The following transcript was taken from a Facebook live video at the ARK on 5/20/22.

Roni:               

Hello, friends. It's Friday again, which means I get to come to you live. And today, I get the honor of doing it from the Ark right here in downtown Summerville. So I want to share all that what is going on here this weekend, but a little bit about the Ark. So I've got my friend, Megan, and you are one of many workers around here, but I've gotten to know you over the years of being involved with the Ark and such. Tell us about what your position here is.

Megan:             

Sure. So I am the development director and communications director. So I do, I say all the fun things from fundraising to marketing, but yes, we do have an amazing staff. We are a small, but mighty of 10.

Roni:               

Yeah. So tenfold. Today, there's a flurry of activity.

Megan:             

Almost definitely.

Roni:               

Let's talk about though, before we start jumping into about what this weekend is all about. Let's talk a minute about the Ark. So one of the things that I love about our community here within Summerville is we believe in giving back to our community.

Megan:             

Yes, definitely.

Roni:               

Big time. I've never known of a community like what we have here in Summerville, where we really fundraise and sponsor and give back to the families within our community and serve really.

Megan:             

Most definitely. Summerville is such a philanthropic community. I mean, we have so many vital nonprofit-

Roni:               

Our weekends really thrive off of what are we going to be doing to give back to the community this weekend? So the Ark though, y'all started the Ark back in 1996, I believe. Right?

Megan:             

Yes ma'am.

Roni:               

And at that time you were able to serve 10 families. That first year I understood you served 10 families.

Megan:             

Yeah.

Roni:               

And wow, has it grown. So a little bit about the Ark though, to further the knowledge for the community that may not know. You guys as a group really support those that have family members and loved ones with Alzheimer's.

Megan:             

Yes. So our primary goal is to kind of serve that now and to be a resource to these families that are living with Alzheimer's and related dementia. We have a social respite program that gives that family caregiver a break that also keeps that care receiver, socialize, engaged. We like to have fun at the Ark. So in that lesson four hour program, they're getting that stimulation doing activities. And that caregiver is able to take that time to themselves, run an errand or just read a book, whatever that might be. But we do a lot outside of that from education support groups. And again, our primary goal is just to be there for a resource and to kind of let them know they're not alone on this journey.

Roni:               

And you really, I can speak knowledgeably from my own family experience, we've had two family members and loved ones that have suffered through Alzheimer's and it's gosh, you really do feel a sense of loneliness because that caregiving does not end.

Megan:             

No.

Roni:               

I mean, you don't get a break traditionally. And so by having a support system and respite care here within the group of the Ark, it really gives that family the support and the person who has Alzheimer's the support that they need.

Megan:             

Most definitely. It is-

Roni:               

So it's a big win.

Megan:             

... beneficial to everybody.

Roni:               

It is. So, but y'all thrive off of donations and support from the community. So you've got big, really understand three big fundraisers throughout the year. So let's talk about the oldest one first. So that's a big race that goes on.

Megan:             

Yeah. This will be our 23rd annual McElveen race for the Ark coming up on August 27th, 5K run walk with a one mile fun run in historic downtown Summerville. We do youth challenges, corporate challenges. So it's just a fun morning to come together at 7:30, because we want to be that [inaudible].

Roni:               

I've participated many a times as a runner in that. And it's always fun. You get to run through downtown Summerville. So they've got to run. You've got a new fundraiser that I think you've only done, what, one year?

Megan:             

No, we've actually done it for four-

Roni:               

Four?

Megan:             

This would be fourth year. So in ugly sweater dash, which is kind of to get into that holiday spirit-

Roni:               

[inaudible].

Megan:             

Yeah. Sometime we've had 70 degree weather on December, but it's just a fun time to see the community again, to come together. But our newest one is a car show and that was our board driven fundraiser. That kind of just happened. It was fun to kind of see that's a whole different community of those project. That was really cool.

Roni:               

People from different interests and like can come together, but all of it's very family friendly.

Megan:             

Yes.

Roni:               

And then tomorrow night, let's talk about what is proven to be y'all's biggest fundraiser.

Megan:             

Most definitely.

Roni:               

And it's called Dancing With the Ark and there are still tickets available at the door, correct?

Megan:             

Correct.

Roni:               

So if you want to participate, listen up because you can still participate in this event. I've been for numerous years and it's a ton of fun. Let's talk about what's going on tomorrow night.

Megan:             

So doors open at seven at the Lowcountry Conference Center. We have such an amazing group of celebrity and professional dancers that have just been donating their time, their energy and hard work for not only raising money for us setting their fundraising goals, but taking dance lessons as well. So tomorrow night they are able to showcase all their hard work and we'll give out two awards, the People's Choice Award, which is the person that raises the most money of the night and the Judge's Award, which is the person that will have the best dance routine of the night.

Roni:               

I know these men and women work hard. I mean, they're training for weeks leading up to this.

Megan:             

Months too.

