At the Water's Edge - WaterView Home

Waterfront Homes & Waterfront Property Help Spur Master-Planned Community Real Estate Sales

Kiawah Island, SC: Waterfront homes pace recovery.

Recent traffic trends on the GolfCourseHome Network show that golf communities that also offer waterfront homes, waterfront property and waterfront real estate are enjoying a resurgence in sales.

Communities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have been active in touting their 2012 activity which has shown a healthy rebound in general along with excellent sales numbers versus 2011. See below on sales activity trends based on information supplied by the communities and their agents.

> Kiawah Island, SC Kiawah Island Real Estate (KIRE) reports that that the company has closed on more than $50 million in sales in 2012—a 52% increase over 2011. More than  50 buyers took part.

In addition, 14 of 21 single-family homes that closed during this time period closed for $1 million or more. Increased sales means fewer homes for sale and as a result, interest in homesites has risen with 14 homesite sales in 2012–a 75 percent jump from the same time last year.

> St. James Plantation, Southport NC has recorded 50 closings on homes and lots in 2012 for a total property value of $8,328,504. The sales represent a 92 percent increase in real estate sales versus the first quarter of 2011. All sales activity was independently verified through the MORE Report, a market analysis firm.

> Daniel Island, Charleston, SC April was a busy month at Daniel Island Real Estate between the Family Circle Cup, great weather and eager buyers. Sales activity was strong  with 13 single-family homes going under contract during the month. Since the beginning of the year, Daniel Island Real Estate participated in either the listing or the selling side on all seven sales on the island that were above $1 million.

The active 2012 follows an improving 2011 in which sales were up 20 percent over the previous year. Inventory of available properties also returned to healthy levels. Condominium sales were up 30 percent in 2011 with 26 new units sold.

> Hampton Lake, Bluffton SC registered a strong 2011 in the face of the sluggish economy with 123 transactions overall, including 43 new housing starts. Thirty homes are currently under construction, creating a pent-up demand for newly developed homesites.

In response the community “is releasing 19 estate-sized homesites, plus 36 ideally-located 80’ homesites,” says Pratt Reed, Hampton Lake’s sales manager.

The half-acre estate-sized lots are mostly lakeside with excellent water views and are the largest homesites ever offered at the community,” says Reed. They are priced from $159,000 and up depending on specific location and views.

The new 80’ homesites start at $66,000 and will be adjacent to the community’s Lakeside Amenity Village. Pratt noted that neither group of homesites will have a time requirement of when a buyer must build.

> The Landings on Skidaway Island, GA, which is marking its 40th anniversary this year, has a lot to celebrate. The Georgia waterfront community’s closed-real-estate transactions for the first four months of 2012 jumped 60 percent in dollar volume over the same period last year. According to Savannah Board of Realtors data, the community closed 67 home transactions between Jan. 1 and April 30.

“The half-acre, estate-sized lots are mostly lakeside with excellent water views and are the largest homesites ever offered in our community.” They are being priced from $159,000 and up depending on specific location and views. The 80-foot homesites, start at $66,000 will be adjacent to the community’s Lakeside Amenity Village.

The Woodlands at Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach, FL, Joins GCH Network

NEW TODAY ON GOLFCOURSEHOME

FLORIDA

=> The Woodlands at Ibis Golf & Country Club, West Palm Beach
Ibis is an established, gated community with 33 diverse neighborhoods conveniently located in West Palm Beach, and adjoining the Grassy Waters Nature Preserve. Architecturally stunning homes create a luxurious atmosphere surrounded by impeccably manicured grounds.

Residents enjoy an active and engaging country club lifestyle consisting of exceptional sports programs, an award-winning, 50,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-style clubhouse, superb dining options, first-rate amenities, and a variety of social activities.

Amenities are topped by three distinctive, Nicklaus family-designed golf courses, with a 20-acre practice facility, and complemented by an active program of lessons, tournaments, and other activities for all ages and ability levels.

Last Chance to Buy at Ibis: The Woodlands at Ibis offers the final opportunity to build a new home at Ibis. Green-designed, hurricane-resistant homes built by Sabatello Homes include a full range of tailored options, with a choice of lake, golf, or preserve views.

Real Estate: The Woodlands at Ibis, FL

• Final opportunity to buy at Ibis
  • Green-designed, hurricane-resistant homes by Sabatello Homes
  • Range of tailored options
  • Choice of lake, golf or preserve views
• Send me more information about The Woodlands at Ibis!
  

Catamaran vs. Monohull: Which Is Better? One Thing Is There Are More of Them

Discovery 50: CW 2011 Best Catamaran and Import Boat of the Year. Photo by Billy Black.

