First Day of Summer!

Happy First Day of Summer!

The Lowcountry is full of summer activities in addition to our natural opportunities for fun in the sun!

Here are just a few items to get on your calendar this summer:

• Pirates of Charleston at the Charleston Museum - June 22
• Pool Party and Beach Club @ the Charleston Harbor - Sundays through July 14th
• Party in the Park at Mount Pleasant - Tuesday evenings 
• Music on the Green Summer Concert Series at Freshfields Village - Fridays through the end of July
• Starlight Cinema Series Movies Under the Stars at Freshfields Village - Wednesdays at 8:30
• Splash Day at Memorial Waterfront Park in Mt. Pleasant - July 10

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Good news for Charleston!

The National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index increased again in June to now include more than 70% of the U.S. metro areas.

The Improving Markets Index or IMI is a list of metropolitan areas that have shown improvement through the areas of housing permits, employment and house prices for at least the past six months.

Twenty-nine new markets were added to the list while twenty-four previously listed markets were removed. This fluctuation is a product of a slow recovery and confirmation that the housing industry still has challenges to face.  However the IMI list is three times larger this year than last year according to the NAHB.

We're pleased to see Charleston, SC included on this list!

For a full list of improving markets visit the NAHB's website HERE.

The Sweet Side of Summer

Since it is the season for back yard BBQ's and summer pot lucks, we thought you might enjoy some classic southern summer dessert ideas.  Here are some quick and tasty recipes for your next get together.

Frozen Lemonade Pie from Taste of Home

Banana Pudding from Southern Living

 

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler from Martha Stewart

 

 What are some of your favorite summertime desserts?

Customer Incentive

New Home Sales Rise in April

There's more good news for the housing market and new homes in particular.

According to HUD and the US Census Bureau, sales of new, single-family homes rose by 2.3 percent in April. Regionally, new home sales rose 3 percent in the South.

A quote from an article by the National Association of Home Builders reinforces this positive message. “Today’s report is further evidence of the gradual, consistent improvement we have been seeing in housing market conditions over the past year,” noted NAHB Senior Economist Robert Denk. “We’re now about half-way back to what could be considered a full recovery, and we do expect to see continual, solid gains in both starts and sales of new homes going forward.”

Interest rates remain low and house prices are trending upwards and inventory remains tight.  Now is the time to buy!

To read the full article from the National Association of Home Builders please click HERE. 

Home Appreciation

New research from Zillow suggests that home values will continue to appreciate, on average up to 5% through 2013.

This result is based on a survey conducted by Zillow and distributed to economists, market and investment researches and real estate experts.

With interest rates still low and home prices remaining stead, this is a great time to buy a new home from Lowcountry Residential Builders.

To see the full results of Zillow's survey visit their research website. 

In the News!

Foster's Glenn, Lowcountry's new home community located on Johns Island was featured in the Post and Courier this past week.

The write-up highlights Foster's Glenn unique location on Johns Island and it's proximity to Downotwn, the size of the homesites, spacious flooplans and included luxury features.

To read the whole article click here.  Then come see for yourself this weekend!

Directions: From downtown Charleston, head west over the Ashley River Bridge and veer left to Folly Road. Follow Folly over the Wappoo Bridge and turn right on Maybank Highway. Continue on Maybank over the Stono River bridge to Johns Island. At the River Road intersection, turn left. Go 4.8 miles and on the right is Foster’s Glenn.