Golf Community Reviews

        The Ten Commandments of Real Estate could very well have the same word written from top to bottom –- Location. The closer a home is located to a popular urban area with plenty of services, the higher the price on a comparative basis. The proposition reaches its most absurd levels in cities like San Francisco and New York, where both sales and rentals routinely command more than $1,000 per square foot for even the most modest spaces.
        The formula is generally true of golf communities as well. The closer a high-quality golf community is located within an easy drive of a popular major urban area, the higher the prices that golf community will command. Thus you will be hard pressed in many communities near Charleston, SC, or the Triad of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill to find homes priced at much under $200 per square foot. One unsurprising reason for this is that urban areas tend to feature high-paying jobs; therefore, well-paid working people are vying for the same golf real estate that retirees are looking for, and if supply is steady –- which it is in most golf communities today –- then demand pushes prices up. Proximity to services appeals across all demographics.
The Tara Course at Savannah Lakes Village, one of two 18-hole layouts there, features significant elevation changes. A full-golf membership in both clubs is just $3,000 per year.
        That isn’t to say some high-end, high-price golf communities can’t flourish in out-of-the-way locations, far from urban sprawl. No one will ever accuse The Reserve at Lake Keowee or the nearby Cliffs group of communities of appealing to the bargain-oriented crowd; home prices in those communities start around $500,000 and a full-golf membership commands $50,000 and more. But, in general, the more rural a golf community, the lower the prices. (We know of a few communities where homes facing a lake are priced at $100 per square foot and less; but more about that later.)
        Of course, a couple who has spent their married lives living just outside New York or Chicago or inside the city itself are going to have a period of adjustment living out in the country, if indeed they ever adjust. It took me three or four years to “learn” how to sleep in suburban Connecticut in the 1980s after living in New York City for five. In New York, I had gotten used to ambulance sirens and truck exhaust backfires in the middle of the night, but in Connecticut, at first, every cricket chirp sounded like a shotgun blast to me. But I eventually adjusted because, well, I had to.
        In this month’s Home On The Course newsletter, we interview a couple who have lived for the last decade at Savannah Lakes Village in McCormick, SC. You don’t find many golf communities in a more rural location than Savannah Lakes; but those who do their golf community shopping via a Google map may be missing out on the real estate bargain of their lives, whether at Savannah Lakes or another of the many remotely located golf communities in the Southeast. With some homes priced at less than $100 per square foot, a few of them with views of beautiful Lake Thurmond, and a cost of living as much as 50% less than what many of us are used to, it is a good idea to listen to how one couple has both managed and thrived in a rural setting.
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        The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has published its list of the zip codes that are poised for the greatest growth in the nation, and one zip code in Myrtle Beach made the list at #18. The NAR calls zip code 29579 one of 2016’s “Boom Towns.”
        Zip code 29579 comprises an area that spills across Highway 501, the major east-west route into and out of Myrtle Beach proper and runs about 15 miles along the western side of Highway 17, the major north-south route along the coast. The zip code area includes the golf communities of Grande Dunes, the homes surrounding International World Tour Golf Links, River Oaks Golf Club, and part of the Myrtle Beach National golf complex. A small square of land south of Highway 501 includes some of the Legends Golf complex and parts of its three golf courses.
        Just outside the boundaries of the zip code area are enough attractions to explain the popularity of this irregularly shaped swath of Myrtle Beach. They include the Coastal Grande Mall, the largest shopping center in town; the huge Tanger Outlets mall on 501; Coastal Carolina University, the only institute of higher learning in the immediate Myrtle Beach area; Broadway at the Beach, a combination shopping and entertainment complex that is a magnet for visitors and locals alike, especially at night; Myrtle Beach International Airport; the Common Market, which has become a popular “new urban” area with co-located shops, homes and office; and, of course, the beach itself, one of the most popular on the east coast.
A bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Myrtle Beach carries golfers and residents alike to Grande Dunes. The community includes a private and semi-private golf course.

        March property sales results in Brunswick County, NC, one of the most popular destinations for retirees on the east coast, show that prices remain a bit soft. But other results imply an eventual inventory shrinkage which signals the potential for significant price increases as the strong spring selling season continues.
        The good news for buyers is that the average selling price of a home in Brunswick county was down nearly 6% to $237,000 from $252,000. But that statistic was in the face of data that showed a 14% jump in total home sales over the prior year and 47% over the number of sales the month before (February). Total number of listings increased by nearly 26%. These latter numbers signal that inventory could shrink significantly in the coming months. If demand remains steady in the popular Brunswick County area, then the result will be increasing prices.
        Some of our favorite golf communities are located in Brunswick County, among them Brunswick Forest just outside Wilmington; St. James Plantation near Southport; and Ocean Ridge Plantation in Sunset Beach. (Those only begin to scratch the surface of the list of golf communities strung out along and near Highway 17 through the county.)

