The ongoing economic downturn has meant continued problems for the South Carolina real estate market, as many areas of the state are experiencing business closures, layoffs and high unemployment rates. However, several beacons of hope — including Greenville and Myrtle Beach — are slowly rebounding as first-time buyers take advantage of tax credits and low prices all around. See the following article from Housing Predictor for more on this.
Government backed incentives are starting to drive the South Carolina housing market in the depths of depression with falling home prices and rising unemployment. The state has lost tens of thousands of jobs over the last few years, but real estate markets in some areas of South Carolina are beginning to show glimmers of a rebound.
Falling tax revenues in the state’s largest city, Columbia are impacting every part of daily life as businesses file bankruptcies at some of the highest rates in the nation. Housing prices have fallen as much as half from the market’s peak as bargain priced foreclosures pressure the marketplace. While home sales are off, first time home buyers are taking advantage of the federal government’s tax credit and a special city driven incentive in Columbia.
However, the market will take a long while to stabilize in Columbia, battered by increasing job losses and escalating foreclosures. Housing Predictor forecasts Columbia homes will deflate 12.2% on average for 2009.
In Charleston the market has seen a surge in home sales as a result of lower prices, and the government’s first time buyer’s tax credit. The market had seen falling prices for more than two years, and although home values are still declining it appears the area’s volume of sales is robust enough to show evidence of a healthier market in time.
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Local South Carolina Housing Markets at a Glance
| City | Forecast |
| Columbia | −12.2% |
| Charleston | −12.1% |
| Myrtle Beach | −11.2% |
| Greenville | −13.4% |
Lower housing prices have taken a toll on Charleston and neighboring Summerville, where home sales were supported for the longest time by a tide of rising foreclosures. After years of double-digit appreciation, however, Charleston has a long way to fall before prices stabilize and are forecast to lose 12.1% in average values in 2009.
In Greenville, any momentum of a recovery in housing has slowed to a grind as the former text tile capital of the world deals with the global financial crisis. Slower home sales coupled with higher unemployment have many homeowners giving up on paying the mortgage, forced to walk away as a result of higher mortgage payments and a decaying economy.
The credit crisis is hitting hard in Greenville and nearby Spartanburg, with housing sales down by more than a third for the year. More people may be out of work in Greenville than since the Great Depression soon. As a result of the weakness and rising foreclosures, Greenville homes are forecast to deflate 13.4% for the year.
But in Myrtle Beach on the glorious Atlantic Ocean the market is seeing an upward tick as second home sales increase driven by lower prices, and a vacation market that slowed much earlier than most of the state. As one of the top summer time destinations on the east coast, Myrtle Beach has seen a healthy flow of sales and as the inventory of properties is sold off the market is making inroads towards stabilizing.
Some of the lowest priced vacation properties in the country are being sold in Myrtle Beach, which is still seeing declining prices even as the market makes strides towards improvement. Home values are forecast to fall a total of 11.2% on average for the year.
This article has been republished from Housing Predictor. You can also view this article at Housing Predictor, a real estate analysis and forecasting site.
