Real Estate News —Tennis center site for Home, Design show; Prudential Southern agents win awards

• Custom home fest to rally at Daniel Island this year •

With its featured hangout unavailable this year, the Charleston Home + Design Show is going outdoors on a new date and time at least for 2012.

The April 21-22 weekend gathering will take place at the Family Circle Cup Stadium on Daniel Island.

For the past nine years, Charleston Home + Design Magazine has held the show in January at the Gaillard Auditorium in downtown Charleston. According to the sponsor, the event is the only local custom-home show.

Gaillard Auditorium is closing temporarily for renovations, which brought about the move.

The magazine is pitching the Family Circle Cup Stadium as a new venue for Charleston’s first “open air” home show, according to Tim Barkley with Charleston Home + Design Magazine.

While its spot will be new, the show will return a number of its favorite attractions. These include:

• Homes by Architects Tour, to be held 1-5 p.m. and featuring six private residences on the island. The dwellings, all designed by architects, will open to the public April 21. Architects and builders will be around to answer questions and point out details of each home. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the tour. Proceeds benefit the American Red Cross Carolina chapter. For more information, visit www.HomesByArchitectsTour.com.

• Food Truck Row, which displays three or four different local food trucks each day of the show. The trucks include: Hello My Name is BBQ, Daniel Island Grill (DIG RIG), Pot Kettle Black, Carolina Creole Truck and Taco Boy.

• Showgoers have the chance to win an $8,000 “organizational makeover” from Jennifer Truesdale with STR8N UpPlus. The makeover includes three closet systems plus 20 hours of professional organizing time.

The rain or shine bazaar will showcase more than 75 top local companies lining the stadium concourse. Magazine organizers note that the center is shaded from the sun, protected from the elements and has cool breezes off the Wando River.

• Free home and design seminars for homeowners throughout the weekend.

Admission and parking are free during regular show hours, which are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 21 and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. April 22.

For more information, contact Barkley at 843-577-7652 or 843-670-4663 or Charleston Home + Design Magazine at 843-577-7654.

• Sales pros honored at brokerage’s national convention •

A trio of agents with Prudential Southern Coast Real Estate in Summerville took home top awards at the parent company’s 2011 sales conference.

Jana Bantz was awarded the Prudential Gold Chairman’s Circle. Less than 2 percent of Prudential’s sales associates earn the award.

Meanwhile, Cary Collins and Marianne Stabenau were presented with the Prudential Real Estate “Leading Edge Society.” Joining the society places them in the top 5 percent of all Prudential sales associates.

“It was an honor to have Jana, Cary and Marianne recognized by this prestigious group of Prudential companies,” says Linda Collins, owner of Prudential Southern Coast Real Estate. She congratulates the three top-producing agents.

For more information, contact the agency at 843-871-5091 or visit its website at www.prudentialsoutherncoast.com.

• Long-time Realtor named manager at Weichert office •

From telecommunications account rep to real estate agent, Sheryl Hill has amassed her share of honors.

Now, the broker associate is adding to her job responsibilities with Weichert, Realtors Palmetto Coast in Mount Pleasant. Hill is the agency’s new sales manager, says Annalisa Jordan, broker/owner.

In her new role, Hill will oversee sales activities for the company’s agents. At the same time, she will continue to serve her customer base throughout the Charleston area.

Hill has been in the real estate field for 15 years, four years as a property manager and two as a mortgage banker.

She is a member of the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors and has seven years to her credit in the North Area Top Producers Club. She is a GRI (Graduate, Realtor Institute); and ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative).

In 2011, she earned awards for top closed units, top sales and top listings, according to Weichert, Realtors. Previous honors are President’s Circle, Executive Club, Honor Society and Realtor of Distinction.

The Charleston native lives in Mount Pleasant.

She changed careers to real estate sales after a successful eight-year run as executive account rep for Cellular One/GTE. She was more than once the No. 1 agent in her area and also won the Best Customer Service award.

“We are excited to have someone of Sheryl’s background and caliber in the sales manager position,” Jordan says.

Weichert, Realtors Palmetto Coast is located at 389 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, Suite 103 in Mount Pleasant. For more information, call 843-375-2076.

• Sale scheduled for land, sites at private village in Franklin, N.C. •

Lots and acreage in the North Carolina mountains are up for bid April 21 at a property auction for The Ridges at Wildflower.

The Kimsey Auction Team will conduct the “absolute” auction of improved building lots and a number of larger parcels. The “bidder’s choice” will take place at 11 a.m. in Franklin, about 20 minutes from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.

Each property will be sold separately. There’s no reserve or minimum; and owner financing is available for the first five bidders, according to Kimsey Auction.

Along with the improved lots, The Ridges at Wildflower has driveways, building pads, underground utilities and septic permits in place. The Ridges is a new section of The Wildflower development, an established, gated community. Amenities include a well-appointed clubhouse with saltwater pool and fitness center. For more about the property, which is two hours from Atlanta, visit www.theridgesatwildflower.com.

“We are committed to protecting the safety and welfare of land owners and residents of The Ridges and the natural beauty or this western North Carolina community,” says John Williams, managing director of developer Leed Enterprises. “We have retained the brightest minds in the region in order to successfully produce superior building sites for residential construction,” he says.

In June 2011, Leed Enterprises purchased more than 500 acres in the Wildflower subdivision, a Blue Ridge-Smoky Mountain resort. The development boasts 3,600-foot elevations that provide 60-mile panoramic views, waterfalls, greenway hiking and biking, according to backers.

In recent months, more than 40 lots have sold in The Ridges at Wildflower.

For more information on the auction, contact Marty Kimsey and the Kimsey Auction team at 828-524-3500 or visit www.KimseyAuctionTeam.com.

• Local rate of foreclosures inches up, delinquency number drops •

A greater share of homes faced foreclosure in metro Charleston as of January than a year before, but the pace of delinquent home loans is easing.

That’s according to findings by national real estate information tracker CoreLogic.

In a report released this week, Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic says foreclosures as a share of outstanding mortgage loans was 4 percent in greater Charleston-North-Summerville at the end of January. That was up 0.69 percent from the same period a year ago, when the rate was 3.31 percent. The statewide foreclosure rate was 3.75 percent and the U.S. figure was 3.43 percent.

At the same time, delinquent mortgages as a share of all home loans dropped in January to 7.08 percent; an 0.18 percent decline from 7.26 percent a year earlier.

The South Carolina delinquent loan rate was 6.71 percent for the second straight month, and the U.S. share was 7.24 percent. The figures jibe with numbers from the end of last year.

The foreclosure rate as a share of outstanding mortgage loans was 3.8 percent at the end of December in the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metro area. The foreclosure rate was up 0.57 percent from the 3.23 percent a year before.

Meanwhile, foreclosure activity in the Charleston area is higher than the national rate of 3.37 percent for December. As the same time, the rate of mortgages with delinquent payments but not in foreclosure declined slightly.

According to CoreLogic figures, 7.03 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more past due as of December, compared with 7.07 percent for the same period last year. For more information, visit www.corelogic.com.