Upstate Housing Market Forecast & Annual Meeting

The Home Builders Association of Greenville will host Dr. Joey Von Nessen at their 2013 Upstate Housing Market Forecast, November 5th at the TD Convention Center.

Dr. Von Nessen will provide expectations for the housing market in 2014.  In addition to the housing update speakers will cover topics such as Employment Law, Worker's Compensation and Healthcare Reform.

If you are interested in attending please visit the GHBA website at hbaofgreenville.com.

Government Shutdown and Housing

It's week two of the Government Shutdown and the ripple effects continue to spread.  The housing industry is not immune to the standoff in Washington with potential buyers choosing to wait and see instead of buy.

The  mortgage industry has been especially hard hit as FHA and VA loans are taking longer to process or are put on hold completely.  USDA loans, a favorite for first-time buyers are not processing at all. Even conventional loans are feeling the effects of large government furloughs. With fewer employees available to check employment or credit status and complete background checks, the financing process has slowed tremendously.

Interest rates remain low and housing prices have continued to stabilize and appreciate. A quick resolution to the shutdown will be a great relief to the slowly improving housing market.

Latest Update

Here's a look at improving numbers from the South Carolina Association of Realtors. These figures are based on August MLS data.

New Listings in South Carolina increased 5.9 percent
Pending Sales are up 6.7 percent
Inventory levels shrank 6.6 percent

Median sales price increased 6.5 percent to $164,950
Days on market down 13.6 percent to 111 days

Housing sales increased as the mortgage rates increased and encouraged buyers who were on the fence to make a decision. Rates are still at historic lows and now is a great time to buy as the market is on the upswing.

Parade of Homes

The 2013 Parade of Homes starts this weekend and runs through September 29th at Sweetbay in Woodcreek Farms.

The Parade includes 4 brand new fully furnished and decorated homes, plus a Home for the Arts featuring the work of 12 local artists.

Hours are 10am-8pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

Tickets are available at Columbiabuilders.com and at the gate.  The Parade of Homes is presented by the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia.

Housing and Labor Day

As hard as it is to believe, it's Labor Day weekend – the unofficial end to summer.

This Labor Day, AAA is predicting that 34.1 million Americans will hit the road and travel at least 50 miles this weekend, making it the busiest Labor Day in the last four years.

Part of the reason for this increase in travel is actually – housing.

According to the AAA study, consumer confidence is increasing as their home value increase. With the improvement in the housing market, consumers feel that their largest asset, their home, is more valuable. This increase in confidence leads to more spending and this weekend – more travel. 

This is just another piece of evidence that points to the importance of the housing market in our overall economic recovery.

Will you be traveling this Labor Day?

Housing Industry Improving

According to a report by the South Carolina Realtors based on July 2013 figures, sales across the state of South Carolina increased by 21%. Home prices increased by 5% to a median price of $163,063.

The number of available homes and standing inventory has dropped to a 9 month supply of single family homes and 9.5 month supply of condos. A six month supply of homes is considered normal.

As the economy improves and consumer confidence increases home sales continue to rise. This bodes well for the future of the SC economy and housing industry.

Online Advertising Part 2

Adwords Search Advertising:

Adwords Search ads are text-based ads that display on search engine results page. These ads are linked to specific keyword searches.  Multiple text ads can be employed per ad campaign in order to determine which ads are most effective. There are not additional costs for the use of multiple ads. RESH utilizes Google’s resources in addition to our own to determine which keywords to focus. RESH regularly checks the campaign to see which words are producing results and to eliminate any words that are not effective.

Display Network Advertising:

Display Network ads are image or video ads that are shown across Google’s network of website partners. Google’s network reaches 92% of Internet users. RESH can target which sites the ads are featured on based on topical content, interest groups and demographics of viewers.

Multiple ads can be employed per ad campaign in order to determine which ads are most effective. There are not additional costs for the use of multiple ads.  Display ads are created in several sizes to accommodate any available ad space on both home and mobile devices.