Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Zillow.com recently published their Top Ten Places to Buy a Home, and Greenville, SC ranked number 6 on their list. This is obviously great news, and anyone who knows the market, also knows that this is accurate. I just wanted to pass on the link to the article from Good Morning America, and also provide some information/opinions.
Zillow broke down each market into five areas: median home price, price compared to 1 year ago, price compared to 5 years ago, average price per finished square foot, and average difference in sale price compared to list price. The interesting thing is that the Greenville market came in most favorable in almost every area, yet still was ranked 6th on the list.
Median Home Price
While the median home price for all ten markets averaged $205,360, the Greenville, SC market had a median home price of $132,000. This makes our market, the most affordable in the top 10.
Price compared to 1 year ago
The report showed home prices having declined in every market on the list over the past year, ranging in a decline of 1% to a decline of 14%. The average price decline was 6.9%, while Greenville and Virginia Beach both came in as the most stable, with a decline of 1% compared to a year ago.
Price compared to 5 years ago
The average market in the top ten has increased by 3.87% compared to five years ago, while the report shows that Greenville, SC has appreciated by 3%. The highest appreciating market on the list was Knoxville, which appreciated by 5.2% compared to five years ago. *I have to admit that I disagree with the figure for our market. According to the Greenville, SC MLS, the median sold price of a single-family home or condo/townhouse in 2nd quarter of 2009 had increased by 4% compared to the same quarter 5 years ago. While not a huge difference, I'm picky.*
Average Price per Square Foot
While the top ten markets averaged $125 per square foot, the Greenville, SC market averaged $83/sf, making it the market where you can get most bang for your buck. *Opinion: Top that with our quality of life, weather, and location (relative to mountains, lakes, beaches, major cities, etc); buying here becomes a no-brainer.*
Average Negotiation Room
The top ten markets averaged 4.56% in this category, meaning you can typically negotiate 4.56% off the list price of a home. The Greenville market faired slightly better than average, with an average of 4% from list price. This shows the basic stability of our market, especially compared to Austin, TX where there was an average of 9% difference from list price to sold price! *I am assuming they ranked for this category based on how good of a "deal" the buyer could get, but Austin's home values, price stability, and average price per foot still faired way worse than Greenville.*
---------------
Again, just thought I would share this information, and feel free to comment or ask any questions. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for sharing! It's nice to start hearing some good news these days.......
Just imagine how good G'Vegas will do when the economy turns around.
I think one thing we had going for us is that there has always been (comparatively) slow and steady growth in the housing prices, so there wasn't a lot of room for a huge reset of pricing in the housing market.
And why would you buy in ANYPLACE if you don't have a job? This thread is about the housing market, not the employment market. Plenty of other threads to discuss jobs and employment.
I don't understand how having high 1-year and 5-year price changes means it is a good time/place to buy a home.
Low average price per square foot could be saying high bang for the buck, or it could be saying that the housing stock is low quality or in poor condition.
It seems like price to rent ratios and price to income ratios would be better indicators of being a good place to buy a home. Curious that they left these out, and focused on less relevant metrics.
I don't understand how having high 1-year and 5-year price changes means it is a good time/place to buy a home.
Low average price per square foot could be saying high bang for the buck, or it could be saying that the housing stock is low quality or in poor condition.
Well, I think the price changes should be read as an indicator for market stability. In our market, it is a common misconception that our property values have declined at the same rate as the rest of the country. The reality is much different, but buyers perception controls the market. This is why so many buyers continue to be on the fence.
As for a lower average price per square foot, I think your second argument could be made if national builders didn't exist. The reality is that builders like Pulte left this market, because they could get 50% more per foot for the exact same house in a different market. Obviously they're regretting their decision to leave, since our market has remained more stable than others. I do feel that average price per square foot is influenced by income averages in a given market.
Hey CKeegan, I see you're a realtor -- question for you: Does it make sense to buy a model home in a subdivision where it seems the building isn't quite complete? We're just looking at stuff online but there are a couple where we're not sure if they have stopped building (due to recession) or if they are just still in the process. The price has dropped considerably though. Thanks!
Here's an article about the change in home sales in SC from June to July. There was a slight dip statewide, but for the most part the larger metros saw some gains.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
