THE FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.

Photo courtesy of David Love

Living on Hilton Head is like living in a forest preserve.  Early on the first day of autumn, two young deer were feasting on the lawn on golden fruit that had fallen from a stalk growing high among the fronds of a giant palm tree.  Nearby, the mother doe stood placidly in front of scrub palmettos. 

This is the time of year for fine weather, the air pure and clear, when shafts of sunlight angle across green lawns, trees and shrubs, illuminating Spanish moss that swings from spreading oak limbs.

Fall is festival time in our area, festivals created to celebrate history, food, heritage, wine, art and more.  One much looked forward to event is the annual Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival in Old Town Bluffton, just across the river from Hilton Head.  The event is held October 13-20, and features fine art and seafood.  It showcases locally harvested seafood cuisine, history, art and Southern Hospitality.  There is a boat parade, concerts, performances, kayak tours, even a two-day street-fest.  Enjoy this after the Salty Dog Oyster Roast on October 5 in Sea Pines Resort at South Beach.

On Monday, October 7 the Hilton Head Institute presents the Calibogue Series: Cultivating Community.  One of the featured speakers, environmental expert Todd Ballantine will discuss innovative solutions for building a more resilient, livable community.  Todd, a highly regarded environmental consultant, lived on Hilton Head for many years.  He now divides his time between the island and Boulder, Colorado where his Ballantine Environmental Resources, Inc. is based.  He recently expanded his popular Tideland Treasure book, a guide to the beaches and marshes of the eastern coast of the United States.

Last fall in this blog I mentioned NFL champ Chris Canty’s new Hilton Head waterfront estate where his 13,000 square foot limestone-faced home was under construction.  Now it is almost finished, all six bedrooms, six bathrooms with a lighting, heating, security and home theater system that can be controlled by the owner from anywhere on the planet via his iPhone.  It is an elegant looking home.

Nearby, is an 18,000 square foot waterfront home once appraised at $17 million.  This area was  the site of artesian wells where Spanish explorers put in to fill their water kegs.  Not far away is a secluded gated community of only 11 homes.  One, priced just below $3 million appears to be at least a $5 million dollar house.  It is on a beautiful 2.5 acre waterfront lot with dramatic marsh-water views.  The architectural flavor is Tuscan and is complimented by many architectural details (almost 6,000 sq ft) with custom-everything, including a 22-carat gold dining room ceiling.  It is a beautifully decorated residence with five bedrooms, four bathrooms and three half-baths, a gourmet, high-end kitchen open to a great room with fireplace, large rear terrace with pool outside of the living room and great room, and under-parking for multiple cars.  It would probably sell for around $12 million in California.

During the recent annual Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Tournament, a local resident playing in the tournament hit a shot 175 straight yards at the flag on the 13th hole of Wexford Plantation’s Arnold Palmer Signature Course that dropped into the hole and won him a two-year lease on a 2014 BMW 535!  The big surprise came when David Cook, the winner who aced the hole, returned the prize.  He wanted to “give back to the community.”  He will continue to drive his 2005 Chevrolet Express work van.  His wife will continue to drive her 2006 Chevy Trailblazer with 110,000 miles.  The odds of an amateur golfer making a hole in one on a par-3 hole are roughly 12,500 to 1, according to U.S. Hole In One Insurance.  Since its inception in 1979 the tournament has donated nearly $4 million to charity.

We are still seeing a nice recovery trend in residential sales in many areas throughout the island with prices following the trend.  The same trend is seen in villa sales with even more of a dramatic increase in prices.  These trends are definitely assisted by still-low interest rates, such as the following that one lender was offering (thank you Mr. Bernanke) last week: Conforming 30 year fixed: 4.229%, Conforming 5 year ARM: 2.819%.  Jumbo 30 year fixed (Jumbo being anything over $417,000) 4.0%, Jumbo 5 year ARM 2.9%.  Yes, you read the Jumbo at 4.0% correctly.

The great butterfly migration has begun; Hilton Head is covered with the winged creatures: yellow Sulphers, Monarchs with their black-tipped and veined orange-spotted wings; Viceroys, silver winged Gulf fritllary, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail with gold and black tiger streaks anchored by dazzling blue pearl-size dots bordering the tail.  Some of these gentle, fragile creatures are en route to a small province in Mexico.  What a sight to behold!