Columbia SC housing, 
as well as a forecast for the nation’s housing and economic outlook was presented recently by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) during their 2012 Realtors Conference and Expo.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says he expects the market share of distressed sales to fall from about 25 percent in 2012 to 8 percent in 2014.
Mark Vitner, managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo, one of the speakers at the NAR conference, compared distressed homes to an after-Christmas sale. Vitner stated, “most of the best stuff has been picked over, but make no mistake they’ll be with us for a while.”
Columbia SC Housing Recovery Expected to Continue
The Columbia SC housing recovery is expected to continue so long as credit does not further tighten and a fiscal cliff is avoided.
The rise in home prices should also stay. Yun predicted a 6 percent rise in the median existing-home price in 2012, with another 5.1 percent increase next year and comparable gains in 2014.
Existing-home sales are projected to move higher year-after-year: a 9 percent increase this year to 4.64 million, 5.05 million in 2013, and 5.3 million in 2014.
Mortgage interest rates are expected to eventually increase to an average of 4 percent next year, and inflationary pressure should cause rates to go up to 4.6 percent in 2014, according to the NAR forecast.
Yun added, “While we’re hopeful that something can be accomplished, the alternative would be a likely recession, so automatic spending cuts and tax increases need to be addressed quickly.”
The state of the housing market continues to improve though recovery remains “fragile,” according to the October Housing Scorecard released by the Obama administration. Signs of improvement include rising home prices, rising home sales, and ongoing efforts through the Making Home Affordable Program.
Bookmark our site and we’ll keep you up to date on all the trends affecting Columbia SC housing going forward into 2013 and 2014. Good or bad, we’ll bring it to you here.
Columbia SC housing, 
trying to get back on its feet from one of the worse economic downturns since The Great Depression, could go over the “fiscal cliff” as well if Congress doesn’t come up with a solution before December 31st.
If this so-called “fiscal cliff” does happen, we can all wave goodbye to short sales that have helped the Columbia SC housing market get back on its feet. At risk is a provision that erases taxes on selling a home for less than what’s owed to the bank.
How the “Cliff” Affects Columbia SC Housing
Expiration of the tax treatment would create a major new headache for the one in four homeowners who owe more than their house is worth. Those “underwater” sellers would have to come up with a big check for Uncle Sam to pay the tax on the difference, and that would be a big blow to the Columbia SC housing recovery.
Lenders have turned to short sales as a faster way of getting bad loans off their books. After a surge in foreclosures brought widespread complaints that lenders weren’t fully reviewing documents, many states passed legislation that made it harder for lenders to seize homes.
Until the housing collapse, forgiven mortgage debt was taxed as ordinary income. Under those rules, a typical household would owe about $19,000 tax on the average settlement relief so far.
But in 2007, as the housing boom turned to bust, Congress passed the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, which shielded such forgiven debt from taxes. The law was extended in 2010 but is due to expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts to steer us all away from the fiscal cliff.
So what exactly is this fiscal cliff anyway? AP’s Donna Cassasta explains…
Here’s Business Insider’s “Ultimate Guide to the Fiscal Cliff – What it is, And What it Could Do to the Economy”
We urge you to write or call your Congressman or Congresswoman emphasizing to him or her how important you feel a solution is to this “fiscal cliff.” The continuing improvement in the Columbia SC housing market could be at stake.
The Willis Report on Fox Business covers RealtyTrac’s Election 2012 Housing Health Check, which shows that 65 percent of counties nationwide have a housing market in 2012 that is worse off than it was in 2008 before the last presidential election.
Anchor Gerri Willis talks to RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist about some of the findings, including some specific counties where housing is better off than four years ago.
Some housing markets are doing better. We continue to keep a finger on the pulse of the Columbia SC housing market and will keep you posted here on the positives and negatives as we head toward the holidays.
September Columbia SC housing starts as well as U.S. overall housing starts blew past consensus estimates to nearly 900,000 units nationwide — a four-year high.
Though levels are still well below the 1.5 million historical average, this report adds to other upbeat news and confirms our belief that after seven years of painful contraction, the Columbia SC housing market is on the mend.
While some areas are improving more than others, overall, most economic indicators point to a confirmed increase in the Columbia SC housing market.
A Columbia SC housing recovery is underway, along with most regions of the U.S.
Columbia SC Housing Recovery Details
As the saying goes, “Better late than never?” U.S. News editor Simon Owens sits down with reporter Meg Handley to discuss the state of the housing market and whether we’re finally seeing a true nationwide housing recovery.
The Columbia SC housing recovery is definitely underway. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the bottom, you may have waited too long.
Talk to us today about whether now is the right time to buy Columbia SC housing based on your particular circumstances. We’ll go over market specifics with you, and discuss how your financial situation would be affected by getting into a home of your own now, before prices go even higher, and inventory gets even thinner.