Catamarans are gaining ground on traditional monohulled boats in a number of ways. As a traditional monohull fan, I'm not happy. For one thing, sailing magazines are taking away editorial space, photo opportunities and pages away from monohull coverage. The June issue of Cruising World is a catamaran special.

The America's Cup has suddenly become uninteresting with mega-Cats with airplane wings for sails careening over the water, unless, of course, there's too much or too little wind for their captain's Goldilocks-just-right wind conditions. Curious and concerned about this trend, I wrote to the editor of Cruising World, Mark Phillsbury, asking him about the growth of cats. He was kind enough to send back a detailed and considered response. See our email exhange below.

Dear Mark,

I have enjoyed Cruising World for many years going back to my days at Golf Digest when the NYT owned the magazine. I have a question about catamarans. Why are we seeing so much of them in the magazine? Is the world changing?

As a monohull boat owner (Cape Dory 270), I get no thrill from reading or seeing cats in the magazine. Part of the wonder of sailing is the beauty of a boat under sail. You don't get that sense of wonder with a cat which looks more to me like a floating condo.

Can cat and monohull owners can be best served within the pages of the same publication? Do you think the current compromise is serving both markets well?  I'd be interested in your thoughts as well as your answers to my questions.

Many thanks,

David Lott
Founder & Publisher
WaterViewHome Network

Hi David,

The reason you’re seeing more catamarans in the magazine these days is because more people are sailing them. It’s that simple. On the new boat front, it’s the segment of the market where sales continue to grow, meaning they are gaining sailors and owners and market share with each passing season.

In the Caribbean, the charter fleets really reflect this trend. The reason is pretty simple: they’re very comfortable vacationing platforms, don’t heel (the non-sailors love this), and some of the newer ones are actually quite fun to sail. And you’re hearing this from a lifelong monohull, antique 12-meter, Alden Schooner lover.

A month or so ago I was sailing on Sydney Harbor when a front came through with 40-knots on the deck. We were on a Seawind catamaran having a spirited ride while all around us the monos had rails and cabins in the water and crews scrambling to get their sails down and engines started.

Since CW does not cover racing, the fact that the America's Cup will use them is really not an issue. But, personally I think the level of excitement they’ll provide the sport will be a very, very good thing. Do I love to see the afore mentioned Gleam and Northern Light trade tacks on a summer afternoon here in Newport? You betcha, but man its fun, too, watching a bunch of AC Cats with their wing sails crash around the buoys like a swarm of mosquitoes. And then there’s the high-speed crash and burn factor...

At this point in the evolution of Cats, I’d guess we’re about circa 1965-1970 or so in the debate over wood vs. fiberglass. I well recall the days when the woodies looked with great disdain at anything plastic. Fast forward to present and the craftiest of the craftsmen are working in wood-based composites and building some very untraditional looking boats.

And now the glass guys with the old boats made to look like wood are trashing the tubby-sterned “marina queens.” The same is happening with cats. Maybe the older ones truly were dogs to look at, but the more I see some of the higher-end designs like the Gunboats, some of Morrelli and Melvin’s latest creations, etc., the more I ‘m finding they have their good looks, too. Different, but good.

CW does still run one Cat issue a year, but because our readers, or perhaps more importantly, our contributors are increasingly out exploring the world on two hulls, they really have made their way into the mainstream and find their way into just plain good old sailing stories.

And Maine! Cats are even finding homes in those quaint rock-strewn harbors Down East. In fact, with harbor and dock space at a premium (and sometimes a impediment to owning a boat), cats are an emerging alternative since they can be moored or tied up in much shallower water than a monohull with keel.

Here at CW, where I had the new-boat beat and Boat of the Year for a few go-rounds, I had to forego my preference for the Bristol 40s and Morris Yachts, and appreciate the fact that there are people out their who love their big white production boats just as much.

It’s the same with cats. If people like them and two hulls will get them out on the water, who is CW to tell them they’re wrong? It would be like me telling you that you shouldn’t enjoy a slightly dated, overly built boat with a full keel, even though she is a beaut!

Best,
Mark Pillsbury
Editor, Cruising World Magazine

Read More Cat vs Monohull debates: from Boatsafe, from BayYacht.

 

The Price of Phoenix, a 64' S&S Commuter Yacht, Takes a Dramatic 20% Tumble

Phoenix in her glory days in the 1930s.

