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As someone who recently visited the area and has considered relocation, I think it has to do with the tremendous job growth and people like myself who would like to move to a warmer climate, but also have an opportunity for quality jobs.
Housing is rebounding across the country due to extremely low unemployment numbers. I live in Connecticut, and our days on market has dropped considerably as well.
The housing crisis was based on predatory lending, with few rules and regulations. The Dodd Frank regulations keep that in control, now if that goes away, it might be a different story.
I have heard those Boeing layoffs were mid-level people. I took that to mean office workers but maybe they mean mid-level for the lines.
At any rate that number is a drop in the pan. The school districts alone can rise/fall 200 workers each year.
The one big difference I have notices between the mid 00 boom and today is that not all houses or areas are skyrocketing. As an example- the condo I lived in in Mt Pleasant in the early/mid 00s is just now getting back to the value it had 12 years ago. Some of the neighborhoods in outer West Ashley are also not noticeably higher than that mid 00 peak.
When downtown or the beaches go through the roof a lot of that can be justified to supply/demand and the fact that the 'accepatble' portions of downtown and up and coming areas (Wagner Terrace/Hampton Park) are two old house from growing together. Much of what is growing up 26 are newer, larger, nicer homes in neighborhoods with better amenities than the previous neighborhoods in the area. And they are near a lot of the newer jobs.
In the mid 00s literally any and everything spiked. I am just not seeing that now. You can also really see some areas gaining more steam than others.
Boeing's layoff is normal for business (sad though people lose jobs).
Housing is no different than the stock market. What goes up must come down. It will crash like, but nobody knows when.
It is not the same as 2007-2008, because the loans are different now. The crooks such as Wells Fargo, Countrywide Mortgage, and Citibank, are not engaging in the Fraud they were in 2007-2008. Housing will go down (maybe next year, who knows...) but not like the crash in 2007-2008. I agree housing prices are overinflated and the stock market is overvalued, but the question is 'how long more can things keep going up??"
Nobody knows, so it's best to be wise with purchasing a home, knowing the value may drop next year....
I was told that the Boeing layoffs were mostly voluntary, and anybody within a few years of retirement took them up on their offer. Gets them off the Salary Line and into the Retiree Line, improving the Balance Sheet. As others have stated it's a fraction of 1% of their workforce. It's the beauty of a Right to Work State.
As far as housing goes, it's increasing at a steady, sustainable pace. The charts I see are increasing by about 10% per year. It's very cyclical as you might imagine -- the number of Closed Sales drops off starting in August for the obvious reason, but it picks back up in Feb/March. I don't worry about it, I just watch the value of my house go up year over year.
Also, Condo/Townhomes are not a good indicator of the overall market....they are like the canary in the coal mine. If the housing market is going to tank.....they will be the first to go under.
There are a lot of folks moving here who think it's cheap. It's all relative and in the big picture this area is still a bargain compared to many areas. Wages are low here which makes affordability an issue for many but a lot of the newcomers are either retiring or bringing their better paying jobs with them. Overall I'm not worried about Charleston's economy yet. All of the big commercial businesses coming here supports that view as well. You can be sure the big retailers do a lot of research before committing to an area.
One thing driving up home prices is that the rental market is so high and a lot of investors have targeted Charleston. When you're a first time home buyer getting a mortgage, it's hard to compete with an investor willing to pay cash for the same house. It won't get any better with interest rates rising either. With rents as high as they are, buying makes more economic sense for most people. I think it's good that lending is loosening up a bit but it needs not to go back to "everyone breathing gets a loan".
There's no 100% predicting the future but the "experts" generally seem comfortable with where we are now. This is worth a listen if you want to hear one: Aren
Thank you all for your input. I feel a bit better about the situation from reading all your comments. I've been reading too many negative articles online lately.
Thank you all for your input. I feel a bit better about the situation from reading all your comments. I've been reading too many negative articles online lately.
If you want to ruin your mindset and self-defeat all of your progress in life, just read or watch the media.
It is all an endless drumbeat of negativity. Ever since the 07/08 housing bust, the economy is on fire and we live in an absolute paradise of opportunity. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
Yes, many of the layoffs were in industrial engineering, quality, training, or operations management. Not necessarily just the workers touching the product. It sucks that people lose their jobs, but this is how the industry works In the grand scheme of things, 200 isn't much. Boeing SC has been doing a lot in an attempt to preserve jobs. Good thing there's Bosch, Volvo, Merc, Cummins, Wabco, and many other companies around here though.
Also, Condo/Townhomes are not a good indicator of the overall market....they are like the canary in the coal mine. If the housing market is going to tank.....they will be the first to go under.
I did not mean to imply that condos were an good indicator. I think condos increasing more slowly (ie just now hitting their value form 12 years ago) and certain more desirable areas more quickly than others indicates that different properties are seeing increases in more logical relationships to others. Before the late 00s crash I remember anything and everything skyrocketing.
However, it's 200 jobs out 6000 in a metro of almost 700k people.
You mean almost 800K people.
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In the grand scheme of things, 200 isn't much. Boeing SC has been doing a lot in an attempt to preserve jobs. Good thing there's Bosch, Volvo, Merc, Cummins, Wabco, and many other companies around here though.
