I probably don’t remind readers enough that it is possible to have a deeply satisfying golfing retirement in a community that was not strictly planned as a golf community.  In almost all such cases, especially for golf communities that do not maintain a guarded security gate, homeowner costs are cheaper in a non-planned development than in one whose golf course and surrounding real estate were set up together.  Often, even though they "feel" like planned golf communities, there are no homeowner dues at all.

        The Thornblade Club in Greer, SC, and its surrounding neighborhood are fine examples of how two separate components can appear to live in perfect harmony.  The highly rated Tom Fazio golf course, renovated exquisitely a few years ago, is at the core of the community, literally and figuratively.  The wide range of home styles, mostly brick, radiate around the layout, which features a number of funneled fairways and Fazio’s customary cloverleaf bunkers.  Some of the fairways, especially the 18^th, are half a funnel, which is to say sloped on one side with the potential for slipping off the other into danger if your tee shot is not well placed.  The course, which is open year round, is always in excellent condition and a fair challenge for all manners of players…

        …except, perhaps, the professionals, who now tee it up at Thornblade this time of the year at the BMW Charity tournament on the Nationwide Tour -- and those who practice there.  (Former U.S. Open champ Lucas Glover learned the game at Thornblade, and the Haas family owns a home beside one green (it's owned by patriarch Jay).  Yesterday, current BMW event leader Cameron Percy shot a 62 on the 6,688-yard layout.  Still, the fact that the leader is “only” 14 under par on a course that plays as short as any on the professional tours is testimony that Thornblade is no pussycat.  A 66 was the second-lowest score among the other leaders yesterday.

A stream runs through Thornblade, but a pond can wreck havoc too.

 

        Greer is anchored by the enormous operations of BMW of North America.  The plant and offices and all the auxiliary businesses that support them has had a stabilizing economic effect on the area.  The Greenville area is one of the most under-appreciated locations for retirees looking for an active and golf-oriented lifestyle.  The city is as diverse as the more popular Asheville, NC, with real estate prices comparably lower.   For those looking for more elaborate and somewhat more rural golf communities, but still within striking distance of Greenville, two of The Cliffs Communities are within a half hour -– Cliffs Valley and Cliffs at Glassy.  Given current bankruptcy proceedings, from which we understand The Cliffs might emerge in a matter of weeks, real estate prices are at their low ebb.  For those with a slight appetite for risk as well as high-end living at bargain prices, contact us to talk about The Cliffs. 

        For those oriented more toward a classic golf club with a diverse and engaged membership, and a golf course good enough for the pros but no back-breaker for the average player, Thornblade, with single-family homes ranging from $400,000 to $1 million+, is a great choice.  Either way, you will be close to the interesting, stable and up and coming Greenville, SC.   Please contact us for more information.

The fairway on Thornblade's finishing hole gives new meaning to "slope rating."

        Bloomberg.com and other outlets report that more than half, or 74, of the 146 metropolitan areas surveyed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) saw median home prices increase in the first quarter of 2012. In the final quarter of 2011, only 29 metro areas saw such gains.

        Florida metros, especially hard hit during the housing market collapse, sported some of the highest gains, with Cape Coral up more than 28% and Palm Bay up nearly 17%. Yet prices in Mobile, AL, dropped almost 15% and in Atlanta 12%.

        If you check out the Bloomberg article –- click here – and want some post-read entertainment, hang in their for the reader comments at the end. Some contend –- and are quite animated about it –- that the NAR and Realtors in general are pumping sunshine into a market that still has significant problems. After a Realtor in Port St. Lucie described her local market as “HOT” and supported her comment with a positive summary of related conditions (employment, property inventory, low interest rates), another poster said: Housing prices are falling. Why are you realtors lying to the public about it?”

        The fact is that prices in some markets are rising and in others they are falling or level. You would think there is a direct correlation between employment and prices. Yet in Mobile, for example, where prices dropped 15% in the first quarter of 2012, unemployment was set at 8.7% in March, but was well off the 10.5% of just a year earlier. Home prices tend to lag employment trends; if you are trying to guess the market, you might want to look for sharp movements in employment at local levels.

        Of course, if you are looking for a retirement or even a second home you intend to keep for many years to come, price considerations are less important. Most baby boomers are not looking for short-term purchases of real estate. For many boomers with equity in their current (primary) homes and looking to move to a golf community in the

southern U.S., the debate over price trends is almost irrelevant. First, waiting for the value of their primary home to rise may be a fool’s errand if the price of the next home they buy also rises (and especially rises at a faster rate). Second, if their primary home is in a high-cost area of the northern U.S., their cost of living could be as much as 40% higher than the area they might move to in the southern U.S. For example, Bluffton, SC, which is home to an outstanding collection of golf communities and just off the bridge from Hilton Head, is 39% less expensive than Stamford, CT. It is similarly cheaper than many other suburban areas in the northern U.S. For a couple planning an active retirement, the cost differentials are not insignificant. And notwithstanding market naysayers, prices in good golf communities are at their lowest in 10 years. If they go a bit lower, so what? Chances are your primary home’s value will have dropped as well. (Note: Stamford, CT, prices dropped 18% in the first quarter of 2012.)

        So the advice here is on the order of “Eat, Drink and Be Merry.” Moving south soon might be more affordable than you think.

If you want a quick snapshot of current prices in 20 of the finest southern golf communities, check out our companion web site, GolfHomesListed, and the dozens of properties for sale that are displayed there. If any of them strike your fancy, just click on the “More Details” button. (We ask for your name and email address, but will never share your personal information with anyone other than the Realtor with the listing.) Or if you would like a personal and private consultation about your search for a golf course home, contact me, Larry Gavrich, founder and editor of Home On The Course, LLC.