Congrats to the new grad!

Well add another realtor to the Latour family! For those of you keeping track, that would now be 2 realtors named Latour in the Charleston area. Steve recently passed the state exam for his real estate license so congratulations to my husband. I have to admit, he was quite a diligent student and it was fun to see him “hit the books hard!”

I told him the hard part begins now but I promise to keep you updated on where he hangs his license once he makes the decision. Congratulations Steve, and let’s hope we have another “top producer” in the household soon!

La Dolce Vita . . .

Fellini’s classic 1960 film is an apt descriptor of my past 5 days. Unfortunately, “the sweet life” will be ending soon when Steve and I leave the picturesque Sicilian town of Taormina.
 
We were fortunate enough to slap together a late October vacation to Sicily and what a lovely trip it has been!  Lots of sun, great food, plenty of tasty wines and two absolutely stunning hotels have made this getaway one I’ll always remember.

Taormina is a small medieval town in eastern Sicily with not one, but two fabulous Orient-Express hotels, both of which we were fortunate to stay at due to Steve’s work at the Charleston Place Hotel, a sister OEH property.

We were also hosted at a unique winery named Valle Dell’Acate in the Vittoria wine region and sampled regional foods and some amazing local wines. The picture is of Steve and I and our wonderful hostess, Luisa, who was very generous with her time and her wine! And to top off our vacation (pun intended), Mt. Etna had its first significant eruption since 1992! They even had to close the airport. Maybe we’ll get lucky and Etna will keep on rumbling and hold us captive just a bit longer . . .

Charleston is #1! Again!

For the third consecutive year, Charleston has been named the #1 U.S. City/Condé Nast Traveler/ Reader’s Choice Award. Listen to Charleston resident and former American Idol contestant Elise Testone sing about some of Charleston’s many charms!

Based on six categories: atmosphere, ambiance, culture/sites, friendliness, shopping, and restaurants. Charleston ended up being #1 among all of the US cities and #5 worldwide! I especially like the fact that they include friendliness as one of the factors as that is what I enjoy the most about living in Charleston.

The raves about this town continue to pour in and a tip of the hat to the people at the Charleston Visitors Bureau for their work in promoting this area.

This award and other accolades help make Charleston a hot market for visitors and boosts the local economy significantly. Let’s hope we can keep it going and make it four in a row next year!

Second Sunday on King St . . .

For those of you who haven’t strolled King St. on the second Sunday of the month, you really should treat yourself and while away the day downtown. Car traffic is blocked off and the pedestrians take over King St. every second Sunday from 12 to 5.

It is a unique way to visit the shops and restaurants, many of which place tables and chairs outside so that you can have that cafe feel in the middle of the street! There are a variety of tents set up with distributors, musicians line the sidewalks, and a wealth of pets join their owners in a Sunday stroll up and down King St. Each Sunday they mix up the purveyors and exhibitors to keep it fresh. And you always run into a neighbor or two making it a fun way to catch up with people.

This monthly event is one of Charleston’s best and I hope to see you down there soon! And the next one is on November 10th so mark your calendars. And for you football fans, no worries, plenty of tvs down there broadcasting the games so you won’t miss a play!

September sales activity on Daniel Island

This is the sales center at Daniel Island and it has been one very busy place lately. This past September we had a 104% increase in sales volume over last September. We had 24 closings and 10 of those closed at the asking price or higher. It’s great to see all the activity and October shows no sign of slowing down.

For all of my number crunchers, here’s the full report on September’s sales activity: http://www.danielisland.com/real-estate-activity/current-activity/

And although I’m busy as a bee lately, I’m never too busy for your referral and it will be my pleasure to help them find a home on Daniel Island.

“I think I’ll go into real estate . . .”

Look at this photo of prospective realtors! This licensing class for realtors and many others like it in the area are jam-packed with people looking to enter the world of real estate. Steve is currently taking this class to earn his license to complement his property manager’s license. He says there isn’t much room to move around in this tight classroom and it appears that many people want to be a realtor — again . . . Some of the students have let their licenses lapse and are throwing their hat back into the realty business.

I often chuckle when I hear people say, “I think I’ll become a realtor” or “I dunno, I like people and houses so maybe I’ll give real estate a shot.” I am glad Steve is getting his license so, if nothing else, he is able to better observe and understand what goes into the profession.

I’m not sure the area needs one more realtor but I wish everyone good luck. I am often asked, “how do you make money in the real estate business?” I think maybe owning a real estate school might be a good idea!

Team Ellen rocks!

Wow, what a day we had in Charlotte today! Steve and I drove up to Charlotte to join my sister, Ellen, and her supporting posse to walk in the Susan Komen “Race for the Cure.” The photos are of my sister and her team along with my darling grand-niece, Holden, proudly sporting her “Team Ellen” shirt.

We were one of many, as over 24,000 people participated in the 5k walk/run. It was a gorgeous morning and a great way to start the day. The last report was that over $1.2 million was raised and believe me there was plenty of pink in downtown Charlotte today.

On October 19th Daniel Island will be awash in pink as the “Race for the Cure” comes to town. This year they hope to have 12,000 participants and to raise over $1,000,000. It’s a big deal on DI and always a fun event so come on out, wear some pink, and support the cause!