Atlanta-based PulteGroup‘s Del Webb unit has broken ground on its 55-plus Cainhoy peninsula project. The neighborhood sits on a 502-acre parcel along Beech Hill Drive. It’s within the 9,000-acre master-planned Point Hope development.
Plans for the golf-cart friendly community, Del Webb Pointe Hope is aiming to open by early next year.
The new Del Webb community will be located in the Charleston area near the juncture of Clements Ferry and Cainhoy roads in the city of Charleston in Berkeley County.
Pointe Hope is Del Webb’s third 55-plus housing project in the Charleston region, all in Berkeley County. The first, in Cane Bay, has sold out. Another in the Nexton development in Summerville includes 1,400 homes. Del Webb has sold almost 900 homes in the last eight years.
February 2024 Update for the entire Charleston MLS:
NEW SALES – Pending – There were 1379 new written sales in January 2025, down -6.1% versus January of 2024.
CLOSED SALES – There were 1045 closed sales in January of 2025, up 2.8% from January of 2024
SALES PRICE – The Median sales price closed out at $415,917, up 0.2% over January of 2024 and the average sales price for January 2024 was $631,715
INVENTORY – Approximately 1,907 new listings came online in January 2025, which is up +2.3% from January 2024 and the average Days on Market was at 50, up 28.2% from January of 2024 with 2.7 months of inventory.
SC State Housing offers a variety of mortgage financing options through a variety of Lending Partners to make owning a home more affordable and recent changes will allow more buyers to qualify.
One of the most substantial changes allows the applicant / buyer to use only his/her income for qualification purposes. This change will allow more buyers to fall under the income limits to help them qualify for the program. Previously, the total household income had to be under the income limit to qualify.
The current bond issue offers a lower than market rate and $10.000 down payment assistance. The rules for “targeted” areas allow buyers to purchase their primary residence but they cannot own another property at the time of closing. However, buyers can sell their current home prior to purchasing the new home and still use the program as long as they meet all other guidelines.
For “non-targeted areas, purchasers may not have owned a home within 3 years of closing the new home
There are a variety of affordable SC Housing programs with different criteria and the much-anticipated Palmetto Heroes Program will be available this spring (date and details have not been announced yet). Palmetto Heroes serves military, police, fire and medical personal and typically has a generous down payment assistance amount and a lower-than-market rate.
If you or someone you know could benefit from a State Housing program, please contact me, I would be happy to help connect you with the needed resources.
HII(NYSE: HII), a global defense provider, announced it selects Berkeley County to establish the company’s first South Carolina operation through the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of W International SC, LLC and Vivid Empire SC, LLC (collectively, “W International”), a South Carolina-based complex metal fabricator specializing in the manufacture of shipbuilding structures, modules and assemblies. Through its investment, HII anticipates creating over 250 new jobs.
Headquartered in Virginia, HII manufactures naval ships and defense technology solutions for customers including the U.S. Navy. The company has over 135 years of experience and currently has 44,000 employees nationwide.
In connection with the transaction, which was completed on Jan. 22, 2025, HII will invest in new equipment as well as retrofit the acquired facility, located at 2040 Bushy Park Road in Goose Creek, to meet HII’s manufacturing requirements. The renovated facility will operate within HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division and serve as a manufacturing center in support of Virginia-class, Columbia-class and aircraft carrier programs.
The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to the project. The council also awarded a $750,000 Set-Aside grant to Berkeley County to assist with the costs of building improvements.
Do you need to prep your home prior to selling to help maximize your profit?
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If you are interested in this program, please contact me.
According to a recent NerdWallet survey, 15% of Americans are planning to purchase a home this year. That’s actually a record high for this survey (see graph below):
The percentage has been hovering between 9-11% since 2020. This recent increase shows buyer demand hasn’t disappeared – if anything, it indicates there’s pent-up demand ready to come back to the market.
That doesn’t mean the floodgates are opening but does indicate that buyers are optimistic. Whether they’re feeling more confident about moving, or saved money, or simply can’t wait any longer – this seems to be the year they’re aiming to take the plunge.
And, according to that same NerdWallet survey, more than half (54%) of those potential buyers have already started looking at homes online.
That’s a good indicator that a number of these buyers will be looking during the peak homebuying season this spring.
South Carolina has officially become the number 1 moved to state in America, surpassing Texas. This significant change reflects a growing trend of people relocating to the number 1 moved to state, driven by various factors such as job opportunities, more affordable housing, and a desirable lifestyle. According to data from U-Haul, South Carolina has knocked Texas out of the number one spot for the first time in history.