    * Boat Name: Phoenix
    * Year: 1937
    * Current Price: US $250,000  Now $199,000
    * Located in Boothbay Harbor, ME
    * Hull Material: Wood
    * Engine/Fuel Type: Twin diesel
    * YW# 1877-2212250

The very determined owner of Phoenix, a 64' Sparkman & Stephens commuter yacht built in 1937, is pressing hard to sell his boat. Just one week after annoucing that it was for sale for $250,00, he has announced a 20% reduction to $199,000.

Still looking good.

Phoenix has been trucked across country to a well respected boatyard that specializes in classic yachts on the coast of Maine where she awaits her next owner and the restoration that will give this unique piece of yachting history a new life. The most recent price reduction indicates the current owners desire to sell the boat immediately.  All reasonable offers are encouraged.

Gold-Plated History
The Consolidated Shipbuilding of New York City built some of the most famous commuter yachts of the 1920s and '30s. These sleek, swift yet elegant vessels were the preferred method of transportation to and from the financial district of Manhattan for the Wall Street magnates and industrialists that resided in the Connecticut and Long Island suburbs. Sparkman & Stephens collaborated with Consolidated on a number of famous Commuters. Phoenix was designed and built for E.E. Dickenson Jr. in 1937.

On a run.

However, this is the very last available Sparkman & Stephens commuter in existence. A change of plans has sparked the owner's sales plan and this further price reduction is indicative of his desire to move this boat. 

Some TLC is in order.

Phoenix represents an opportunity for a new owner to put her through restoration and own a historically significant commuter. A partial trade would be considered, such as a 28'-35' Down East style lobster yacht or similar. This is a unique opportunity to own a piece of yachting history.

For more information, contact Central Agent - Jeff Grey,  Office: 401-847-5449, Cell: 774-454-7638

Hampton Lake Introduces Signature Series Custom Homes, Open House on Oct. 24

Lakeside amenity at Hampton Lake, the Lake House.

Encouraged by recent statistics showing a rising trend of new home sales in Beaufort County, SC, Hampton Lake has introduced a new product line of custom homes to be constructed by four leading area homebuilders: Tilton Group Signature Homes, Custom Classics by David Weekley, Harden-Tuten Custom Homes and Full Circle Development. Ask for more information.

Kristen Lee, marketing director for Hampton Lake, said nine new home models will be available to view this fall with one being a new Signature Series home built by Full Circle Development. The public is invited to an Open House at Hampton Lake on October. 24th from 1 pm to 4 pm.

The 900-acre, award-winning, lakefront community is expecting its array of amenities, along with close location to the beaches of Hilton Head Island and historic Savannah, GA, will be especially appealing to families and retired couples moving into the area, as well as others looking to build a ‘customized’ home.

According to Gerrit Albert, president of Hampton Lake, prices of the custom homes – including homesite – start in the $400,000s for wooded homesites and in the low-$500,000s for lakefront properties with each builder offering three featured floorplans that purchasers can choose from and then customize to their own desires. Ask for more information.

“There are tremendous savings for the homebuyer in a program like this, where they can have their own individualized and customized features,” said Albert. “The builders are each designing floorplans to be unique to our community and take advantage of our lakefront setting and natural beauty.”

Albert said he attributes Hampton Lake’s continued success in the face of a difficult economy to the wide range of quality homes that are available at very attractive price points. “People are going to be amazed at the price points and overall value of these homes. The Signature Series offers custom homes with exceptional features and finishes paired with the quality, high-end lifestyle and resort-level amenities that Hampton Lake offers at a truly affordable price.” 

Individuals looking to review the new selection of floorplans and tour the community can make an appointment by contacting the community’s sales center at 843-836-5253. 

WaterViewHome Sponsors Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival

For the second year in a row, a member of the GolfCourseHome Network is a sponsor of the Martha's Vineyard International Film Festival. This year it is www.WaterViewHome.net. 

Thus, it was fitting that the first film shown was entitled, FLOW: For the Love of Water, a disturbing account of the transformation of water from a freely given gift of the earth to a commodity controlled by the few and denied to the many who are unable to pay for it.

The result of the water grab is poverty, civil unrest, displaced families and profit for the companies whose privatization of this valuable resource has created cartels similar to oil cartels. As the film's website says: Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigates what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century: The World Water Crisis.

Other films shown come from Japan, Germany, France, China, Mexico, Italy, India, New Zealand, Uganda, Laos, USA and Martha's Vineyard itself, proving that the event is truly global and local. Now in only its third year the film festival is continuing to build on its success, filling the three venues in Vineyard Haven each day. Director Richard Paradise won a governor's award for building state tourism: half the films' attendees come from off island.