Statewide home sales up 16% in May

GSA Daily Staff Report
Published June 24, 2009

While overall home sales are still down compared to last year’s levels, most regions in the state enjoyed an increase in the number of homes sold in May.

"With the first-time home buyer tax credit expected to boost sales, Realtors in South Carolina are already seeing summer activity heating up,” said Nick Kremydas, CEO of the S.C. Association of Realtors.

The association is reporting 3,704 homes were sold in May, about a 16.5% increase over homes sold in April. Still, May 2009 sales are down 21.4% compared to May 2008.

Fifteen regions report home sales for the association and all but three posted increases. Cherokee County, Spartanburg and Western Upstate MLS all reported a slight decrease in home sales for May.

Of the state’s three major metropolitan areas, Charleston reported an increase in sales in May over April of 27%. Columbia and Greenville reported increases of 16% and 14%, respectively.

The median price of homes in South Carolina was $142,000 and the average number of days homes stayed on the market was 155.

Nationwide, home sales also increased in May, with the National Association of Realtors reporting the 2.4% increase over April represented the first back-to-back monthly gain since September 2005. Still, year-over-year numbers were down 3.6%.

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Survey: Economic development issues dominate concerns.

86% of Greenville County Property Owners are Extremely Satisfied...

GSA Daily Staff Report
Published June 16, 2009

A new survey says 86% of Greenville County property owners are extremely satisfied or satisfied with the county’s “quality of life.”  Imagine Greenville County staff will be presenting a draft of a comprehensive plan to the County Council tonight at County Square. Growth and development, economic development and transportation emerged as the three most important topics in a survey the group conducted last fall.  The county received 467 completed questionnaires out of 2,000 survey mailers, representing a response rate of approximately 23.35%. The survey touched on quality of life, housing, transportation, agricultural, natural and cultural resources, community services and facilities, parks and recreation facilities, land use and community character, and economic development.  Some of the notable statistics from the survey include favored ways to pay for projects. The No. 1 choice by most is to turn to federal and state grants (48.18%), followed by user fees (13.7%) and license, permit and utility fees (7.49%).  When asked what types of jobs Greenville County needs, the top three choices were the high-tech sector (23.34%), followed by light manufacturing (22.91%) and professional services (16.9%). Participants in the survey also listed those industries as the top three in the types of businesses wanted in Greenville County.  Questions regarding preservation of natural resources and the need for more parks received resounding support in the survey as “very important.” Transportation issues, on the other hand, didn’t fair as well.  Greenville County’s existing road network ranked “fair” with 39.83% of the participants. Another 21.41% called it “poor.”   There were 33.4% who answered “good.” Only 11 people said Greenville County has excellent roads.  The majority (58.03%) said current transit options, such as train and bus transportation, is poor. Sidewalk and bicycle networks also received poor scores.  The sixty question survey included one open ended question, “…what Greenville County should be 20 years from now?”  Some of the answers were:

“A stronger version of what it is now... a wholesome family community.”

“Not Atlanta!”

“The place everyone wants to live.”

“A county proud to be a ‘small’ county.”

“A much larger, diverse county.”

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Foreclosures up in Greenville and Spartanburg counties, down in Anderson

By Andy Owens
GSA Daily
Published June 11, 2009

Foreclosure numbers released this morning show a spike in the number of homes in distress in Greenville and Spartanburg counties from April to May. Anderson County was among the 13 South Carolina counties to post a decrease in month-to-month foreclosures.

RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for May showed Greenville County had the biggest month-to-month increase in the Upstate with a 43.46% increase in foreclosures from April to May, from 382 to 548. During the same period, foreclosures in Spartanburg County increased 26.67%, from 60 to 76. And in Anderson County, foreclosures dropped 23.68%, from 38 to 29.

