The new owners of The Cliffs Communities promised residents, golf club members and Gary Player that they would proceed with the construction of the golf course at Mountain Park, and according to testimony by one club member, who was kind enough to send along photos, all signs point to a 2013 grand opening.

        Player, who designed the Mountain Park golf course half a decade ago, is personally invested in the completion of the course and club, and not just as an architect hoping for his vision to be realized. When Player and former Cliffs owner and developer Jim Anthony negotiated for the South African’s services, Anthony convinced Player to move his design offices and his family from Florida to The Cliffs. The former golf star built a large and beautiful home in the community.

        The new golf course, The Cliffs’ 7th, could be its last, at least for some time. The new owners face enough challenges in rejuvenating land and homes sales at The Cliffs without being distracted by re-starting the ill-fated Tiger Woods golf course at High Carolina. Also, the multi-golf-course membership, whose price tag reached $150,000 during the Anthony regime, has lost some of its luster as many members have shown a disinclination to travel up to two hours round trip between Cliffs communities for a round of golf.  The new club membership plans offer some lower-cost options for the non-itinerant golfers, mindful that some members will play the vast majority of their rounds on their own community’s golf course.

        You will find an impressive array of golf homes for sale at The Cliffs in the Greenville area at our companion site, GolfHomesListed. 

        Our thanks to our reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, for the photos of the Mountain Park golf course.

        We have had a good couple of months at Home On The Course, LLC, and so too have our clients, who purchased quality golf homes and golf properties at prices few could have imagined just five years ago.

        A couple from upstate New York, for example, who participated in our sponsored trip last December to The Landings in Savannah, returned a few months later and found a large bank-owned house in the multi-golf course community for just $699,000, almost half the home’s original cost and nearly $500,000 less than its appraised value. The Landings is just 20

minutes from downtown Savannah, one of America’s uniquely interesting cities, and yet its 4,800 acres feel anything but “urban.” This was the second home at The Landings that Home On The Course helped a couple purchase; the first was a $400,000 bargain set behind the green on one of the community’s six exceptionally conditioned golf courses, bought by a couple from Connecticut who are using it during winters but planning to move there full time when their last child finishes college in 2013. If you are interested in current golf properties for sale at The Landings, check out Mike Burch’s listings at our companion web site, GolfHomesListed.

        A few years ago, we arranged a tour of Carolina golf communities for a couple from California. They found their ideal golf community at Governors Club, one of the most upscale and high-quality golf clubs in the Chapel Hill, NC, area. It took a couple of years for them to find the right lot at Governors Club, one that included a view of the Jack Nicklaus 27-hole golf course. A complicating factor -– and this will sound familiar to many –- was that their home on the west coast had not sold in the year it had been listed. But when the best lot of the few remaining at Governors Club became available this summer, they bought it for $235,000. Within days of the closing, the couple accepted a fair offer on their California home. They anticipate building and moving to their new home in Chapel Hill sometime next year. Kay Dunson handled the sale; check out Kay's listings for Governors Club at GolfHomesListed.

Some lots in the upscale golf communities of Berkeley Hall (pictured), Belfair and Colleton River are priced lower than when the communities first opened.  A GolfCommunityReviews reader and his wife recently purchased a nice lot with golf and water views for just $45,000 at Berkeley Hall Plantation.

 

        While many resale homes in southern golf communities represent huge bargains, the greatest bargains are in undeveloped lots. There are a few reasons for this, as we have detailed at GolfCommunityReviews, but the most significant price discounts for lots are in golf communities where club membership is mandatory for all residents. This is the case in Bluffton’s big three golf communities –- the upscale Colleton River, Belfair and Berkeley Hall. Colleton River was the subject of an article we wrote last April in which we highlighted a property listed at $1 because the owners wanted to get out from under the annual obligation of $15,000 for club dues and homeowner fees. Such a situation is a perfect storm for any couple that wants to build a home in a top-notch golf community and is ready to relocate in the near term.

        A newly retired Washington, D.C., area couple we worked with was exactly in that position, and after touring the three Bluffton golf communities in July, made a $45,000 offer on a lot at Berkeley Hall. It was accepted. The deck of the new home they will move into next year will look out over a lake to the putting green beyond on one of Berkeley Hall’s two excellent Tom Fazio courses.  Check out Tom Jackson’s property listings at Berkeley Hall.

Many of the homes beside the Greg Norman golf course at Oldfield add a splash of pastel to the surroundings.  They also feature living space above the garages.

 

        When I visited Oldfield in Okatie, SC, not far from Bluffton, the harmonious combination of golf and equestrian interests and the colorful pastel homes, many of which featured additional living or office spaces above their garages, impressed me. Oldfield is a newer community, and it did not gain enough sales momentum before the 2008 recession began; the financial stress it suffered has resulted in a tamp-down of prices, at least over the last couple of years. Although things have heated up there recently, some extreme bargains remain; last week, a couple from Chicago we are working with put in an offer of just $25,000 on a lot. Because it is a “short sale” -– the sale price will not cover the remaining mortgage balance –- the bank that holds the note must approve the offer. It is nail-biting time for our Chicago couple, but even if the sale does not go through, they can take comfort in a nice assortment of other properties for sale at Oldfield. Tom Jackson, who handles all the Bluffton area homes for us, has posted a nice collection of available Oldfield, Colleton River, Berkeley Hall and Belfair golf homes at GolfHomesListed.

        If you are considering a move to a golf community, please let us know and we will be happy to furnish you with some initial ideas that match your requirements. Even if your plans are to buy and relocate a couple of years from now, this is a good time to take a closer look at the options available and to then monitor price swings in the coming months. Contact us for a free, no-obligation discussion of your requirements.