Columbia SC Real Estate On The Upswing

Columbia SC real estate news is looking very positive for a change. Several housing price indexes were released that show things swinging upward in multiple categories.

The Commerce Department and HUD reported new home sales rose 3.3 percent month-over-month in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, up from 332,000 in March. On a yearly basis, new home sales rose 9.9 percent.

Columbia SC Real Estate Inventory Down

And, the good news did not end there. The months’ supply of inventory fell to 5.1, and while sales were down in the South, they were up in Northeast, Midwest, and West.

The National Association of Realtor’s existing home sales report showed the sale of existing homes rose 3.4 percent on a monthly basis and 10 percent year-over-year.

Columbia SC real estate news is certainly starting to regain some semblance of normality, even though the market still has a long way to go to catch up to the housing boom of 2005.

As median Columbia SC home prices creep higher, that is bound to re-ignite the big question for scores of buyers: Is this the right time to buy?

As prices begin to firm and that information filters down to buyers, the “fence-sitters” will be enticed to make offers as well, especially with mortgage rates hovering near record lows.

A large overhang of homes in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure are still sandbagging some markets. Nationwide, NAR reported foreclosures and short sales (homes sold for less than what is owed on the owner’s mortgage) comprised 28 percent of the April sales (17 percent were foreclosures and 11 percent were short sales). But that was down from 29 percent in March and 37 percent in April 2011, where analysts also contend that a diminishing share of foreclosed property sales is helping home values.