ARRIERO REALTY NOW OPEN
Jacob and Debbie Arriero recently opened Arriero Realty in Bluffton. The Arrieros have more than 45 combined years of real estate experience and Debbie Arriero is a certified military relocation professional. The office is at 198 Okatie Village Drive, Suite 103-344.
CENTURY 21 DIAMOND REALTY ADDS NEW AGENTS
The O’Connor-Howell Team and Lisa Fries have joined Century 21 Diamond Realty as real estate professionals.
Barbara O’Connor and Michael Howell have 21 years of real estate sales experience. They moved to Sun City Hilton Head in 2015 and have ranked among the top five real estate teams for Sun City Common in the last two years.
Fries moved to the area several years ago to continue her therapeutic massage practice. Upon purchasing her first home in Bluffton, she discovered an unknown passion for real estate. She is originally from Columbus, Ohio.
PALMETTO DUNES WINS WEDDINGWIRE.COM AWARD
For the third consecutive year, Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort on Hilton Head Island has won the Couples’ Choice Award from WeddingWire.com. The award recognizes local wedding professionals who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Winners are determined by reviews from more than 1 million WeddingWire couples. Palmetto Dunes received 4.8 out of 5.0 stars.
WEICHERT REALTY WELCOMES ONE
Weichert-Realtors Coastal Properties recently added Mary Martinez to the team. Prior to real estate, Martinez worked in the insurance industry. She will work out of the company’s Beaufort office at 1613 North St.
LONG COVE CLUB AWARDS GRANTS
Long Cove Club, in partnership with Darius Rucker and the University of South Carolina, is hosting the ninth annual Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Golf Tournament presented by Kroger and PXG. The tournament will be held March 6-8. Top teams from around the country will travel to the island to compete for the title. Spectators are welcome at no charge.
In addition, the Long Cove Fund is accepting applications for grants for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in Beaufort and Jasper counties. Applicants must support current needs in the areas of health, housing, hunger and education in the community. The deadline for applications is March 31. To apply, go to longcoveclub.com.
COLLINS GROUP REALTY LAUNCHES ‘200TH HOME SALE FOR CHARITY’
Collins Group Realty announced a new charitable initiative, the “200th Home Sale for Charity.” The group will donate the commission from its 200th home sale in 2020 to charity.
The real estate group is accepting nominations for nonprofit groups in the Hilton Head Island and Bluffton areas through Feb. 29 at its website: www.CollinsGroupRealty.com/200thHomeSale.
On March 2, the group will announce the three finalists with the greatest number of nominations, and a final vote will be held in the spring.
STATS SHOW STRONG LOWCOUNTRY REAL ESTATE MARKET
Statistics posted by the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors on hhrealtor.com showed that 2019 was a solid year for Lowcountry real estate. Last year saw almost the same number of new listings (7,114) as 2018, with the number of sales contracts up 8.7%. This resulted in a 12% drop in inventory at the end of the year. As inventory shrunk, average and median sales prices rose by 3.4-3.8%.
Buyers in 2019 paid sellers an average of 96.8% of list prices, with properties sitting on the market for 140 days on average. The mild hurricane season boosted sales in the last quarter of the year, and December’s pending sales were up 22% from the same month in 2018.
Local real estate experts point to the last three years of moderate, steady growth as an indicator of a healthy marketplace. They are predicting that 2020 will again be a strong year for local real estate, based on the strength of the U.S. economy, performance of the stock market and continued demand for the Lowcountry lifestyle.
