WHAT A VIEW!

I am sitting in an ocean front condo at Myrtle Beach. When I look up from my lap-top, I see the surf hitting the beach for about 14 miles. The sun is shining, kites are soaring and beach bums are strolling the beach.

My wife and I drove to the north end earlier this afternoon. We counted 7 construction cranes. We will drive south this evening where we expect to see about 20 more. Probably the most since 1985. We counted 65 cranes one Sunday afternoon in 1985. The big difference between now and 1985 is the number of second row homes and condos being built. The second row condos average only a few units per building but many are 4, 5 and 6 bedroom units going for $500,000 to $1.2 million each. Cranes are not typically required to build these structures and one ocean front high rise is the equivalent of scores of these structures.

We called about a 4 bedroom ocean front condo at an upscale resort today and discovered the asking price is $2 million. An investor from California told me yesterday that the Myrtle Beach market is behind other resort markets. I have an HDTV on, my wife is knitting nearby and the view from this beautiful condo is about as good as it gets.