OPEN HOUSES 2-4PM

1 GREENHOW LANE – The Landings – Sweeping lagoon views & on a large corner lot!  Features include 3 BR’s, 4.5 BA’s, formal LR, & DR.    Open & airy FR w/ wet bar & icemaker & a gourmet Kitchen w/ Corian & abundant cabinets & storage.  MBR & Office downstairs & 2 BR’s upstairs.  Spacious Bonus Room over Garage, brick paver driveway & beautifully landscaped.  Call Reba Laramy at 596-1294 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU5F5N3.  $695,900.

6 DELEGAL’S RETREAT – The Landings – Spectacular views of Delegal Creek!  ustom floor plan provides easy living in one of the most beautiful area of Skidaway Island.  Home features 3 BR’s, 4.5 BA’s, Office, Decks on both levels & a large Bonus Room over the Garage.  Watch the dolphins perform in your back yard.  Call Denise Porter at 657-5770 or 355-4171.  $1,150,000.

7 JOSHUA’S RETREAT – The Landings – Gorgeous golf & lagoon views!  Custom design, open floor plan w/ 3 BR’s, 3.5 BA’s, Brazilian cherry floors, & a huge covered deck.  Designer Kitchen, plenty of built-ins, & a Home Office.  A short walk to pool & Marshwood Clubhouse.  Owner is a licensed agent in the state of Georgia acting as principal.  Call John Hamson at 655-0585 or 355-4171.  $479,900.

Open Houses 2-4 P.M.

1 MAD TURKEY CROSSING – The Landings – Beautiful home situated on #3 of Marshwood!  4 BR’s, 2.5 BA’s, LR has vaulted beamed ceiling, DR, Sunroom & Kitchen w/ granite counters & stainless appliances.  Wood floors in Kitchen, BR’s & Powder Room.  BA’s have Corian counters & ceramic tile floors & shower & tub enclosures.  Tray ceilings in Kitchen & MBR.  This home is immaculate & ready for you to move right in.  Call Reba Laramy at 596-1294 or 355-4171.  Web ID:  PRU8G4A2.  $359,900.

13 MORNING MARSH ROAD – The Landings – Ultimate renovation!  3 BR’s, 3.5 BA’s, beautiful golf course view, gleaming HW floors, & a completely new Kitchen w/ granite countertops, stainless appliances, & gas cooktop.  LR, DR, FR, Breakfast Area, spacious MBR, MBA w/ tile work, deep spa style Jacuzzi tub, & a Bonus Room w/ BA.  Very light, bright & open floor plan.  Call Lin Wieland at 656-2887 or 355-4171.  $479,000.

103 TEACHER COURT – Guyton – Walk to South Effingham Elementary from this all brick home on a large wooded lot in South Effingham Woods!  3 BR’s, 2 BA’s, GR w/ tray ceiling & fireplace, DR or Office, & an eat-in Kitchen.  Fenced yard, 2-car garage, attached patio plus storage shed, double carport & dog kennel.  Call Donna Dunn at 507-1705 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU2B6J3.  $169,000.

Prudential Southeast Coastal Properties Open Houses 2-4 p.m.

3 KERTREL LANE – The Landings – Golf course & lagoon views!  The grounds are extremely well maintained & private.  The Master Suite features a very large BR area w/ fireplace & raised television space, separate his/her closets & a large MBA w/ whirlpool BA for a queen.  Spacious gourmet Kitchen has been updated w/ all new stainless appliances, granite, glass tiled backsplash & a center island to die for.  Along w/ 2 BR’s & a Loft upstairs, this home features a Teen or In-law Suite complete w/ 2 BR’s, LR, Breakfast Area & mini-Kitchen w/ full BA separate from the rest of the home.   Call Marianne Schutz at 667-8713 or 355-4171.  $849,000.

144 RENDANT AVENUE – Southside – Open 2-5PM – Charming French style home overlooks expansive views of the Vernon River!  4 BR’s, 2.5 BA’s, private gardens, arbor, dock & dock house w/ floating dock on tidal creek.  LR w/ fireplace, DR, Kitchen opens to FR & covered Terrace, Library, Study & Screened Porch.  Artist Studio, Garage & Workshop.  Call Donna Dunn at 507-1705 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU8B2G5.  $695,000.

1014 ASHLEY ROAD – Wilmington Island – Wonderful home in desirable Wilmington Park neighborhood!  5 BR’s, 3 BA’s, large Screened Porch Patio, FR w/ built-in’s, LR w/ fireplace, & a huge lot w/ beautiful gardens throughout.  Call Linda Novack at 596-1908 or 355-4171.  $304,900.

