Pulte puts name on homes

The rebranding of a former Centex Homes community as a Pulte Homes community is the first visible sign along the Grand Strand of last year's merger of the two companies.

Heritage Preserve, a single-family home community off S.C. 90 in Conway, became a Pulte community Friday, and home buyers will now have a new selection of home plans to choose from, said Ben Guyton, Pulte Homes general sales manager for the Myrtle Beach market.

The new houses will range in size from 1,200 square feet to 2,400 square feet and be priced between $150,000 and $200,000. Most are two-bedroom houses with a den or flexible room. New signs will reflect the rebranding. Construction on a new court of model homes will start in the next couple of weeks and should be competed by November.

"It's the first opportunity in the Myrtle Beach market to bring the name in," Guyton said, adding that the rebranding was being done "to bring it more in line with the target consumer that we're appealing to."

Sales drop not as dramatic

Grand Strand real estate sales did not drop as dramatically in July as the numbers initially released indicated.

Single-family home sales were down 7 percent, instead of 10 percent, in July when compared to the same month in 2009, according to numbers gathered from the Multiple Listing Service this week. Condo sales were down 4 percent, instead of 7 percent.

The number of sales adjusts throughout the month as Realtors update their data in the MLS, said Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors.

The small drop in sales in July isn't much cause for worry because last July was when the Grand Strand started seeing gains in sales, he said. Sales had been up every month since July 2009.

"My guess is we're more leveling off than we're having a recycle downwards," Maeser said.

The median price of single-family homes - the price at which half sold for more and half sold for less - was up 7 percent to $182,200 in July when compared with the same month last year, instead of being up 8 percent at $183,500. The median price of condos remained the same as earlier reports at $113,500, down 13 percent.

Maeser said that single-family home prices improved because more homes above the midpoint in price sold this year when compared with last year.