THE END OF SUMMER - ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.

The Williams brothers on the beach at Hilton Head
Photo courtesy Kristel Kretchmer

The last drink was poured at the venerable Beach Club bar in Sea Pines Resort on August 25th.  Dusk had settled over the barrier island; the parking lot was empty.  Golden sea oats moved in a gentle breeze.  Stars came out while small rollers moved in from the ocean, barely making a sound.

It was the end of another era in Sea Pines for a structure that had been built over 20 years ago, the setting for thousands of happy family and vacationers’ gatherings.  In another couple of weeks demolition would begin, making way for a new, handsome two-story beach club with approximately 15,000 square feet of interior space.  There will be nearly 11,000 square feet of outdoor area.  New amenities include an oceanfront beach bar, a casual beachside restaurant, fast food express concessions, a retail shop, a rooftop bar and terrace, a special event space and sales offices for Sea Pines Real Estate agents.  The plans combine Lowcountry, coastal and traditional elements in an inviting and casual setting.

The Sea Pines Real Estate Beach Club office, having enjoyed space in the old structure for 19 years, moved to the Sea Pines Welcome Center where they will remain until construction on the new club is finished, hopefully by Memorial Day in 2014.

There were other endings this summer: one that touched a number of islanders was the loss of long-time Sea Pines resident Aileen McGinty, wife of the island’s first leading architect, Pete McGinty who was responsible for the island “look” of early homes here.  He also designed the distinctive oceanfront Hilton Head Inn (now torn down), Cordillo Parkway, and the beachside “t” streets in Sea Pines.

The McGintys moved to Hilton Head in 1954, before the roads were paved and before there was a regular ferry from the mainland to the island.  They were living in Columbia, S.C. when they first came to Hilton Head in 1953 and subsequently bought an oceanfront lot near the current Coligny Plaza area for a whopping $1,100.00 and commenced building a vacation house.  It was under construction when Aileen was offered a teaching job in a one-room school house at Honey Horn Plantation, then owned by the Fred Hacks.  She and Pete happily made the move.  It was there that she taught five children, all in different grades, including two of the Hack’s three children, Frederick and Avary.  Later she taught at the first Sea Pines Academy.  She was a loved and respected teacher.

A friend once commented, “She was just a ball of fire.  Education wise, she was a teacher in all phases.  She looked for the absolute best in every child.  She would bring that out of a child, when you would think there was nothing in there.”

She has been quoted as saying that she liked the atmosphere of a classroom. “So many of the students said things in original ways that sort of crisped up the atmosphere.  I enjoyed the students so much I never seemed to think of it as work.  It was so lively and enjoyable.”

While Aileen educated children, including the three that she and Pete had: Leigh, Rupert and Margaret, Pete focused his architectural designs on saving as much of nature as possible, letting houses blend in more than standing out. 

The McGintys embraced all of the good things that the island offered, easily done with their well-honed social skills.  A favorite social activity was a play-reading group where members hosted meetings, the host couple choosing a play, then the attendees rehearsing it on the first Friday night of each month.  They would then present it to each other on the following Sunday.  The couple made many contributions to our community.  We’ll miss Aileen McGinty.

There have been more positive trends in the real estate market: declining inventory, increasing sales, and a very exciting trend noticed by agents in the local community, high end product is selling again.  With Sea Pines Resort engaged in so many capital improvements (two new clubs with a third to come), and improvements at Tower Beach at South Beach (an area for Sea Pines residents and their guests).  Buyers’ confidence in the overall market’s health is obvious.

Last month Fox News showcased Hilton Head Island on its 10 Beautiful Beach Town Fall Vacations list in the USA citing miles of pristine beaches, unique Gullah culture, the Coastal Discovery Museum at beautiful Honey Horn Plantation and more.

The National Association of Realtors’ voice has been heard in Washington, D.C. regarding tax code reform.  The Senate has decided to start from a “blank slate” on reforming the code.  Pressure is being put on Congress to retain vital real estate tax incentives, a long tradition that encourages home ownership and commercial investment.

