of effective marketing in the current real estate market. Unfortunately, just like many things in life, what is effective at one time may not work anymore now. You need an agent that stays on top of the market and keeps track of what is and is not working in selling homes.

An article I read in our local paper a while back confirmed that our marketing efforts are targeted in the right direction. The article shared about how the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce is focusing over 60% of their advertising towards internet marketing. 23.2% towards tv, 7% for newspapers, 5% on magazines 3% on radio & 1.8% on billboards. Just as the chamber has come to realize, in order to be effective with marketing the focus needs to be on internet advertising!

So in closing, when you are deciding on an agent to sell your Myrtle Beach Home, make sure that they have a strong online presence to help take your Myrtle Beach Home from listed to sold by giving your home it’s greatest exposure online.

photo by: bsabarnowl

Jun 24 2014

Plantation Lakes Home Market Report June 2014

Plantation Lakes is one of the more popular home communities in the Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach. Currently, Plantation Lakes has over 40 homes for sale ranging in price from a low of $329,500 up to $1,150,000. The current average listing price is $512,016 and median listing price in Plantation Lakes is currently $459,000.

Of the current 40+ homes for sale in Plantation Lakes, surprisingly only four of the listings are 3 bedroom homes. In contrast, there are currently twenty-five listings in Plantation Lakes that are 4 bedroom homes. In addition, there are ten 5 bedroom and two 6 bedrooms currently for sale.

Here are the 6 most expensive homes currently for sale in Plantation Lakes:

Plantation Lakes Homes That Have Sold

While it’s great to see so many Plantation Lakes homes for sale, the question sellers want answered is: What Plantations Lakes Homes Are Selling & For Home Much? According to the MLS, in the past two months, eleven homes have sold in Plantation Lakes ranging in price from a low price of $285,000 to a high sold price of $600,000. The average price for homes sold in Plantation Lakes is $404,008 and the median price is $395,900.

One thing I found interesting about the data I reviewed on homes in this community was the Days on Market (DOM). There was a huge range in days DOM that went from a low of 30 days to a high of 877 days! The median DOM however was still rather high at 230 days.

If you would like more information on homes for sale in Plantation Lakes, I’ve already done some custom searches to help make your job easier on finding the perfect home or lot for sale in Plantation Lakes below:

If you are thinking of selling your Plantation Lakes home and would like more information on the current value of your home, fill out this form to find out what your home is worth and receive a free market analysis for your home in Plantation Lakes.

Jun 23 2014

7 Tips To Selling Your Myrtle Beach Home

Selling a Myrtle Beach Home can sometimes be difficult, so I thought I would share a few tips on how to make your house an “Exceptional Buy.” Hopefully these tips will help sell your Myrtle Beach home quicker and closer to the listing price.

1. Price home correctly. Price is definitely king when it comes to selling your Myrtle Beach home. With a strong inventory of homes on the market, you need to be priced correctly in order to sell a home quickly. For example, if you have a 2 bedroom condominium for sale in a building where there are 25 other units just like yours, why would someone pay $50,000 more for yours?

2. Make the outside of your home special. First impressions are so imperative. If you saw these two properties listed for sale for the same price, which would you want to see?

3. Make your home like new. Since there is a large inventory of homes available, buyers are not as interested in fixer upper homes right now unless the home is listed at an incredible price. Instead, they want a home that looks like new and is in move-in condition. Carpet & paint allowances are no longer as effective as they once were. Instead, having all the work done ahead of time is becoming more profitable. If you offer an allowance, the buyers will want the allowance as well as take the amount to replace/repair the property off their asking price.

4. Everyday when you leave your home, leave it as though today is the day my house sells! You never know when a buyer may show up that wants to see your home. If they are only in town for that day, it is so crucial that buyers are able to see your home in its best state. Here are a few pointers for the inside:

Make sure all the beds are made.
Fold and put away all laundry.
Place all dirty dishes into the dishwasher.
Clean up the childrens toys.
Wipe down the mirrors in the bathrooms after brushing teeth.
Clean the toothpaste out of the sink.

5. Never turn down a showing!!! Just because you don’t get a chance to do one of the things above, or you are busy with something else, don’t turn down a showing. If you didnt make the bed that morning, IT IS OK! The buyer can look past that when purchasing the house. It is always better to allow the buyer to see a house that is not totally perfect than to turn away a showing. if nobody sees the house, it’s almost impossible to sell your Myrtle Beach Home.

6. List with an agent that can sell your house. The agent you choose to sell your home has become increasingly more important. You want an agent that is familiar with the area, that aggressively markets, and has a strong internet presence. Some of the newer stats show that more that around 90% of buyers now search the internet before even contacting a REALTOR! Make sure to chose an agent that understands online market, is familiar with social media, and uses it regularly in their marketing plan.

7. Offer to pay towards buyers closing costs. With the tightening of money around The United States, any type of assistance a buyer can receive will make the property listing look more appealing to them. Make sure though before offering a certain amount that you will be within the regulations that most mortgage programs will allow.

For more information on how to get your Myrtle Beach home sold faster and closer to listing price, feel free to contact me for more tips and learn how my extensive marketing plan can take your home from being listed to being sold in Myrtle Beach.

photo by: dan taylor

Jun 18 2014

How to remove foul smells from a drain quickly & safely

Last night when I came home from celebrating a birthday, I noticed our sink drain was starting to get a funny smell. So, I grabbed the baking soda & vinegar to fix it. Right as I was about to begin, my wife asked, “Why don’t you do a video about it for your blog?” I was stunned I had not thought of it!

So, if you ever have a drain that has a bad smell, watch this brief video to learn how to clean it out and deodorize your sink quickly, safely, and easily.

There are many other ways to clean your sink, but I think this way is one of the most fun and very safe. With toxicity becoming a more and more prevalant concerns, this is a completely non-toxic way to clean your drain. Here is the recipe I use:

3-4 Tablespoons Baking Soda
2 Cups Distilled Vinegar
2-3 Cups Hot Water

If you have any questions/comments, feel free to contact me. Also, stay tuned to learn more tips/tricks to keep your home in Myrtle Beach in working order.

Jun 13 2014

The Future Design Of The Grande Dunes

The Grande Dunes is a phenomenal segment of real estate located in the heart of Myrtle Beach. The communities of the Grande Dunes stretch all the way from the beach at Grand Dunes Oceanfront all the way to across the intracoastal waterway to the Grande Dunes Members Club.

One of the best things the Grande Dunes offers are amazing amenities throughout their communities. While I was doing research of some of the Grande Dunes communities for a potential buyer, I came across this recently published video showcasing future plans for more Grande Dunes homes, amenities, and other attractions and I have to admit it excited me to see some of the upcoming plans.

Take a look at the video below and see the proposed plans for the future of the Grande Dunes:

If you are thinking of moving to one of the many Grande Dunes neighborhoods and would like to see what is currently for sale, you can do so by clicking on one of the Grande Dunes communities below:

If you would like information on any of the properties for sale in the Grand Dunes, feel free to contact me. If you have a home to sell in the Grande Dunes and would like to discuss selling your Grande Dunes homes and how my marketing plan can help your home from being for sale to SOLD fill out this form now and I will contact you with a free home valuation of your Grande Dunes home.

photo by: sherwoodrealestate