1. Terry Jackson

2. Bonnie Gaster

3. Reba Laramy

4. Linda Novack

5. Rob Sales

1 CAPTAIN KIRK LANE – The Landings – Great Room plan on a large, wooded, corner lot near the Main Gate & Marshwood Club!  3 BR’s, 2.5 BA’s, & a spacious GR w/ vaulted, beamed ceiling, built-in bookcases, brick façade fireplace & wet bar.  Separate DR & an updated Chefs Kitchen w/ commercial grade dual fuel 5 burner range w/ convection oven & electric secondary side oven, & center island w/ granite countertop.  Home sited perfectly & must see to fully appreciate.  Call Reba Laramy at 596-1294 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU5F4P3.  $265,000.

4 CRICKET COURT – The Landings – Beautifully maintained home on #5 of Plantation!  2 BR’s, 2 BA’s, & an Office w/ custom built-ins & desk.  LR/DR w/ fireplace, nice Kitchen w/ breakfast bar & abundant cabinet & counter space, huge Laundry Room, & double Garage w/ golf cart space.  Call Reba Laramy at 596-1294 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU2S6D2.  $299,000.

2902 RIVER DRIVE A101 – Thunderbolt – Fantastic waterfront living & no maintenance!  3 BR’s, 2 BA’s w/ huge terrace overlooking the Wilmington River (ICW) complete w/ pool & 35’ boat slip, 2-car garage & storage room.  Affordably priced & close to restaurants, Historic District & Tybee Island.  Call Fran O’Neal at 856-0314 or 355-4171.  $439,500.

Open Houses 2-4 P.M.

219 WILEY BOTTOM ROAD – The Landings – Great location & central to all amenities!  4 BR’s, 3.5 BA’s, finished Bonus Room, great open layout, attic recently sprayed w/ foam insulation & a low traffic area great for kids to play.  Close to The Village, restaurants, clubs & stores.  Call Wells Hood at 695-5983 or 355-4171.  $560,000.

4 MAYHAW LANE – The Landings – Beautifully renovated home situated on a quiet cul-de-sac & a bike ride away from the Franklin Creek Activity Center!  3 BR’s, 2.5 BA’s, sunken LR, separate DR, & an all new Kitchen w/ granite counters & stainless appliances.  Screened Porch, beautifully landscaped & in move-in condition.  Call Reba Laramy at 596-1294 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU6K9A7.  $429,000.

6 SWEET FERN RETREAT – The Landings – Exquisite quality throughout!  The 4 BR, 5.5 BA custom designed home is on a quiet cul-de-sac w/ panoramic views of #12 of Deer Creek.  Beautiful LR & separate DR, gourmet Kitchen open to FR, lovely Study/BR & BA, Media/Exercise Room, Office plus a spacious Bonus Room & BA over the 3-car garage.   See your hostess Jane Howard 667-3872 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU8W3V6.  $929,000.

139 ROSE DHU ROAD – Southside – Enjoy life inside & out in this spacious home!  3 BR’s each w/ BA & a huge Master Suite w/ gigantic closet & luxurious BA.  Kitchen w/ pantry, lots of cabinets, & built-in appliances including a double oven, separate LR, DR, FR, Office & Eating Area off Kitchen that opens onto a large Screened Porch & Deck overlooking an in-ground pool.  Call Anna Canady at 695-8560 or 355-4171.  $349,900.

103 TEACHER COURT – Guyton – Walk to South Effingham Elementary from this all brick home on a large wooded lot in South Effingham Woods!  3 BR’s, 2 BA’s, GR w/ tray ceiling & fireplace, DR or Office, & an eat-in Kitchen.  Fenced yard, 2-car garage, attached patio plus storage shed, double carport & dog kennel.  Call Donna Dunn at 507-1705 or 355-4171.  Web ID: PRU2B6J3.  $169,000.

(Image credit: Getty Images North America via @daylife)

The lion’s share of home sales typically come in the spring and early summer. April, May, June and July account for more than 40% of all housing transactions annually, in large part thanks to weather. Economists, realtors and Wall Streeters have been quick to surmise that 2012 will be the year of the market bottom, and with that prognosis circulating, it begs the question of what sellers and buyers can expect in housing as that high season nears.

“The spring home buying season looks bright because of an elevated level of contract offers so far this year,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist of NAR, said in a statement earlier this week. February home sales, despite a slight dip from January to February, remain well above 2011 numbers. The Pending Home Sales Index, which reflects signed contracts that have yet to close, from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was 9.2% higher than February of 2011 and existing-homes sales, or closed contracts, were 8.8% higher than last year. 

That increased demand from buyers has pushed inventory levels 19% lower than they were this time last year, with an estimated 2.43 million homes available for sale. In fact, housing inventory is at a five-year low nationally right now. It means owners tinkering with the thought of selling have less competition to contend with, compared to the past five years. It also means housing may be inching toward a long-awaited recovery.

Here are five factors that will affect what the spring season brings and ultimately, whether 2012 is truly the year of recovery.