Cape Fear National golf course at Brunswick Forest
        Brunswick Forest has reached its 10th year of operation and it remains one of the fastest selling golf communities on the east coast. Much of that is for developer Lord Baltimore Capital’s reputation for deep pockets and its strong guidance of the community. The semi-private golf course, Cape Fear National, is a delight to play, especially for those who enjoy a links style golf course in which sand is the commanding visual design element. Brunswick Forest’s wellness center is second to none in terms of its modern equipment, well-trained staff and schedule of classes. The community is currently featuring a mix of re-sales and new construction, with townhomes from $235,000 and single-family homes from just under $300,000. Lots are priced from $70,000. Contact us for more information or for an introduction to our real estate professional for Brunswick Forest.
        St. James Plantation will satisfy those couples split between love of golf and love of beach. The community’s 81 holes of golf by the likes of Nicklaus Design, P.B. Dye and Tim Cate provide different layouts but similarly excellent conditions. And just a few minutes outside the gates, St. James Plantation’s private beach club on Oak Island provides a relaxing setting that is no hassle to get to. Condos in St. James start at $130,000, with single-family homes from $225,000. Lots begin at just $27,000. Our real estate professional for St. James will be happy to share much more information and arrange a visit. Contact us.
        Ocean Ridge Plantation shares many of the features of St. James, including multiple golf courses –- four in this case – and its own club located on Sunset Beach, a 10-minute drive away. Ocean Ridge, however, is a little closer to Myrtle Beach and its airport, its restaurants and other entertainment centers and, of course, to some of the best and most plentiful golf east of the Mississippi River. A few select single-family homes are available for purchase in Ocean Ridge starting at $340,000. Lots are priced from $15,000. Our Ocean Ridge real estate professional would be pleased to share more information about this stable and high-profile community. Contact us.

        Kiplinger’s latest lists of the best and worst states for taxes are a mixed bag of the blindingly obvious with a few surprises. The blindingly obvious are, essentially, embedded on the “worst” list. Six of the worst 10 are located in the Northeast, and California (the absolute worst on the list) and Hawaii (#4) come as no surprise. Minnesota and Illinois round out the list at #s 9 and 10, respectively.
        But the lowest overall tax states are something of a surprise in that they do not include the famously no-income-tax states of Florida, Tennessee and New Hampshire. In order from #1 to 10 are: Delaware, Wyoming, Alaska, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and South Carolina.
        Delaware is a sleeper state for retirees, and it ranks not only #1 on Kiplinger’s list of friendly tax states but also #1 on that financial publication’s list of the best states for retirement. And for a small state, it has a large range of golf communities across all price ranges. Check them out at the Delaware golf communities page of our Golf Homes for Sale section. Do the same for an even wider selection of golf communities in South Carolina.
The Peninsula Club was the first private Jack Nicklaus designed golf course in the state of Delaware. The state has been anointed the "most tax friendly" by Kiplinger's financial publication.

        A Bloomberg news service headline a week ago must have made some recent retirees a little nervous, especially those who are poised to start searching for a vacation or retirement home. “Bargains Dry Up; So Do Vacation Home Sales” blared the headline in my local Hartford Courant Sunday real estate section, as I am sure it did in other local papers across the land. Citing National Association of Realtor figures, the article reported that sales of vacation homes in 2015 were down 19 percent compared with 2014 sales, and that the competition among baby boomers for a dwindling number of properties is driving prices higher. Indeed, the median price of vacation homes that sold in 2015 jumped to $192,000, a 28 percent rise. Since, in very few instances, current primary homes in the North are appreciating at rates approaching 28 percent annually -– or even double digits for that matter –- baby boomers poised to sell their current homes and move to a warmer climate could continue to lose buying power the longer they wait. (Full disclosure: I am a baby boomer trying to get our primary home in Connecticut ready for sale, but it is taking forever to get rid of stuff. Sound familiar?)
        Although the numbers don’t lie, we know of some extreme bargains in high-quality golf communities across the Southeast, although you may have to make a compromise or two in terms of location. For example, Savannah Lakes Village, one of our favorites for its low real estate prices and low cost but well-tended amenities, including 36 holes of golf, is located a good half hour from Greenwood, SC, the nearest town that provides services beyond the one supermarket eight minutes from the community. Those looking for single-family homes that begin in the low $100s and homes with views of beautiful Lake Thurmond that start in the mid $200s may find the remote location not much of an inconvenience at all.
        There are dozens of other such golf communities across the region. Take just 10 minutes to fill out our Golf Homes Questionnaire -- click here – and we will share with you which golf communities best match your lifestyle, your golfing interests and your plans for a good chunk of the rest of your life.
Savannah Lakes Village in McCormick, SC, features two fine 18 hole golf courses and Lake Thurmond, as well as some of the most reasonable real estate and amenity prices anywhere.