After posting a 2.41% decline from March to April across South Carolina, foreclosures were up 33.91% from April to May, RealtyTrac reported. Some analysts were forecasting an uptick as moratoriums were lifted and banks moved forward with what was considered a backlog of homes in distress across the U.S. Year-to-year foreclosures in South Carolina were up 65.16% from May 2008 to May 2009.

Of the state’s 46 counties, 13 saw a decrease and 20 others had fewer than five month-to-month foreclosures and most of them zero. Thirteen counties saw an increase.

All three counties in the Charleston region saw a significant drop in April to May foreclosures though most of the state’s population centers saw an increase, including the Midlands and Grandstrand, though Georgetown saw a decrease of 47.06%.

Nationally, foreclosures were down 6.01%. Connecticut saw the largest drop with a 49.13% decrease. Vermont had the largest percentage increase, but the small state posted fewer than 10 foreclosures for the month.

RealtyTrac said foreclosure activity was up 18% from May 2008. The company’s CEO said that May was the highest month on record for the number of properties in some state of foreclosure, ranging from notice of default to bank repossession of property.

“While defaults and scheduled foreclosure auctions were both down from the previous month, bank repossessions, or REOs, were up 2% thanks largely to substantial increases in several states, including Michigan, Arizona, Washington, Nevada, Oregon and New York,” said RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio. “We expect REO activity to spike in the coming months as foreclosure delays and moratoria implemented by various state laws come to an end.”

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Pending Home Sales Up 3 Months in a Row

Ken Sweet

FOXBusiness

Pending home sales rose for the third consecutive month in April, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors; with some economists saying enough consecutive positive traction has occurred to call a possible bottom in the U.S. housing market.

According to a Tuesday release by NAR, the trade organization’s gauge of contracts signed in April rose by 6.7% to 90.3, up from March’s reading of 84.6. 

The jump in sales was driven primarily by continued historically-low interest rates, and low home prices and a new $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, according to the industry trade group.

“Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, and now the [tax credit] is beginning to impact the market,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR. 

The jump in pending home sales was much better than Wall Street’s expectations for a rise of 0.5% in the index, giving stocks a moderate bounce in early morning Tuesday trading. 

"We suspect sales are on their way back toward the close to 5 million
pace that prevailed from the fall of 2007 to October 2008," said Abiel Reinhart with JPMorgan Chase & Co. "Large
volumes of distressed sales, improved home buyer sentiment, and a slowly
stabilizing economy have the potential to then push sales higher.

Pending home sales are a gauge of home sale contracts signed but not sales that are finalized and closed. With credit conditions remaining tight and the overall economy remaining weak, people who signed contracts for a home may not be able to acquire the financing necessary to complete a purchase.

“Mortgage processing time has increased and some sales are falling through at the last moment,” said Yun. 

Regionally, the Northeast saw a major jump in contracts signed during the month of April, with sales jumping 32.6% in April. Northeast sales activity is now higher by 0.8% from a year ago. 

In the Midwest, sales rose 9.8% and are now 11.1% higher than a year ago while the South saw sales slip 0.2% but are 3.5% higher than a year ago. The struggling West saw sales rise 1.8% but remain down 2.9% from a year ago. 

The average price of a single-family home declined by approximately $5,000 to $169,800 in April, according to the association.

"Here's hoping [sales keep rising]," said Ian Shepherdson with High Frequency Economists. "But remember that even if sales volumes rebound, home prices will keep falling under the weight of the massive inventory overhang."

There are some concerns that still remain for pending home sales. Mortgage rates have been rising in recent weeks - partially because mortgage rates are tied to the yields on bond, which have risen as well - making purchasing a home less affordable than it was two months ago.

According to the mortgage rate tracking Web site Bankrate.com, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 4.85% in April to 5.32% last week.

JPMorgan's Reinhart said that the recent rise in mortgage rates poises a "threat" to the rise in home sales. However, he said it's still too early to tell what effect the higher interest rates might have on the cash-strapped American consumer, especially since mortgage rates are still relatively low. 

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