The SC Association of Realtors recently released their sales reports for all the Multiple Listing Services in the state, sales are way down for the year, but the month of June showed a shallower drop than the months before.
For the first six months of 2009, home sales statewide were down 23.7%, but the month of June only showed a drop of 11.3%. And three MLSs – Spartanburg, Cherokee and Hilton Head – actually showed increases in June.
Overall, our MLS (the Western Upstate MLS that covers Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties) was down 21% for the year, which puts us slightly better than average. The best MLS so far this year is the Beaufort MLS, which is down “only” 14.7%. The worst is the Greenwood MLS, which has seen a drop of 37.5%.
Other areas include:
- Charleston area - down 25.6%
- Greenville area - down 26.2%
- Spartanburgh area - down 15.3%
- Myrtle Beach area - down 15.0%
Median prices are all over the place, with many showing double digit declines while others actually show increases. The Western Upstate MLS had a 20% drop in June, but for the year is only off 1.6%. Hardest hit was the Southern Midlands MLS (Orangburg) that showed a year-to-date decline of 21.8% in median price, while the Beaufort and the Rock Hill area MLS’s both showed increases ( 0.5% and 5.2% respectively).
The good news… Home prices are down, so it’s a great time to buy! You also may be able to take advantage of the $8,000. tax credit before it ends in just a few more weeks (hurry now, while it lasts, call for details). Really with mortgage rates down below 5% at the time of this article, why would anyone wait to buy?
Posted By Gary Schoenholz. Gary can be reached @ 864-915-1111 or email GSchoenholz@HorizonFinancial.org. Visit Gary’s website @ www.GaryTheMortgageExpert.com