To contact Diann: diannwilk@roadrunner.com

A Day at the Beach - on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Photo courtesy Kristel Kretchmer

Living on Hilton Head this summer has been like living in the tropics with almost daily rains interspersed at night by the sounds of croaking frogs and other wild creatures.  Actually, the frequent rainfall just made the island look more beautiful, so green and lush. Crepe myrtles and other flowering shrubs appear to have larger and denser flower clusters – so colorful and pretty.

There have been more vacationers on the island this season than we have seen in a long time.  Beach activity is constant and joyous despite intermittent cloudbursts.

Families trekking to the beach with their loads of folding beach chairs, beach towels, baby carryalls, carriages, umbrellas, picnic baskets, wagons, coolers – look like Hannibal’s burdened elephants, crossing the Alps.  The smell of coconut oil permeates the air.

A group of Hilton Head’s resident visionaries has formed to plan a variety of stimulating programs modeled on successful programs around the country such as the Aspen Institute in Colorado, the Chautauqua Institute in New York, and the Matrix Midland Festival in Michigan.

The new Hilton Head Island Institute has planned a four-day ideas festival, ImagiNATION 2013, where attendees will hear thought provoking talks, exchange innovative ideas, imagine a more vibrant and sustainable future for our community.  It is scheduled for October 23-26.

In the Institute’s first year there is an exciting lineup of speakers that include William Paul Young, best-selling author of “The Shack” which has sold over 10 million copies; Randi Zuckenberg, founder of Zuckerberg Media and Facebook pioneer.  Randi’s brother Mark revolutionized how we communicate throughout the world via Facebook. Randi participated in that endeavor.  Also included will be Tony Wagner of the Harvard Technology & Entrepreneurship Center.

Hilton Head seems to be mentioned in national publications almost every week!  Now Parents magazine with 2.2 million readers and 817,000 visitors each month to its website have chosen Hilton Head Island as the number 1 beach town in the nation.  More importantly, the Town maintained high marks by bond rating agencies who cited, among other things, the “strong financial policies’ the town employs.  Parents magazine credited our beaches, view of the stars, children-focused museums and recent, significant redevelopment on the island.

One thing that won’t change on our island is the 42 square miles of subtropical Lowcountry beauty, 12 miles of pristine beaches, forests of greenery, and the friendly nature of our residents.  All of this impacts on real estate sales where we are seeing strong gains in sales the first half of this year.  Closed home sales island-wide number 397 (up 9% in Sea Pines with closed home sales of 101 through June) although the average price of $775,099 (Sea Pines) reflects a lack of sales of expensive oceanfront and beach properties.

Island-wide villa sales through June 2013 have been 410 with an average price of $270,461. Total villa sales in Sea Pines in June 2013 were 74 with an average price of $401,934.  Inventory continues to decline while interest rates are inching up.

To contact Diann: diannwilk@roadrunner.com

The Romance of Summer - on Hilton Head Island, SC

Wildflowers on Hilton Head Island
photo by Mary Pracht

“Shrimp boats is a-coming. . .there’s dancing tonight!”

Part of summer’s romance in our area is the sight of shrimp boats trawling off of local beaches.  We see these big boats with their tall, cathedral-like spires rigged to pull cumbersome nets that are followed by swirls of crying seagulls and schools of porpoise.

When the trawling has been completed and the nets pulled up (haul-back) the catch is unloaded to release the bycatch onto the boat’s deck floor where sea creatures such as stingrays, flounder, shark, and horseshoe crabs are separated from the prized shrimp and shoveled through the scupper hold, back into the ocean.  (A few months ago on a gift page in an upscale magazine I saw a bronzed horseshoe crab offered for sale at a shop in New York.  It had been made into a wall light fixture and the price was just under $4,000.00.)

In earlier shrimping years, a good catch would be upwards of 10,000 pounds and bring close to $30,000.  Now a good catch is around 25 pounds per boat per day. In November and December of 2011, South Carolina commercial shrimpers caught 514,826 pounds of shrimp.  The same two months in 2012 brought in only 353,522 pounds.  There seems to be no magic answer to the lack of shrimp.