Weather

The mild winter weather played a big role in the relatively strong sales numbers with which 2012 has kicked off.  ”Right now it’s hard to say whether the housing market is recovering or whether it’s warm weather,” asserts John Canally, an economist and investment strategist for LPL Financial. “But there are a couple factors that suggest the rising number of home sales are indeed for real: home builder stocks are way up since last October, lumber prices are higher, and home builder sentiment is getting higher.”

(Building permits, which rose 5.1% from January to February, were 34.3% higher than February of 2011, according to the U.S. Census and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing starts were 34.7% higher than last year.)

The Midwest has welcomed the most sales activity since 2012 commenced. The region clocked the most newly signed contracts, jumping 6.5% from January to February, with a 19% increase year-over-year. It was also one of only two regions that welcomed an uptick in completed sales as well.

“If it’s 30 below and snowy that doesn’t inspire people to go look at houses, but this year it has been so mild that our market didn’t slow down,” says Ellen DeHaven, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Burnet in Minnesota.  ”So we’ve been selling many more houses this year than we typically would at this time and it’s brought down our inventory levels both in foreclosures and in general.” DeHaven expects that sales surge to only grow as the year unfolds.

One concern may be whether the warm winter’s relatively strong sales have been pulling activity forward, meaning whether buyers who would typically have purchased in the spring have done so already, translating into less sales later on. Canally and others suspect that that’s not the case. NAR predicts sales will rise 7% to 10% this year, reaching the highest numbers seen since the housing bust began five years ago.

Tight Lending

Interest rates hover at record lows. Housing affordability is at record highs. However, lending remains tight. NAR estimates that 31% of all pending contracts collapsed in February due to failed financing. Compare that to a 9% cancellation rate in February 2011.

Jed Smith, managing director for quantitative research at NAR, says stringent lending practices are a reflection of two things: either a potential buyer whose credit may not be strong enough according to post-bubble standards or a lending institution whose portfolio remains bogged down by poorly underwritten mortgages in years past. He notes that many of the larger lending institutions, like Bank of America for example, suffer from this, whereas the smaller, community banks and savings and loan associations may be more willing to underwrite mortgages.

“The single biggest obstacle for a home buyer right now is availability of credit,” asserts Canally. If prospective buyers can find a way to finance their purchases, sales will arguably continue to grow. Smith estimates 500,000 more sales would be completed this year than projected if lending standards eased even just a little bit.

A Flood Of Foreclosure Sales

Now that the $25 billion foreclosure settlement has been reached, the uncertainty banks have felt about processing foreclosures is expected to subside.  RealtyTrac estimates that there will be one million completed foreclosures, or REOs, in 2012 — a 25% increase from 2011.

That doesn’t mean we will see 25% more homes slide into default; it means the foreclosures that stalled in the processing pipeline after 2010′s robo-signing debacle will finally make their way into the hands of buyers in short sales and onto bank books as REOs (bank-owned properties).

“We will see more foreclosed homes come to the market later this year,” predicts Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia. He and Canally both think banks will list larger percentages of their REO inventory this year, a move that, depite being a long-term positive for housing, could further depress home prices in the immediate future.  Since distressed property sells for about 30% less than non-distressed property on average, those discounts pull both listing prices and appraisal numbers down on non-distressed property in response.

However, investors have been eagerly snatching up distressed properties, which typically account for one third of all sales each month. So even if more short sales and foreclosures make their way to the sale block, there may be a market for them. The sooner they are cleared from banks’ books, the sooner prices can stabilize and begin an upward march.

Location

The housing bust has forced people to look at real estate on a much more localized level. While real estate research firms track housing data nationally, each city, each ZIP code, each neighborhood is undergoing its own micro market experience.

In the New York City metro area, for example, the suburbs of Northern New Jersey and Westchester, N.Y. are experiencing such high levels of affordability that it is, perhaps for the first time ever, cheaper to buy a home than rent. Yet in nearby Manhattan, condo, co-op and town house prices continue to skyrocket, making renting a better option, according to Trulia’s Winter Rent vs. Buy Index.

Whether people will turn out this spring to buy will depend on economic conditions locally and whether consumers feel confident that local home prices have flat-lined.

Jobs

Whether you believe a healthy jobs market is the proverbial chicken or the egg for housing, jobs and housing are intrinsically linked and one fuels the other. In places like Boise, Idaho where foreclosures racked up and home prices plunged only after the jobs market weakened during the recession, bringing down unemployment will offer a vital key toward recovery. In places like Florida where so much of the jobs market is tied up in construction and housing-related industries to begin with, jobs may come as vacation and retirement home buyers fuel a market rebound.

Whatever the case, if businesses, which have added more than 500,000 jobs since the start of the year, continue to hire, more home sales will potentially take place this spring.

“This is a key time,” says Canally. “It’s not a great picture but certainly it is getting incrementally better. This year we may even see a contribution to GDP growth from the housing market and we haven’t seen a sustained contribution from housing since 2005.”

Morgan Brennan, Forbes StaffI write about real estate markets, outrageous homes and cities.+ Follow on Forbes

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