Area home sales picking up steam

Area home sales picked up steam in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest data from the state Realtors association.

Although average prices remain depressed, local real estate agents welcomed the momentum for their business, a driving force of the local economy that has suffered during the recession.

"It's not like it was in '05, but it's better than it was last year," said Charles Sampson, president of the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors.

For the quarter, sales of homes and condominiums in the Hilton Head Island Multiple Listing Service area increased 63.8 percent -- from 320 to 524 -- compared to the same period in 2009. Sales were up 36.7 percent -- from 150 to 205 -- in the Beaufort MLS.

In March, sales increased more than 70 percent in Beaufort's MLS and more than 40 percent in Hilton Head's.

After waiting, in some cases for years, to get the best deal as prices continued to fall, prospective buyers are realizing the market might have bottomed out and are taking action, said Edward Dukes of Lowcountry Real Estate in Beaufort.

"It's not just looking," he said.

Warmer weather, favorable interest rates and federal tax credits have coaxed people to buy, said Sampson of Charter I. Many are scooping up properties through foreclosures or short sales -- an agreement between a lender and an owner to sell a home for less than is owed on a mortgage, he said.

After suffering through an especially cold winter elsewhere, some might have decided to move South sooner than they had planned, Sampson said. For them, Hilton Head still offers the same beach, cultural organizations and quality of life as it did when the market was "red hot" a few years ago, he said.

Sales could suffer when the tax credit expires -- homes must be under contract by Friday to qualify -- but Sampson hopes changes intended to smooth the short-sale process might "pick up the slack."

Ongoing unemployment, commercial mortgage problems and more foreclosures could still weigh down the national economy, however.

"It's too early to say we're out of the woods," he said.

But if nothing derails sales, it shouldn't be long before prices rebound, too, Dukes said.

"Then we can start building some appreciation again," he said.