Paint this $14M home green

Construction is under way on one of Kiawah Island's highest-priced homes.

The eight-bedroom, Nantucket-style home at 109 Flyway Drive will feature the usual list of luxury-level amenities, but it will have at least one that's special: the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

The designation will mean that the home's owners can save more than 35 percent in energy consumption and up to 30,000 gallons of water per year, per the silver-level certification's parameters.

Developer Dyal Compass said the home will be the only one in the area with that type of certification. The home was designed by architect Christopher Rose and is being built by Royal Indigo Construction.

The home's listing price of $13,999,500 makes it one of the most expensive in the Charleston area. Two peninsula residences come close: the extensively renovated spread at 60 Montagu recently went on the market for $13 million and 32 South Battery, which sits among a stretch of historic homes near the waterfront, was listed last fall for $10.3 million.

A handful of existing Kiawah properties are also listed around the $10 million mark through Kiawah Island Real Estate.

Meet the prez

Veteran Texas real estate agent and current National Association of Realtors president Charles McMillan will address his Charleston colleagues at the local chapter's upcoming "State of the Industry" address.

The location of the July 23 event is still being firmed up.

McMillan, a broker with an Irving-based Coldwell Banker affiliate, showed earlier this year that he's well-versed in the mortgage lending problems that led to the current foreclosure crisis.

In testimony he gave in front of a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee, he blamed lenders for taking advantage of "vulnerable borrowers by charging extremely high interest rates and loan fees unrelated to risk."

He added that he supports foreclosure counseling programs and a "strong and independent" appraisal industry.

Web stuff

The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors recently relaunched its Web site, CharlestonRealtors.com.

The site now includes direct access to its Multiple Listing Service, a feature it didn't have before, which updates every 15 minutes.

The site also has an easy-to-understand guide to the $8,000 tax credit that's available to first-time home buyers until Nov. 30.

The association plans to add additional features by the end of the year, including an overlay map of landmarks such as hospitals.

They also could add what's called radial searching, which allows searchers to find properties by drawing a circle around a point on a map.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postand courier.com.