Main Street - Downtown Greenville, SC
The average sale price of an existing home is still rising in the Greater Greenville area. In fact, Greenville had the 9th highest appreciation rate in the most recent price index by the National Association of Realtors. So far in 2008, the average sale price of an existing single-family home in Greater Greenville is $1,340 higher than the same time period in 2007. The median sales price of a home in Greater Greenville is 25.7% lower than the current national median sale price, which has contributed to continued growth in the area. In terms of risk, the PMI Group Inc. (an organization responsible for identifying risk for lenders) released a report on October 1st, 2008 showing that the Greater Greenville area has "a less than 1% risk of decline in average sale price over the next 2 years." (http://www.GreenvilleMOVES.com/
According to RealtyTrac, Greenville has a rate of foreclosure 65% below the national average. In their list of the top 100 markets by population, Greenville ranked 88th for number of households in some stage of foreclosure.
Another term in the news is "absorption rate" or "inventory". This has always been a reliable gauge of where a market is leaning (buyers market, sellers market, or neutral). The absorption rate is calculated by counting all of the properties currently on the market, and figuring out how long that inventory would take to sell based on the number of sales in the past. While the national average is approximately 11.5 months (indicating a strong buyer's market), the absorption rate in Greater Greenville is approximately 6.5 months (indicating a neutral market leaning toward the buyer). Greenville has maintained approximately the same absorption rate for many years.
Another common misconception is that lenders have limited funds to give potential buyers. In markets where prices are on a downward slope, lenders have tighter funds, but in lower risk markets such as Greenville, the funds are still readily available. Contact a local lender to find out more details.
That's the reality of the Greenville SC Real Estate (http://www.GreenvilleMOVES.com) market.
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