Roni:               

Months leading up to this. They've been fundraising. Last year, how much money did y'all raise for the Ark for this event?

Megan:             

We raised over 120,000 last year, which was a record breaking year. So we are just hoping that we are on track-

Roni:               

So the competition is on.

Megan:             

Yes, most definitely.

Roni:               

So that'll be a lot of fun. Again, a great way to be involved in the social scene within Summerville, but a wonderful cause is benefiting from it at the end of the day. So if you want to participate, you can either reach out to me. We've got the Ark tagged and you can always search online. What's the website that people can go to?

Megan:           

They can go to Ark ... A-R-K of sc.org.

Roni:               

Fantastic. Well, thanks so much, Megan-

Megan:             

Thank you, guys.

Roni:                ... for jumping on. I know that y'all are in full preparation mode. There's a U-Haul out front, there's people all over the place. I'm going to let you get back to it. And we're going to talk about some market update. Okay?

Megan:             

Thank you guys.

Roni:               

Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow night. All right guys. Well, it is fun. It's fun to be able to participate here within the community. And I do love to give back to the community that serves me so well in real estate. So a little bit about what's going on in the market. So if you're not familiar with me, if you're just tapping on and kind of getting started with this, I'm a realtor here in the Charleston market. Specifically, I live and do a lot of my production here in Summerville, although buyer and seller clients take me throughout the Charleston region. I love to watch the market statistics for the Charleston area because people's number one question to me is how's the real estate market. Y'all it doesn't matter where I go. I can go to the dentist. I can go to get my nails done. I can go to the coffee shop and everybody wants to know how's the real estate market. So that's what I like to bring to you.

                        I watch economists. I listen to not just our local market updates, but really as far as a national pipeline of what the statistics bring, but we're going to talk here about local market here for a moment. So we dipped down last week in our sales production a little bit. We were up into the four hundreds at one point a few weeks ago, we dipped down into the three hundreds and these are homes that have sold or let me say they have gone under contract. I'm looking at contingent properties, things that have gone under contract. And that's the number that I'm providing to you. So there's 367 homes that were sold in our multiple listing service in the Charleston region this week. That is up from last week, but is down from the last couple of years, which is okay guys. It's okay. We can't continue doing the same level of numbers that 2020 and 2021 held, but we're still doing pretty good for 2022.

                        This week I pushed out three live listings and we have had a flurry of activity. One's already pending status. The other two are getting shown a lot. We've getting offers in on those. Somebody asked me today, what's the average days on the market for my listings? Well, we're still seeing a very short amount of days on the market as in like maybe three or four. And that's only because we are extending, we're doing a highest and best date. So once we hit the market with a listing, we are setting the expectation that we're not reviewing offers and responding for a couple of days. And it just allows all the buyers to have a chance to look at the property, put in their best offer. And then we go under contract with a ratification. So, but 367 houses have gone under contract this last week.

                        Here's a interesting statistic. 20% of those have been condos or townhouses. So what we call attached dwellings or attached single family homes, 20% have been that. And only 11% have been new construction. And at one point I was given numbers and I was saying that 20% of our sales production each week was happening in new construction sales. Well, that's changed. And a big part to that is because Charleston County, if you apply for a building permit today, you're looking for about 12 months before we can get that building permit back from the county. So because of that and because there's such been a demand for new construction, even in our Dorchester and Berkeley County markets, then we are seeing that the builders cannot keep up with the level of demand. So 11% is new construction. What we are seeing though, is that houses are coming on the market.

                        So for a while there, we were sitting at a thousand or even less houses that were active in my list. That's entire Charleston region, guys. That's not much, we are upwards of 1400 to 1500 listings active in our MLS now. So things are coming on the market. And so there gives a more chance for buyers instead of getting 15 offers on a single property, I may be only being presented with three or four. They are still in most cases going above our list price. So no worries there. Don't want to set any fear into seller's mind. We are still seeing a lot of owner occupied dwellings come in the market, but I will tell you, most of my properties are investment properties that I'm listing. They've had a tenant in the property for a little bit. And now that investor is seeing that we're kind of at a high point, potentially a high point in our market.

                        And so they're listing those properties. So those are now getting bought by buyers that haven't had a chance in the market to be able to purchase. So with all of that said, it's still a great time to buy. It's still a great time to list. We don't know what the market's going to do going forward throughout this year. What we do know is that rates are going to continue to climb. So if you're price sensitive, jump in now, let's talk about how to get you into a home, whether it's your personal residence, an investment property, or maybe even a second home, we have a tremendous amount of activity on second home purchases as well. Whatever your needs are in real estate, if you're looking to buy or sell in the Charleston region, please let me be your resource. Let's talk, reach out to me and have a wonderful weekend. And guys, this Ark, that event is going to be happening tomorrow night. Make sure to reach out if you're interested in participating in it, reach out to me. I'll be glad to share details. Have a wonderful weekend.