Within the gates of Active Adult Community Del Webb Charleston at Nexton, residents have so many resort like amenities including indoor and outdoor pools, pickleball and tennis courts, a state-of-the-art fitness center, plus clubs and hobby groups. Nexton in Summerville, SC, recently was awarded the ‘Best in American Living’ award by the National Association of Home Builders.
When moving to any new place, you are going to have questions, and here are the top 15 questions people ask when moving to South Carolina.
The study by online bank Tangerine.ca analyzed data from Zillow, which included the average ‘days to pending’ and ‘days to close’ numbers over the past four years to see where homes take the longest to sell on average. ‘Days to pending’ refers to how long it takes to get an offer that is accepted, and ‘Days to close’ refers to how long it takes to close the sale.
The nation’s shortest pending to close is Idaho averaging 67.31 days and New York is the longest with 130.44 days. South Carolina ranks 40th nationally with 102.44 days.
South Carolina is averaging 60.15 days to pending and 42.29 days to close.
The study was conducted by Tangerine.ca, which offers safe and secure banking enabling users to make smart decisions with their money.
Homeowners in certain parts of New Jersey, Illinois, and New Hampshire probably already know that they pay the highest tax rates in the U.S. But it was mostly metro areas in southern states that saw the highest growth in property tax rates since last year.
Using analysis from real estate data platform ATTOM Data, Agent Advice examined the average property tax in more than 100 major metropolitan areas across the country to see where property taxes increased the most from 2020 to 2021 (the latest data available).
To be included, each metro area had to have a population of at least 500,000. Metro areas include the main city and its surrounding towns and suburbs. The average tax rate is calculated using the average estimated market value of homes in each area.
Keep reading to see how property taxes have grown in your area, or check out the national list here.
Charleston, South Carolina by the numbers
Located two hours south of Myrtle Beach, Charleston is affected by the surge of Americans moving to South Carolina. A report from moving company United Van Lines found that South Carolina experienced the third-most inbound migration in 2021.
Homeowners in the metro area, however, do benefit from a tourism-fueled sales tax structure intended to offset property taxes. South Carolina’s port city of Charleston operates under the same property tax assessment mechanisms as Columbia.
Home values in the U.S. skyrocketed in 2021, rising faster in one year than they have in recent history. Propelled by low interest rates, demand for homes shot up while builders struggled to complete enough new homes to satisfy buyers. The typical American homeowner saw their home value jump tens of thousands of dollars.
Those home values jumped so quickly that effective tax rates in 2021 likely didn’t wholly account for the increases. In fact, effective tax rates largely declined across the country last year.
The average tax on single-family homes in the U.S. rose by 1.8% in 2021 compared to the year before, according to ATTOM Data. This represents the slowest rate of growth in five years. Smaller metros recorded some of the biggest tax increases, as home prices grew the most in these places.
Check out which metros have the fastest-growing property taxes below.
Metros with the fastest-growing property taxes
Originally published on agentadvice.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.
According to an analysis by CNBC that weighed each state’s economic health, annual home price appreciation, new construction per year, and foreclosures and insolvency from the first quarter of 2022, the Top 10 Most Stable Housing Markets were identified and South Carolina was ranked #9 in the nation.
Here is why South Carolina was ranked in the Top 10 Most Stable Housing Markets for 2022
South Carolina is in the midst of a very heated market, with tight inventory and regular bidding wars, helping prices to continue to rise.
However, strong new construction starts should eventually help mitigate that demand in the upcoming months.
The remaining Top 10 states include:
Additional Reading: Charleston Rental Forecast 2023
Press Release: Nexton recently announced the grand opening of its expansive resident amenity, the Midtown Club. The $9 million, 8,000-square-foot facility is now open in the heart of Nexton’s newest neighborhood, Midtown, located just a short distance from Brighton Park Village and Del Webb Nexton.
“Wellness is a core value for Nexton, and the Midtown Club is the latest and greatest way our residents can benefit from their choice to live in our community,” says Nexton’s Vice President of Operations, Brent Gibadlo. “From a group exercise class, to creating lasting connections around shared interests, to just enjoying a dose of pool-side sunshine, this will be a hub of health and connection for Nexton.”
The Midtown Club’s indoor space includes a large contemporary living room with a kitchenette and Gigabit Wi-Fi technology to support remote work by day and social and club events in the evenings. An additional multipurpose room will host classes and will be available for homeowners to book for private events.Inside, the options are truly endless. The design is meant to welcome people of all ages and lifestyles, whether they need a quiet place to wind down with a glass of wine after a long day’s work or want to attend a fitness class. “Our goal for the Midtown Club was to create a space that is modern and fresh, yet approachable,” says Kelly Gilreath, of LS3P, who handled the interior design. “We want residents of Nexton to enter the modern coastal clubhouse and feel like they are entering a part of their own home.”A state-of-the-art fitness room also offers cardio equipment, weight stations and has a dedicated yoga studio with a children’s playroom.
