WOW, the market is as good as I can remember in my 17 years in real estate! That is typically the response I have when someone asks me about business. Actually the first question is usually, how have you been and how is your family? But, if the person knows who I am, they will soon ask how business is going. Since the business of real estate seems to always be on the back of everyone's mind, mainly because everyone's home tends to be one of their biggest investments, it is a topic many like to hear about from a practicing professional. Let's take a quick look at one of the most recent Multiple Listing sold statistics for Greenville, released by our association on February 12, 2015.

Our current inventory shows about the same number of active listings as this same time last year, but the average price is up 7.3%. This would indicate definite optimism is continuing to thrive. The actual average sold price is up 8%! The number of sales year to date is up almost 18% and days on the market down almost 6%.  If you take into consideration that inventories have remained low for the past two years, you can understand how demand would be at an all time high.

This fact might lead many to believe that they don't need to assistance of a professional when selling their home. For those who are thinking along these lines, let me list some of the road blocks to a successful real estate transaction: Over pricing leads to failed transaction due to appraisals coming in low. Non disclosure issues can lead to discovery from inspections and in some cases litigation from these non disclosures. Multiple offers from unrepresented purchasers can lead to anger from the parties who lost, or even regret from the parties who won...leading in some cases to litigation from these individuals. These can certainly be worst case scenarios, but when you add in the benefits I can provide, like recommended attorneys, lenders, inspectors, home staging consultants, contractors (from plumbers to pest control experts) and a host of others, how can one think you wouldn't be better off with a licensed and experienced professional to handle the transaction?

Remember, the market is hot! Don't let what may be the biggest financial decision in your life be your worst. Call a real estate professional like myself to get your moving in the right direction!

Today's real estate market has become somewhat of an unpredictable anomaly. Now, before I begin to explain what I see happening in the Greenville real estate market, let me preface this by saying that real estate trends, in general, tend to be local. That means that when you read about the housing statistics that come out and affect our economy, those are many times national figures and they can be quite different than your local statistics. Just because housing starts might be down nationally, might not mean local builders aren't having their best quarter in 5 years. That being said, I am hearing that the low inventory in existing homes for sale seems to be happening in a number of markets, not just Greenville.

This all started in January of 2012, when the market really started showing signs of a big upturn. Folks who had been "sitting on the fence" started to get that motivation to move again. We saw more contract put on homes in the first and second quarters of 2012 than we saw at the height of the Greenville housing market. This really carried through the entire year, though not as much to the extent as we saw in the first half. What has happened now is our inventory is very low, 10% lower than this time last year, which was 15% lower than the year before. In neighborhoods that typically have higher demand for good homes, this is creating a feeding frenzy! Multiple offers and bidding wars are not uncommon because there isn't any competition. Homes that typically might have been considered overpriced or not in the best of condition are going under contract. Buyers are getting anxious, especially if they have already sold the home they are living in now.

I spoke with a friend from Charleston who is in the market for a home in the Mt. Pleasant area and he has heard their inventory is down by almost 75% from last year in the areas he is looking. Not an ideal time to be looking for a home to say the least!

Is there an answer? It would seem to me that inventory should begin to pick up here soon, but that all depends on the economy. Right now, other than our government officials not seeming to know how to find a middle ground on anything, optimism seems to be high. The stock market just hit an all time high and it is still one of the best times to buy a home. Interest rates are still low, so that shouldn't be the reason people aren't selling. Only time will tell if we are able to sustain this seller's market. If seller's don't already know, this is one of the best times to sell! So let's get moving!

We are starting to show the first true signs of coming out of the "great recession" and the real estate market will initially be searching to find a new identity with a whole new set of rules with which to live. Depending on where you live, property values have dropped over the past five years from a couple of percentage points up to forty and fifty percent in some areas.

Around Greenville, we have been relatively lucky to have come out of the downturn without too much of a loss. Now don't get me wrong, we have certainly seen some tough times. Foreclosures are still quite prevalent and the effects of what may be a substantial shadow inventory are yet to be fully recognized. With every foreclosure, you can see other home values suffer. The main reason comes down to simple math. When comparable homes sell in foreclosure, they typically will sell for much less, thus causing the good homes potential appraised value to be less.

The question I hear many folks asking is why would the bank appraiser use a foreclosure as a comparable? The answer is that one of the main restrictions that have been imposed on bank appraisers is to use comparable sales within the same neighborhood first. If there are two foreclosures and only one other sale within the past year, it can really affect the appraised value of some exceptional homes. These restrictions were imposed for good reasons, mainly so that homes don't sell for more than they should and create future foreclosure problems and bad investments for the banks. Yes, that is why we had the recession to begin with, so the government certainly doesn't want that to happen again.

So what are we to do with exceptional homes in a recovering economy? One has to be a better salesperson for one. When I put a home on the market that has had tremendous improvements made to it over the last couple of homes that have sold, I have to make sure I highlight those improvements and hope the prospects see the value. Then, when the appraiser comes around, be an even better salesperson! It appears that the general public is anxiously waiting to jump back out there, and they are certainly going to be interested in the more "move in" condition homes.  We just have to sell that value to the lender as well and hope they agree. It will be the only way we can start to get our property values back up and our biggest investment (our homes) back to the level where they once were.

J. J. Bowers

Realtor/owner - greenvillescrealestatetoday.com

Greenville Drive Opens New Season

It is that time of the year and the minor league ballpark in downtown Greenville, Fluor Field, will begin to come alive again on April 5th. One of Greenville's many fabulous attractions has been the addition of this ballpark in the west end of downtown. While there were many pundits who were skeptical about whether or not Greenville could support this venture back when it was proposed, no one has doubts anymore. Modeled after Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, Fluor Field has its own "Green Monster." The look and feel are the same as if you were actually in Fenway, and the atmosphere is tremendous! Each season has more than 70 home games and the field itself plays host to numerous other civic functions and alternative sporting events. Tickets are very affordable and there is hardly a bad seat in the stadium.

