How Long Before Columbia SC Home Values Fully Recover?

The question most people want to know is how long will it take for Columbia SC home values to be back to where they were before the bottom dropped out? The housing recovery began approximately 3 years ago, but many markets have still to regain values lost during the recession.

Presently, Columbia SC home values are around 11.3% below their peak values seen in 2007. Columbia SC home values are expected to increase by a further 4.2% through to the second quarter of next year. These figures are from the Zillow Home Value Forecast, and it’s expected it will take 2.7 years for Columbia SC home values to reach their pre-recession levels, assuming that prices continue to appreciate at the levels predicted.

This would mean Columbia SC home values wouldn’t return to their previous peak values until the first quarter of 2017, nearly a decade since the housing recession first began, and it’s thought full recovery in the real estate market could take even longer. This is because the rate of home value appreciation is expected slowdown in the next few months and years.

While the news on Columbia SC home values don’t appear to be all that great for sellers, the lower Columbia SC home values are making it somewhat easier for buyers to find bargains, and home affordability should remain good over the next couple of years.

Columbia SC Home Values Increasing, But Inventory Shortages Still Exist

While the number of Columbia SC homes for sale is showing signs of inching up, inventories still remain constrained. Could “pocket listings” — for-sale properties that aren’t marketed widely or posted on the MLS — be the real culprit?

The sentiment in the marketplace is that we still have a shortage of inventory, and some believe it is due to the prevalence of pocket listings. Instead of marketing these for-sale properties on the MLS, brokers circulate the listings among their own buyer clients or within their own brokerage. No data exists on the number of pocket listings, but real estate professionals have been reporting a rise in this practice in recent months.

When there is limited inventory, agents convince sellers, because there is so much demand for housing, that maybe as many eyeballs don’t need to see their home as in a traditional market. We believe this practice hurts the market, and actually slows down the return to normal Columbia SC home values.