Thought I begin posting weekly activity for the week from the information provided by The Golden Isles Multiple LIsting Service. Hopefully, this will be a weekly posting so anyone interested in what’s happening with the market can get a quick snapshot each week here!
For the time period from 7/12 – 7/19:
New listings: 77
- Average price of new listings in the market: $308,184
- Median price of new listings in the market: $195,000
- Highest price: $2,600,000
- Lowest price: $32,000
Solds: 15
- Average sale price: $149,952
- Average list price: $166,247
- Highest price of a property sold: $415,000 (list price $499,000) for a lot in Hawkins Island on St Simons Island
- Lowest price of a property sold: $22,000 (list same) for a lot in Woodbine in North Camden County
Sales include all properties types in Brunswick, St Simons Island, Jekyll Island, Waverly & Woodbine.
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While I realize that we’re in the middle of summer, it’s time to think about school again. Real Estate school that is. The Academy for Real Estate Education and Consulting is now enrolling for the Fall 2010 Real Estate PreLicense class set to start Monday, August 23. This course meets the Georgia Real Estate Commission’s requirement that any applicant seeking to take the Georgia salesperson’s license exam must take and successfully complete a 75-hour prelicense course.
In THIS market?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Now is a great time to get licensed in real estate. Statistics show that the market this year is better than the same time frame last year, so improvement is being seen. Starting a career in real estate is really starting your own small business. It takes a lot more than passing the state licensing exam and finding a broker who will hold your license. Any successful business needs planning and solid foundations. Jumping in while the market is hot may sound like a good idea if you’re in it for a quick buck with no plans for success beyond that next payday. What happens when the business stops dropping into your lap like it did in 2005?
Starting while the market is slow gives you time to get your bearings, put systems in place, create and execute your personal marketing plan, promote yourself, and continue with your education. With all this in place, you will be ready when the market rebounds… and succeed in any market no matter what.
As the instructor, I know I’m a bit biased, but I try and make this class as interesting as possible, really work to help students grasp key concepts and do my best to ensure they are all well prepared not only for the class final, but the state licensing exam and life beyond as well.
So here’s the 411 on the class…
- Session starts Monday, August 23 and final exam is Monday, November 1
- Classes will meet two nights a week, Monday & Thursday from 6-10pm with two full day Saturdays
- We meet at I-95 Toyota’s second floor classroom (don’t laugh, it’s a really nice facility!)
- Optional Weekend Cram session is included with tuition free of charge (a lot of other schools charge extra for this!)
- Tuition is $525
- Register by July 31 and receive an early bird discount and pay only $495!
- Tuition financing available $300 at time of registration and $225 due by scheduled MidTerm Exam (no discounts apply for finance option)
- Click here for more information
If you’ve been thinking about starting a real estate career or know someone who might be interested, ACT NOW and see YOU in class!
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Tagged as:
georgia real estate education,
georgia real estate prelicense
With second home buyers out of the market right now, many owners of properties in our second home/resort market are opting to cover their costs by renting. Of course, many people own homes and condos here as investment, taking advantage of our area as a vacation destination. But for a lot of other people, they simply owned single family homes for their own use, to enjoy on sporadic weekends or for entire seasons and are entering the rental market for the first time.
Well, the members of the Golden Isles Association of REALTORS® recently were sent a friendly reminder from the Glynn County Community Development in regards to the ‘proliferation of single family vacation rental properties‘ and I suppose it’s with good reason. They cite that:
These are being advertised as having a capacity in terms of the number of guests accommodated, but that number may exceed the capacity established by zoning limitations.
In vacation rental speak, we look at how many people can sleep in a given property. Say you have a three bedroom house in which you have a king size bed in one bedroom, a queen in another, and one twin bed and a bunkbed in the 3rd. You also have a full-size pull out sofa in the family room. That house might be advertised as ‘sleeping 9′ and three couples with their combined three children sign on to rent the house for two weeks. The problem here is that the house is zoned residential and is meant to be occupied by one family only. In most cases, a three bedroom house would be zoned for a family of five or six: parents in one room, up to two children of the same sex in the next room and up to two children of the same sex in the other. By three non-related families occupying this house, they are violating the local zoning ordinance.
Dwelling units are defined as being intended for occupancy by one family. A family is defined as including any number of people who are related by blood or marriage, but limits to five (5) the number of people who are not related by blood or marriage. To clarify, if three people who are related by blood or marriage occupy a dwelling unit together with three other people who are related by blood or marriage, but the two groups are not related to each other, the definition of family is NOT met and the situation constitutes a violation of the Zoning Ordinance.
So if you’re a property owner in this or any vacation market, keep in mind that you many be violating local zoning ordinances. Don’t say you haven’t been warned! For more information, contact the Glynn County Community Development office at 912-554-7428.
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Tagged as:
glynn county,
occupancy limits,
zoning ordinance