        The Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, located less than an hour from the university town of Charlottesville, is running a stay and play special this year that includes one night of lodging, two days of golf and prices starting at just $144. Wintergreen features 18 holes by Ellis Maples at the top of the mountain with breathtaking views, and 27 by Rees Jones in the valley at the base of the mountain. For about the price of a night in a Holiday Inn Express, inveterate golfers get 45 holes of golf at what works out to $3.20 per hole (or for free, if you consider you are paying entirely for the lodging).
        I have fond memories of visits to Wintergreen and especially of its golf courses. I hosted a family reunion in 2011 at Wintergreen for my siblings and their children just after my son’s graduation from Washington & Lee University a couple of hours away. Everyone had a great time and a family dinner in one of the condos at the top of the community’s highest mountain offered a beautiful sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains and the famous snakelike highway named for them.
The 17th green on the Devil's Knob golf course at Wintergreen Resort and the Blue Ridge Mountains beyond.
        I have played the mountaintop course at Wintergreen, Devil’s Knob, just once and the Rees Jones course, Stoney Creek, a few times. I prefer the latter but for sheer eye candy views, Devil’s Knob cannot be beat. I have a special soft spot for Stoney Creek because my son Tim posted the low individual score in a college golf tournament there. I followed the college kids around for two days and learned how I should have played the course previously.
        Jim Justice, the wealthy West Virginia industrialist, purchased the financially troubled Wintergreen in 2012 and immediately invested $12 million to rehabilitate some of its aging infrastructure, including restaurants and the resort’s snow making equipment. (Wintergreen is that rare place where a golfing skier can tackle the slopes in the morning and the golf course in the afternoon if conditions are right in January.) But Justice, who also owns the famed Greenbrier Resort, found he was overcommitted in his business ventures and, in 2014, sold Wintergreen to EPR, a Missouri-based real estate investment trust. At the time of the purchase, EPR maintained a $3.9 billion portfolio of properties.
        The community comprises 1,300 detached homes on the mountain and another 500 in the valley around Stoney Creek. Nearly 1,000 undeveloped lots are parceled out across the community. Prices (and taxes) are comparatively low at Wintergreen. We note one current single-bedroom, single-bath condo on the mountain is listed for just $59,900; two-bedroom units begin around $80,000. Mountain style homes with multiple bedrooms start in the $160s. Homes around the Stoney Creek golf course in the valley are of a more recent vintage and priced accordingly from the low $300s.
        Steve Marianella is our professional contact at Wintergreen, and we would be pleased to introduce you to him. Just send me a note.
A downhill par 4 starts one of the nines on the 27-hole Stoney Creek course at Wintergreen.

        DeBordieu Colony could be the best upscale golf community you have never heard of –- although in recent years, the long-time Georgetown, SC, community has been flexing some marketing muscle with national newspaper and magazine ads. DeBordieu, or what residents and locals call “Debba Doo,” features a sleek, private Pete Dye golf course. This one finishes with a par 4 and par 5 that are among the toughest of the more than 1,800 holes on Myrtle Beach’s Grand Strand, which stretches about 90 miles from Brunswick County in NC south to DeBordieu.
The railroad ties are a giveaway that the course was designed by Pete Dye.
        DeBordieu’s other distinction, which will appeal to sun worshippers especially, is its “private” beach. Although all beaches in South Carolina are publicly accessible, DeBordieu’s guarded gate forces anyone wanting to share the community’s beach to arrive by their own boat. Given the other nice beaches in the area, residents have their own almost exclusively to themselves.
        For a community with some oceanfront estate homes valued in the $3 million plus range, you can imagine the average price point in DeBordieu is pretty high, with single-family homes typically in the $700s and higher. But because the developers designed an area called Fairway Oaks for “villas,” or cottages as they are more customarily known, a beach- and golf-loving couple can put down roots at DeBordieu in the $400,000 range. Our professional real estate contact at DeBordieu, Troi Kaz, who knows virtually every inch of the community, tells us there are currently three 3-bedroom, 3-bath Fairway Oaks villas listed from $380,000 to $400,000. The $380,000 and $385,000 units are being sold furnished; the $400,000 home’s furnishings are not included but are negotiable. Any of these units –- some duplexes and some free-standing -- would be perfect as a second-home or a year-round retirement nest; and they would leave enough in the way of resources to join the DeBordieu Golf Club a short walk away, where dues are a reasonable $515 per month.
        For more on DeBordieu, check out the community's page in our Golf Homes for Sale section where you can see the full range of listings in DeBordieu and get in touch with Troi.

A $400,000 cottage at DeBordieu (top) is just a short walk from the clubhouse and golf course.

        I just finished editing the almost 3,000 words we have packed into the April issue of Home On The Course, our monthly newsletter. This month’s issue, which we expect to email to subscribers tomorrow, considers how the carrying costs in Florida’s all-in-one golf communities stack up against those elsewhere, and whether the comprehensive amenities approach makes sense for everyone. We also take a look at a recently published ranking of the top amenities retirees and near-retirees are looking for and try to understand why golf doesn’t make the top 10. (We think we know the reasons, and they give us the opportunity to play pop psychologist.)
        And, last but not least, we provide 10 good reasons why customers considering a golf-oriented retirement -– like really golf oriented -– should definitely take a look at Reynolds Lake Oconee in northern Georgia. (Spoiler Alert: One reason is actually six, which is the number of excellent courses at Reynolds.)
        Home On The Course is free for the asking, and the ask is simply to subscribe here and we will email you the April edition as well as all future issues. You won’t find a better deal anywhere.

The Creek Club golf course at Reynolds Lake Oconee.