One of the best times a family can have is to plan a night out at a Drive game. The cost of the entertainment is extremely reasonable and represents a fun, safe way to enjoy all that Greenville can offer in a professional sporting arena. Any time Greenville is highlighted in national television or media publications for ranking near the top for places of interest, the Drive stadium is one of the main features.

Many times, my wife and I have been involved in group nights out downtown where we will meet at Liberty Tap Room, a restaurant adjacent to the stadium, eat dinner and then attend a ball game. It really is hard to believe we have such a wonderful facility and friendly environment to enjoy an event such as what is offered here.

J. J. Bowers
Realtor/Owner
greenvillescrealestatetoday.com

That's right, here we are again, knee deep in our brackets and preparing for what appears to be surprisingly hot spring. I guess we shouldn't be that surprised though considering how seasonally warm our winter ended. This is all thanks to what weather experts are saying was a jet stream that didn't drop down into the states much of this year.

But enough about basketball and the weather, this is a real estate site and what I wanted to talk about was the March madness we see with home sales in the spring. Yes, once the weather starts to get warm, spring fever takes over and we find ourselves with renewed energy to get out of the house and get stuff done. This year, it appears that will include finally getting off the proverbial "fence" and jumping back into the housing market. Around Greenville, I have seen some pretty strong signs that we might finally be having that recovery everyone has been anticipating.

What does that mean for you as a buyer? It means that you might be looking at more to choose from as you begin your new home search. It also means you might be seeing more competition for those homes as well. Some of the more established neighborhoods that haven't seen as much action during the recession are really starting to pick up. New construction is also coming back strong with several new national builders making strides in unfinished developments that had suffered during the recession.

What does this mean for you as a seller? It means more homes will be coming on the market from sellers who have also been trying to wait out the downturn. Prices are still down, but it appears buyers are at least out there and that means homes can be sold. One reason pricing won't be coming back up very quickly remains the restrictions banks now have in place on the appraisal process. If the comparable sales aren't there, you won't be seeing many exceptions for the exceptional homes.

What this all translates to is that March Madness isn't just happening in college basketball. If you have been sitting on the fence waiting to make that move, it appears now might be a good time!

J. J. Bowers
Realtor/Owner
greenvillescrealestatetoday.com

Helpful tips to consider when purchasing in today's new market

The inventory of homes available for sale in Greenville is surprisingly not as big as one might expect. There is certainly the potential of a rising "shadow inventory" on the horizon as I mentioned in a previous blog post, but until that time, buyers need to know it might not be the market they were expecting. The time could not be much better for buying a home, regardless, since we are still experiencing record low interest rates and lower home prices.  With that in mind, sifting through the current inventory of homes, or any inventory of homes, can still be changing unless you have some goals in mind while searching.  Consider the following tips before you tackle that all intensive home tour and you might save yourself some stress, headaches, and sore feet!

Create your "wish list," as I like to call it, of features that you can't live without. Even though we all typically have more than we need, let's call this list just that...home options you "need." You can sort through any guilty feelings you have later about this list, but try to pamper yourself for now.  This list will include the obvious features like bedrooms, baths, and school district.  Ah ha! You probably didn't think I was going to say schools did you? Well, schools mean location, and you know what they say about real estate...location...location...

Find, call, get a recommendation, or whatever you feel most comfortable with in getting to know a lender you can trust to give the you best service with the lowest rates and fees. Now that says a lot, but it can mean the difference in thousands of dollars out of your pocket and maybe some pretty stressful headaches avoided when you get ready to close. Like Realtors, everyone knows someone in mortgage lending. My advise is to go with a recommendation from your Realtor (that's me!) I can hook you up with some of the best, that will do all those things I said they should do. Once you contact the lender, you are going to need to get pre-approved for a price range. For more on this, read more in my buyer's guide about steps to take towards financing your home.

Now you can start your research online! Yeah, I know, you have already been doing that, or you wouldn't be reading this, right? Well, now that you have taken care of the previous preliminary work, you are really ready to start searching. Use your price range and "wish list" and create a search for properties that fit your criteria. You can view photos, take visual tours, and get all kinds of information about the homes for sale. Try to narrow it down to a couple of listings in each community you want to live before the in-home visits. You can open the search up more to individual subdivisions later once you have targeted one or two as your primary location.

The hard part can come with this one last important tip. Try not to get caught up with some of the aesthetics of the homes. These are the cosmetic features that can be changed fairly easily...like paint colors and light fixtures, and to some extent counter tops and appliances. You will almost never find the home that has every feature you want, but you should find some that have the lot size and location you want and need some changes inside to make you happy. Guess what? You can't change the lot size and the location, at least not until someone invents teleportation technology. Stick with homes that have the things you can change, that way you won't feel caught by the things you can't later on down the road.

That's it! All you need to know about buying a home! Well, not exactly.  In fact, not even close. We are just trying to get you started on the right path.  For a more in depth look at the buying process, take a look at my Real Estate Buyer's Guide.

Happy house hunting!

Greenville Real Estate Sales up 12.3%

The Greenville Real Estate Market is showing some nice trands month over month with the number of sold properties for February at 447 as compared to 398 for this same period in 2011. Year to date sales for 2012 are also up 15.5% to 856 vs. 741 YTD at this time in 2011.  With interest rates still hovering at or below 4% for most conventional loans, buying a home in Greenville remains as great an opportunity as ever.

For a look at the charts published by our MLS showing 6 month comparable sales and 13 month trends, visit my page showing the latest housing statistics.