The trend of southern states netting larger numbers of one-way U-Haul® continued during 2024, with South Carolina topping the U-Haul Growth Index for the first time.
Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee round out the five leading growth states.
California experienced the greatest net loss and ranks 50th for the fifth consecutive year.
Growth rankings are configured by each state’s net gain (or loss) of customers utilizing one-way U-Haul equipment in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from well over 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box® moving container transactions that occur annually.
“State-to-state transactions from the past year reaffirm customer tendencies that have been pronounced for some time,” stated John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president. “Migration to the Southeast and Southwest continues as families gauge their cost of living, job opportunities, quality of life and other factors that go into relocating to a new state. Out-migration remains prevalent for a number of markets across the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast — and particularly California.
“U-Haul continues to expand its network, rental fleet and self-storage footprint so that wherever people move in 2025, we will be there to meet their needs.”
South Carolina climbed three spots in the rankings to unseat Texas, which was the No. 1 growth state for the previous three years (2021-23). Of all the U-Haul movers coming and going from the Palmetto State in 2024, more than 51.7% were arrivals.
Texas has ranked first or second among U-Haul Growth States each year since 2016. Florida has been fourth or higher every year since 2015.
New York, at No. 47 on the list, has its lowest growth ranking in a decade.
Oklahoma (+30), Indiana (+19) and Maine (+18) are the biggest risers year-over-year on the U-Haul Growth Index. Colorado (-31), Nevada (-24), Wyoming (-22) and New Mexico (-21) saw the biggest slides in 2024.
Del Webb is a 55+ gated community within the Nexton community in Summerville-Berkeley County. The community features resort style amenities that include state-of-the-art fitness center, pickle ball courts, full-service restaurant, indoor and outdoor pools, cabanas and firepits. The community hosts a variety of classes, social organizations and events. The beautiful, landscaped grounds offer a serene environment for outdoor activities with picturesque ponds, fountains and parks. The community is centered around creating the ultimate active adult lifestyle
A nearly 200-acre project is coming into 2025 along the Ashley River in the Charleston Neck area — Magnolia Landing — according to Clark Davis, CEO of Highland Resources.
The Houston firm’s long-term plan calls for up to 4,080 multifamily housing units, 1.2 million square feet of commercial space and 1,040 hotel rooms, with about 25 acres set aside for parks.
Decades ago, the tract near the King Street Extension and Milford Street housed businesses that left a toxic mix of contaminants in the soil. A North Carolina firm set out in 2002 to take on what was envisioned as the largest reuse of polluted land in South Carolina, but the effort collapsed into bankruptcy in 2016.
In today’s market, more and more home buyers are getting assistance with their down payment in the form of gift funds from friends and family. According to a recent study, in 2023, 39% of home buyers who financed their home with a mortgage loan used gifted funds as at least one source for their down payment, up nine percentage points from 2018. While it’s great to have help, there are rules around financial gifts that you need to know in order to smoothly navigate the process.
What is a down payment gift?
Down payment money is considered a “gift” when people, usually friends or family, financially contribute money that will help the home buyer pay for a down payment on a home. there is generally no limit on how much a borrower is allowed to receive as a gift
Who is eligible to Gift you down payment money?
Depending on the loan type, gifts can come from the buyer’s relative, employer, or close friend with a “clearly defined and documented” interest in the borrower, or a charitable organization, governmental agency, or a public entity that has a program providing home ownership assistance for low and moderate-income families or first-time home buyers. However, donations for down payments cannot come from people who are directly affiliated with the home buying transaction which includes builders, developers, or real estate agents.
What are the rules for mortgage down payments?
For Fannie Mae backed loans, a minimum borrower contribution from the borrower’s own funds is not required. This means that 100% of the money that is needed to make up the down payment can come from a gift. On the other hand, with FHA loans, the borrower is required to provide a minimum personal cash investment of at least 3.5% for the down payment. regardless of the loan type, gift funds must be a “bona fide gift,” and not a loan that requires repayment.
While there is no limit to how much money you can accept as a gift for a home down payment, when you’re going through the mortgage loan application process, you’ll need to make sure that you have proper documentation of the gift money in the form of a letter, with specific requirements outlined by your lender, from the donor of the funds. this is required to show your letter that you don’t owe someone a large sum of money that you won’t be able to pay back on top of your monthly mortgage payment.
Real Estate Matters in Charleston SC - Gena Glaze 