Photo credit: Cove Creative Studio
“The words ‘Nexton’s happy place’ come to mind when I think of the Midtown Club,” says David Burt, of LS3P, who handled the building architecture. “We wanted the layout of the Midtown Club to flow as seamlessly as possible to create a real sense of community for Nexton’s residents. Each part leads to another. The park and the pool even have a yin and yang connection at the pavilion structure where both sides of the building are activated.”
Outdoors, Midtown Club’s four-acre green space has a food truck plaza with benches, string lights and a kettle fountain, surrounded by multiple nature trails encouraging walkability. Additionally, there are two tennis courts, four pickleball courts, a half basketball court, a covered pavilion and a playground.
The 7,200-square-foot resort-style pool, accented with tropical vegetation and coastal-themed furniture with non-linear, multi-dimensional design, creates distinct areas for residents to unwind in their area of choice.“It’s been very rewarding to see the Midtown Club come to life,” says Mary Martinich, landscape architect at Seamon Whiteside. “My firm values well-designed and connected open space that is an integral part of the community fabric, and the Midtown Club truly embraces this concept.”The Midtown Club serves the Nexton Residential Association, which encompasses homeowners at Midtown, Brighton Park Village and Del Webb. Outside memberships are not available.
For more information on Nexton, visit www.nexton.com.
Mayor John Labriola seized an opportunity to set the record straight at the recent Kiawah Island Town Council meeting on July 5. The issue that he addressed was in relation to the development of The Cape on Kiawah, which will be located on West Beach and is being developed by East West Partners. The Kiawah Island Architecture Review Board presented at the Town Council meeting in April in relation to the clear cutting of 50 trees that many Kiawah residents had questioned at that time. After the presentation, members of the Kiawah community sent questions, which the Town prepared responses to at the beginning of June. “What started out as questions has elevated to some pretty serious accusations,” Labriola stated. “In terms of the Kiawah Partners’ ability to misuse the role and control of the ARB to manipulate calculations.”
The Kiawah Island Town Attorney Joe Wilson consulted with the Town and released an opinion on behalf of Council. Labriola said that even after that opinion was released, “the accusations continued.” Labriola announced that they then received a second legal opinion in relation to this issue and how East West Partners had “not violated any standards related to the development agreement at The Cape.” “We have legal opinions that have supported the Town’s position, which is what we stated back in June that the ARB acted appropriately,” Labriola said.
Labriola said that the calculations are not in question by a core group of concerned Kiawah Island residents, but rather how the lot coverage is measured.
“That is core issue.” Labriola addressed the definition of highland and stated that the ARB has exclusive jurisdiction to determine those standards and the definition of highland as used in those standards. According to the Kiawah ARB, Labriola stated that the definition of highland is all the area above mean high water. “Under this interpretation, the development was in the 33% standard adopted by the ARB.” Labriola continued by saying that their interpretation of highland is a reasonable one and the S.C. attorney general has adopted it. He said that this definition is used frequently in other contexts including in the Town’s ordinance. The other definition of highland has been claimed by some as the land above the Ocean & Coastal Resource Management baseline.
OCRM is under the umbrella of SCDHEC. Neither the Kiawah ARB nor the Town of Kiawah adopts the OCRM baseline. However, the Kiawah ARB and the Town do adopt the OCRM critical line that is marsh frontline for marsh front property, but the OCRM baseline only applies to beachfront property, as explained by Labriola. Labriola added that the town’s own density standards for multi-unit development allows for 60% of coverage based on the entire lot and that there is no reference to highland in the town’s density standard. “So even under the Town’s standards, this development would have been approved because it is under 60% of the entire lot.”
Labriola concluded by reiterating that the ARB has exclusive jurisdiction over lot coverage standards put forth by the ARB guidelines. “It is to the Town’s position that the ARB interpreted the language and calculations the lot coverage consistently with previous beachfront projects and in a manner that is reasonable and commonly used.” The Town will be adding a Development Resources page to their website where a full text of the development agreement will be shared, in addition to FAQ’s that will be updated regularly. “We encourage residents to view the page for accurate information,” Labriola said. Labriola also noted that he didn’t think this would stop the accusations, but that he wanted to be transparent. “We will provide the community with the information as we see it, as we understand it and as we know it. I don’t know what else we can do except to say those words and put them in print to send out to everyone.” Additional groups within the community have recently come to fruition, including a new nonprofit organization called Preserve Kiawah, which is comprised of hundreds of concerned Kiawah residents who want to preserve the way of life they have come to love by living on Kiawah Island. In response to the newly formed groups, including Preserve Kiawah, the Town of Kiawah Island has commissioned Lou Hammonds Group to act as a liaison in communication with the Town, the residents and Kiawah Partners. On the agenda at the July meeting was approving their contract to begin working on the communication initiative. Maura F. McIlvain, a resident of Kiawah Island, commented that she thought a communication consultant was a great idea. “A level of suspicion is there. Whether it is warranted or not. A level of suspicion is there in regards to a relationship that the Town shows to the developer. Some say communication coming from the Town has been poor, defensive, mangled – however you want to say it.” McIlvain’s suggestion on the contract with Lou Hammonds was to take out the part about them being a liaison between the Town and the Partners. “You shouldn’t want that in there given the current environment. When the Town has been accused of coordinating with the partners – that is not where you want to be right now. I would take that out.”
