Many of you may be wondering where we are in the Real Estate Market in our area which encompasses the Greater Greenville Area including all of Greenville County, parts of Spartanburg, Laurens, Anderson and all of Pickens & Oconee Counties. . Sales were up in April by 8% from previous months and had a small drop back down by -2.3% to a quarterly number of -21.8% (from 2007 same time frame) in Units Sold and -17.5% in Dollar Volume Sold at the end of May. Days on Market remained at 96.  In 2007 the same time frame Days on Market were 89 so that is not a lot of difference.

What is unusual is the Average Home Price rose by +3.7% and the Median Price rose by +4.5%. These last two figures tell me that in spite of being down in units/volume sold, the Average and Median price of homes has increased. A further explanation of these numbers is that the really good homes that are priced right and "showing ready" are holding their own and increasing a bit. There are still those that are taking a big hit (decreased dollar volume) to sell and those typically are the homes that are not in good condition, sellers and/or builders may be in a difficult place and the bank accepted a "short sale".  It can also be homes that have many similar homes as competition (over supply) on the market, or homes that are only 3-10 years old and showing neglect or lack of improvements. 

Many homes are still selling and yours can be one of them. It is important to have your home "market ready" which was discussed in my April Newsletter.

In spite of the statistics, which many people may not know, some buyers are still "on the fence" about buying. It is still a good time to buy a home. Supply is good, prices are better than they would have been had we not gone through the down turn and interest rates are still reasonable. All predictions are the Feds will raise their interest rate resulting in a gradual creeping up of mortgage rates. What you might save on price if you wait to be sure the market has reached the bottom; you will lose in higher interest rates over the term of the loan. There is also a strong possibility that the market will begin a stronger upswing too, and you will have missed out on what you hoped would be the bottom. 

When I think of the wait by buyers, I think of the Game Show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".  I've watched that several times and almost always, people pass up larger amounts of money (sometimes huge amounts) trying to get that 1 million.  Generally, they leave with much less money than they should have because of the possibility of gaining more.  Think about it.

Sheila Reeves, Keller Williams Realty

Greenville Central Office

864 414-5975