There’s strong evidence that the Columbia SC housing market is roaring back. Homes are selling faster than they have in over 3 years, and this trend seems to be breaking out all over the country. ABC’s Diane Sawyer has the story…
Are there any other special features you’re looking for in a home other than those Diane mentioned at the end of her story? Tell us in the comment box below.
For more on the Columbia SC housing market, check out our articles and updates found under Columbia SC Real Estate Articles in the Columbia SC Real Estate News section, as well as the Columbia SC Real Estate Category.
The turnaround in the Columbia SC housing market is spurring job growth, and expected to double the number of construction related jobs this year…
With job growth comes even more positive economic news in the Columbia SC housing industry, as interest rates to buy all those new homes has remained low, relative to a few years ago when rates were 5, 6 and 7 percent or higher.
We will stay on top of all the news affecting the Columbia SC housing market and pass news along to you here on our website. Check out the news section of articles under the Columbia SC Real Estate Categories to your right listed as Columbia SC Real Estate News. And as always, if you have any questions, sound off below.
Pending Columbia SC home sales for January rose, as did all areas of the country. According to the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index, pending sales increased 4.5 percent to 105.9 from December figures. The numbers are also 9.5 percent above January 2012. With home prices on the rise, The Federal Savings Bank sees this as a good time where potential first-time homebuyers, especially veterans, should take advantage. The increase suggests sales of previously occupied homes will continue rising in the coming months.
Home prices are rising at such a positive rate that the NAR report revealed the highest index since April 2010 when many potential buyers were taking advantage of a home buyer tax credit. Before April, the last highest reading was in February 2007 when numbers reached 107.9. There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.
The Columbia SC housing market is gaining momentum and first-time homebuyers are in a golden position to purchase a property right now. This positive trend in housing is not region specific, we’re seeing prices are rising everywhere but rates are not going to remain low across all states forever. Buyers should prepare themselves by pre-qualifying for a mortgage so as to be ready when they find their desired property.
Steady hiring and near record low mortgage rates have encouraged more Americans to buy homes.
For more on Columbia SC home sales and news, click over to our Columbia SC Real Estate News Category under our Columbia SC Real Estate Categories to your right.
The U.S. Department of Commercer reports construction on new U.S. homes jumped in December to the highest rate in more than four years, with gains across the country, as well as in single-family homes and buildings.
In the fresh data signaling a strengthening housing market, starts rose 12.1% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000 — the highest level since June 2008.
Economists had expected U.S. housing starts to increase to a rate of 883,000 from an original estimate of 861,000 for November, on factors such as rising building permits and confidence among home builders, as well as relatively mild weather for the season.
The DOC report released recently revised November’s rate to 851,000. Data for U.S. housing starts can be volatile and is sometimes subject to large revisions.
An improving trend for housing starts echoes other recent housing data. Confidence among home builders is holding at a more-than-six-year peak, with more markets showing signs of recovery.
Housing is poised to provide a meaningful (and critical) lift to overall economic activity at a time when other growth drivers, like exports, are slowing.
The housing market has regained some footing after a historic collapse that helped push the economy into its worst recession since the Great Depression.
Last month, groundbreaking for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market, climbed 8.1 percent last month to a 616,000-unit pace.
Although mortgage rates have continually hovered near record lows in recent months, analysts remain concerned about overly stringent lending standards, as well as fallout from the ongoing fiscal uncertainty as a possible cause for rates to rise. In recent weeks, we’ve already seen a slight jump in rates.
For other news as it pertains to housing and the economy, check out Columbia SC Real Estate News under the Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.
The housing market and the housing industry have escaped the ax on several fronts now that lawmakers have at least partially resolved Washington’s “fiscal cliff” budget fiasco.
A bill passed by Congress to pull the nation back from the brink of end-of-year tax hikes and spending cuts contains several provisions that are favorable to housing.
The housing industry dodged a bullet on a big issue—potential limits on itemized deductions, including the cherished mortgage interest deduction. Last year, there was talk among politicians in both parties of capping those deductions at a particular level, and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney suggested several options, ranging from $17,000 to $50,000. But those limits did not come to pass as part of the fiscal cliff deal.
The pact does restore some limits on deductions that had been in place in the 1990s. But they apply only for individuals earning above $250,000 per year and couples earning above $300,000.
These limits reduce how much high-income taxpayers can claim for mortgage interest and other deductions. For example, a couple with a combined income of $350,000 would see their total itemized deductions fall by $1,500. That results from a formula that reduces the amount that can be deducted by 3% of the difference between the taxpayer’s income and the deduction cap. (In this case, $1,500 is 3% of the $50,000 difference between $300,000 and $350,000.)
“This is a meaningful win for the housing lobby generally and, more specifically, the mortgage insurance industry,” according to Issac Boltansky, a Washington analyst with Compass Point Research and Trading.
However, analysts still believe the mortgage interest deduction could be altered as Congress continues to look for ways to save money. Mr. Boltansky says, “While the mortgage interest deduction avoided a direct hit this time around, we doubt it will dodge Congressional scrutiny going forward.”
As always, we will keep you up to date on any further mortgage interest deduction talks that may come out of Washington in future discussions.