Other contributors to the enchantment and romance of summer are enticing arrays of fresh grown vegetables and fruits brought to local farmers’ markets from nearby fields and orchards.  Buyers crowd around stalls perusing red, yellow, green and purple peppers; fresh unshucked corn trailing silky tassels, luscious red tomatoes – and green for those who appreciate slices of green fried tomatoes!  Newly dug potatoes, green beans, green peanuts (for boiled peanuts), okra, zucchini, yellow squash, sweet Vidalia onions, peas, butter beans, fresh peaches (think peach pound cake, peach pie); blackberries, blue berries, (more pies or tarts) and don’t forget the watermelon!  Fresh herbs and mushrooms are another attraction. 

Coastal areas are getting a lot of attention from the national media: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg have all recently written about Hilton Head.

Nearby historic Beaufort, S.C. was chosen by Coastal Living Magazine as first place winner of the magazine’s “America’s Happiest Seaside Town,” one of 10 best places to live by the sea (June 2013 issue).  Cited is Lowcountry friendliness and urban refinement in the beautiful South Carolina town known for its historic antebellum architecture and rich African-American Heritage.  Located on the Intracoastal waterway in the heart of the Sea Islands, it is a natural stopping place for the boats, sailboats and yachts that travel those waters.

While writing a newspaper column (for 16 years with a deadline every week) I once wrote about Jackie Kennedy Onassis visiting Beaufort with her friend, Maurice Tempelsman while cruising in the area.  They came from Savannah, Georgia where they visited antiques dealer Jim Williams’ “Mercer House,” made famous in John Berendt’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”  A couple of months ahead of Jackie’s signature in Williams’ guestbook was the signature of her sister, Lee Radziwill.

The article in Bloomberg (June 14, 2013), “U.S. Vacation Home Rebound Lifts Hilton Head to Hawaii” mentions values this year in the Hilton Head area jumping 11.1 percent from the first five months of last year with sales rising 9.3% (according to the South Carolina Association of Realtors).

They mention one couple buying an oceanfront condo on Hilton Head for under $500,000 sight unseen.  We’ve seen that happen before, especially when the buyer is familiar with the complex and can easily see myriad photographs of the property via the Internet.  That kind of offer is normally contingent on the purchaser actually seeing the property within five to seven days of acceptance by seller.

On my beach street alone, two lots are slated to have large “spec” houses constructed in the next few months.  It has been a few years since we have seen much spec building because banks were not willing to assist with funding spec construction.  Both lots had older homes that have been torn down. 

In the Sunday New York Times on June 9, 2013 there were stunning photographs of homes “On the Market in Hilton Head, S.C.” with photographs by Stephen Morton for the New York Times.  Shown were homes in gated communities with amenities that included swimming pools, wine rooms, elevators, movie theaters, yachting and golf.

According to the South Carolina Association of Realtors, April 2013 pending sales (properties under contract but not yet closed) hit the highest level in three years!  May was a solid sales month for our real estate market.  Total sales were up six percent compared with sales in May 2012.

Contact Diann at: diannwilk@roadrunner.com

Until the End of Time - on Hilton Head Island

Dr. Sandy Termotto taking a jump at Ravenwood Plantation.
Photo Credit: Erik Olsen Photography

There are some memories that will last until the end of time.  Memories of the Carolina Lowcountry where beaches, soft air, wheeling seagulls, the smell of suntan lotion, woodlands laced with dogwood and yellow jasmine, fields of wildflowers, the thunder of horses hooves at nearby, beautiful Rose Hill Plantation.

It is there at the Equestrian Center run by hall of fame jockey, Eddie Maple and his wife, Kate, that spectators find color and excitement at various events such as polo matches, dressage, a hunt chase.  All of these and more are featured in the annual Hilton Head U Savannah Equestrian Exposition, presented by Equus Ventures, LLC chaired this year by Eddie Maple.  An annual event, it raises funds for local charities, over $215,000 since its inception a few years ago.

This year, the event’s date is Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m.  Last year’s exposition’s Parade of Breeds included the Saddlebred, Appaloosa, Thoroughbred, Arabian, Palomino, Pasa Fino, Quarter Horse and others.

Spectators will mingle with members of the Lowcountry Hunt, the only mounted fox hunting Club in Beaufort, Jasper and Colleton counties.  They ride on private plantations like Ravenwood where the property dates from the 1800’s.  The house was built in 1840 and fortunately, not burned during the Civil War.  Current owners are Frank and Nina Burke.

