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The Mason Minute

Your Update on Daufuskie

My own “neighborhood watch” with a little something on each neighborhood on Daufuskie designed to update you, oddly enough, in just about one minute.

 

 

DaufuskieIsland Resort and Breathe Spa

 

There’s some exciting news from the Easter Beach Villas.  Based on market demands, you may now purchase a two bedroom, two bath unit with either an ocean view or a golf/salt marsh view.  During this product release, the developer is selling these units with a designer furniture package included.  Construction, which is the first new residential construction within the resort itself in over 15 years, is well under way and you can take possession just in time for the peak rental season.  This is a limited opportunity with only eight units available!

 

West Paces Hotel Group is quickly getting up-to-speed and owners and guests alike are seeing a renewed focus on customer service that is much more than rhetoric.  From my perspective, the property is cleaner, the hospitality staff is providing an even higher standard of service and staffing levels are on the upswing.  All of which is very good news.

 

Bloody Point

 

Bloody Point must be the place to be right now.  There are a couple of recently completed homes with more new construction in the planning or building stages.  More important, the inventory of available property is really quite low which has driven prices upward.  Ocean and marsh front property is scarce!

 

Haig Point

 

February 20th brought the annual meeting of the membership at the Haig Point Club.

 

A capital improvement proposal was presented that includes significant improvements to the golf course, addresses ferry needs and supports the construction of a new beach club. If the proposal is accepted by the membership, financing would be funded through a one time member assessment of approximately $10,500 payable in 2006.

 

Contractors have been busy in Haig Point and there is an excellent inventory of new construction homes currently available in the $600,000 to $800,000 range as well as the sound and ocean oriented homes in the $1,000,000 and up category.

 

 The Historic District

 

The Historic District, often under-appreciated in the past, is enjoying a wonderful renewal of interest.  Prices have risen significantly in the past three months with home sites now starting in the $60,000’s and only a few opportunities at that.  It was just a year ago that $60,000 was the price for wooded home sites in Melrose.

 

Larger tracts of land (four acres or more) are being purchased and made into smaller subdivisions.  The current “Community Preservation” zoning is having a positive effect as these parcels must, at least for now, limit development to one residence per acre.

 

Melrose

 

Our inventory has a nice diversity to it and, as you might expect with the arrival of spring, activity is picking up on home sites.  Prices remain undervalued when compared to ocean oriented low country real estate as a whole.   However, expect the trend toward increased prices to continue as more visitors discover the island.  There are still some good values on ocean-oriented homesites near all of the resort amenities.

 

Oak Ridge

 

The Beachfield project has been delayed while the land plan is reworked to accommodate the needs of our seasonal neighbors, the breeding Bald Eagles.  We are all eagerly awaiting the re-release of this project, but no date has been set as yet.

 

Webb Tract

 

Unfortunately, the old adage “no news is good news” probably does not apply in this case.  Since the dissolution of the contract with Kitty Hawk Land Development things have been rather quiet.  While a marina (lockable harbor or not) and retail center remain central to the needs of our island, progress has been slow over the past year.  Since I’m not real good with rumors, we’ll just have to wait and see what the spring brings.

 

Additional info and gossip

 

Unconfirmed word has it that we have just one new bald eagle this spring.  Only child or not, seeing the young one and its impressive parents, is a moving sight. 

 

Got a question?  Don’t hesitate to give me a call (315-247-4212) or to drop me an email (amason5@hargray.com) to pass on any real estate insights of your own, find out what is currently on the market or just to share a little gossip.

 

Take care,

 

Andy

 
The Mason Minute - Vol II

The Mason Minute - May 2006

 

My own “neighborhood watch” with a little something on each neighborhood on Daufuskie designed to update you, oddly enough, in just about one minute.

 

Is there a bit of a bubble in the real estate market?  St Joe, the large Florida based real estate developer, announced slower than expected resort and existing single family residence sales in the first quarter of 2006.  While sales in some areas of Daufuskie had been slow through the winter, prices have remained stable.  Interest rate stability and gas prices will, in my opinion, control our real estate market this year.

 

Bloody Point

 

With the long awaited completion of Sandy Lane condominiums, the Bloody Point POA has moved quickly to re-pave the north end of Fuskie Lane - adding to the entire experience of being at Bloody Point.

 

The implementation of a beach groin project at the south end of Bloody Point is moving right along.  A contract should be in place soon and work is scheduled to be completed this summer.  Stabilization of the beach is an important issue for all of us on Daufuskie – many thanks to the Bloody Point owners for their pro-active efforts.

 

Haig Point

 

The owner/members of Haig Point approved the capital assessment program to address ferry needs, golf course improvements and a new beach club.  This positive response from the owner/members shows conviction and commitment and should help buoy the real estate values in HP.

 

The current Inventory of homesites and homes offers the buyer a nice selection.  With a clear direction now in place, this may be a great time to revisit Haig Point.

 

Historic District

 

Interest in the Historic District remains very strong as we move through the spring.   The Historic District provides owners with flexibility to create family retreats or primary residences.  Inventory is good and the prices being realized are the highest in many years.  If you’re looking for a homesite with deep water access, this might be a good time to see the Landings at Mungen River or the New River Bluff estate sized lots.

 

 

 

Melrose

 

A nice selection of homesites exists in Melrose with everything from wooded lots to oceanfront properties available.  For the first time since their initial release we have Melrose Beach Cottages available for resale.  Rental potential remains strong for these first and second row fully renovated cottages.

 

Last time we announced the availability of two-bedroom condominium Easter Beach Villas.  They’ve been moving quickly with four of the eight either sold or under contract.

 

Webb Tract

 

Well, its spring and there is some news.  The South Carolina Environmental Legal Project has announced a settlement of the harbor issue.  If this proves to be true, it will mark a significant step toward the development of the Webb Tract.  While the announcement itself has few facts, you can check it out by going to www.scelp.com and then clicking on the link to their newsletter, “Mountains and Marshes”.  The article is several pages down in the newsletter.

 

Daufuskie Island Resort and Breathe Spa

 

The resort has named John Russell as the new Managing Director.  John brings a wealth of experience and a people first approach to the position.  We welcome John and hope you’ll take time to introduce yourself when you are on the island.

 

Sporting two brand new engines, rumor has it that our old friend the Clipper I will return to the waters around Daufuskie in late May!  She’ll be welcomed back to the fleet with open arms and will provide the opportunity for the Swift Cat to have some maintenance work completed.

 

Around the Island

 

Marshside Mama’s underwent a nice “face lift” a few weeks back and it came out beautifully.  Same great food and fun . . . now even better than before!

 

Congrats to the DI Nature Conservancy.  On Saturday, April 29 the group hosted a very successful Blues and BBQ complete with a fun run/walk up at Freeport Marina.  The music was great, the food excellent and the camaraderie couldn’t have been better. 

 

 

Got a question or a thought to share?  Don’t hesitate to drop me a note (amason5@hargray.com) or add it to the “blog”.  Take care ~ Andy

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Posted by amason at 5/2/2006 5:55 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks