Columbia SC Home Buyers Worried About Prices

Nearly three quarters of potential Columbia SC home buyers believe home prices will increase in their neighborhood in the next twelve months, twice as many as in the first quarter.

Despite forecasts that prices will increase less in 2013 than this year, buyers are more concerned by rising prices than the overall economy. Thirty-three percent of buyers listed rising prices as a major concern in the fourth quarter, up from just 23 percent in the third quarter. Meanwhile, 22 percent said they were concerned with a weak economy, down from 27 percent in the third quarter, according to the Redfin Real-Time Homebuyer Survey.

More Than 70 percent of Columbia SC home buyers believe prices will rise next year. The number of buyers who believe prices are rising shot up even higher in the fourth quarter, although most still expect gains to be modest. Ten percent expect home prices in their area to “rise a lot” over the next twelve months, the same as last quarter; 61 percent expect prices to “rise a little” an increase of ten percentage points over last quarter. Twenty-one percent expect prices to “stay the same,” 6 percent expect prices to “drop a little,” and less than 1 percent expect prices to “drop a lot.”

Growing Number of Columbia SC Home Buyers Planning to Buy

A growing number of Columbia SC home buyers are planning to buy in order to get out in front of rising prices. Thirty-three percent of respondents indicated rising prices as a motivation for buying now, up from 29 percent in the third quarter and just 19 percent in the first quarter.

Most Columbia SC home buyers are not very concerned about the Fiscal Cliff and possible changes to the mortgage interest deduction. Although the possible consequences of some of the proposed changes may be large for certain people, only about 5 percent of buyers are seriously concerned and only 23 percent are being more cautious in their home search while they wait to see how things pan out.

What about you? Are you in that group of potential Columbia SC home buyers worried about home prices continuing to increase? We’d love to hear from you.