As a tribute to South Carolina history, Lowcountry Hunt’s colors are indigo blue and Carolina rice gold.  There are over 100 members of the club which is a recognized member of the Master of Foxhounds Association of America.

Another area plantation where early morning riders follow the cry of hounds that chase over fields of rising mist, is Airy Hall owned by Buck and Frankie Limehouse, who even have a polo field on their front lawn.  Buck is known for his business acumen and for being named South Carolina’s first secretary of transportation.  He has been honored with The Order of the Palmetto Award twice for his distinguished service to the State of South Carolina.  He and Frankie are the owners of the well-known Meeting Street Inn, Indigo Inn (transformed from a vintage 1850 indigo warehouse), Jasmine House and Ansonborough Inn, all in Charleston, S.C. as well as other commercial enterprises.  He consults on Public Private Partnerships involving government and logistics companies.  An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he bought Airy Hall when he was 39 years old, over 30 years ago.  He and his polo-playing sons are familiar figures at Rose Hill polo matches.

Other plantations that welcome Lowcountry Hunt are Gracefield, Turkey Hill (known for some of the best wing shooting in South Carolina and owned by five generations in the same family); Broxton Bridge and Middleton Place, a National Historic Landmark and home to American’s Oldest Landscaped Gardens.  The Garden Club of America has called the exquisite 65 acres of gardens, “the most important and most interesting garden in America.”  The House Museum was built in 1755, remaining under the same family stewardship for over 320 years.  The primary hunt country consists of land in Charleston and Dorchester Counties, containing over 7,000 acres on Middleton Place and Millbrook Plantation.  Hunt events are usually followed by a hunt breakfast or involve oyster roasts, tailgate picnics, and other social activities.

The Artists of Sea Pines held their 1st Anniversary Exhibit on April 24, 2013.  The exhibit was held at the CSA gallery where a large group of supporters gathered to enjoy wine, canapés and art.  During the reception Rosemary Kimball, group coordinator, presented a $500.00 check to Ted Allenbach, chairman of the Sea Pines Forest Preserve Foundation.

The 52 members, who also exhibit in the lobby of the CSA Community Center in Sea Pines Center, have quarterly exhibits and donate 10% from sales of their art to the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.  In the past year the group has donated over $1,000.00.  All Sea Pines residents, they hold some “plen-aire” sessions during the year at the Heritage Farm, Lawton Stables and the Forest Preserve.  The two gallery locations are a great way to find some very nice local art at reasonable prices.

Real estate sales on the island are trending up.  Some areas are experiencing lower inventory.  Indigo Run Plantation home sales were up over 25% in March with arguably some of the best values on the island.  Island-wide villa sales were up over 28% in March, although prices were not always higher.  Sellers should remember that “solds” are constantly being replaced with “new” inventory.  Overpriced properties continue to sit.  Buyers are looking for properties priced at fair market value.  Sellers who are waiting to “get their price” need to consider what that price will be costing them in the interim.

More older properties in good locations are being purchased and renovated: recently a 3BR villa with stunning lagoon and golf views was bought, gutted and taken down to the studs.  Many times this kind of project results in the property being placed back on the market for sale after renovation but many owners prefer to keep it for family use as a vacation home, possibly a rental property.  One buyer purchased a large “spec” house, basically from the house plans, when only the footings were in.  It was priced around $2.4 million.  We’re seeing more “spec” building again, which speaks to a more stable market.

There is definitely a renaissance taking place on Hilton Head.  Massive infusions of cash are going or have gone into improvements all over the island.  The new owners of the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa recently unveiled a $30 million renovation.  Their meeting planners believe they can attract more national and global events.  Group and business travel represents about half of the Westin’s business.

Other renovations and improvements include the Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa, the Omni Hilton Head Resort, Sonesta Resort, and The Beach House (the former Holiday Inn).  Sea Pines Resort’s owner, Virginia-based Riverstone Group has already spent some $30 million on resort improvements with another $30 million to $50 million to be spent.  A lot of this activity has to do with keeping the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing and the over $80 million the golf tournament generates for our area.  A very nice memory, indeed.

To contact Diann: diannwilk@roadrunner.com