Lou Hammonds Group has a history of working with East West Partners, but Kiawah Island Town Administrator Stephanie Tillerson said they were chosen, without an official RFP, because they came “highly recommended” from several entities in the Charleston area, including from Helen Hill, the CEO of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “They are well respected in the community,” Tillerson explained in the Town Council meeting. Finally, Brad Belt of the Preserve Kiawah group, spoke at the meeting as well in response to the mayor’s comments on accusations being made toward the Town in response to the handlings of The Cape development.
“I welcome the commitment to transparency and I thank the mayor for that,” Belt commented.
“But I am disappointed by the term ‘accusations.’ We are a community that is trying to understand the governing documents and we are systematically working through those in a fact-based way. We are simply outlying issues that warrant attention. If we are wrong, I would be the first one to welcome being corrected.” He went on to note definitions in the Town’s own ordinances in regards to critical areas and highlands. “Critical area in regard to the Town’s definition is the area from the mean high water mark to the setback line. The critical line means the jurisdiction boundary of the critical area as determined by the OCRM staff. Highlands is the area above the OCRM critical line which has just been defined by the Town’s own ordinances as including the area from the high water mark to OCRM setback line.” Belt went on to say that the definitions are clear and straightforward within the Town’s own ordinances. “This is contradictory to the positioning interpretation that the ARB has taken.” Preserve Kiawah has retained counsel for the newly established nonprofit. The Lou Hammonds Group contract was unanimously approved by Town Council and the intention is that it would begin working very soon.
The Cape on Kiawah will span 14 acres and 1,000 feet of beachfront property – the largest of any development on the island. Construction is set to complete in 2023 with 78 residences in six buildings. There will also be a clubhouse. The development completely sold out in Phase II for a total of $248 million.
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Kwei Fei owners planning innovative Chinese restaurant concept
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Leasing is picking up at Courier Square, a development at the corner of Meeting and Columbus streets in downtown Charleston. Charleston Commercial, which handles leasing for the property, has announced new tenants.
Restaurateurs David Schuttenberg and Tina Heath-Schuttenberg plan to open a new Chinese restaurant concept. They have leased a 3,063 square-foot suite at 128 Columbus St. The couple currently owns restaurant Kwei Fei on James Island. The restaurant features the foods of western China, specifically the province of Sichuan, known for dishes of vibrant color and piquant flavors.
Heath-Schuttenberg said they are still working out the specific details, but the menu and space will be warm and modern. Both restaurants will operate under Always Awkward Hospitality.
Kwei Fei started in 2017 as a pop-up concept and moved into a brick and mortar space four years ago.
“We’ve been really scrappy. We always try to think about things in unconventional ways,” Heath-Schuttenberg said. Her background in retail and marketing has helped them think and act quickly. For example, Kwei Fei pivoted to a takeout model two days before the citywide pandemic shutdown in March 2020.
That kind of innovative thinking is what drew the couple to downtown Charleston and this project in particular.
“There are interesting things happening there,” Heath-Schuttenberg said. “We do things unconventionally. We want people to subscribe to the experience we’ve provided and that’s something you can do when you’re moving into a newer area.”
Heath-Schuttenberg said they are building their restaurant vision from the ground up and anticipate opening in early 2023.
Totality Medispa is slated to open its Courier Square location in July. The medical spa has another location on Daniel Island.
Charleston Commercial is also in negotiations with an Atlanta restaurant group to anchor the 6,305-square-foot corner restaurant suite. Nick Maylander, project lead for the leasing at Courier Square, said he hopes to make an announcement on that restaurant project soon.
The project also houses the headquarters for Greystar Real Estate Partners and the fully-occupied luxury apartment complex, The Guild.
That leaves just two 1,500-square-foot retail suites available for lease and there’s been quite a bit of interest in those, Maylander said.
“We took over the Courier Square retail leasing for Greystar late last summer, and at the time, roughly 80 percent of the 19,000 square feet of retail space was vacant,” he added. “We spent the remainder of 2021 fine-tuning our marketing strategy and have seen a strong uptick in interest ever since the beginning of this year.”
“Courier Square is quickly becoming the hottest part of town for new hotels, apartments, retail, and office space,” Maylander said.
About Charleston Commercial
Charleston Commercial is a fully integrated commercial real estate group located in Charleston, S.C., specializing in commercial brokerage and asset management for a wide range of property types, including retail, medical office, office, multi-family, hospitality, urban infill, and industrial properties. The firm offers a broad range of incorporated services to see assignments through from start to finish. Services range from market prospecting, acquisition, value creation (including entitlements, zoning, approvals, and development oversight), leasing, asset management, and disposition. Reach Charleston Commercial at 843-670-5727.
Photo Credit: Ellis Creek Photography
In this video by Living in South Carolina, Bob Tompkins discusses what you can expect when you buy a house in South Carolina. He’ll also touch on how Sellers can deal with buyers in today’s market.
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