"What's your opinion of the market these days?"

This is probably the hottest topic I'm asked about right now.

Sometimes the question refers to the ability to sell a property, whereas others want to hear about good deals on foreclosed homes or on the ability to continue leasing investment properties.

Following are some quick opinions of what I am seeing on a daily basis along with some statistics from SCAR (South Carolina Association of Realtors).

Selling a home

It is definitely a buyer's market right now:
The turn-around of inventory is much slower at this time, and a home really needs to be in pristine shape and priced properly for it to move. However, the Upstate is doing better than most parts of the country.
According to the Spring 2008 SCAR report, home sales in Greenville decreased by 15% in February 2008 compared to the February 2007 sales figures, while the median sales price increased by 7.7% for the same time frame.
In Spartanburg the number of sold homes decreased by 5% with the median price rising by 13% for the same period.

Buying a home

There are plenty of good options:
Not only do national builders offer great incentives for buying a new home, but if one has the patience, there are wonderful opportunities to pick up distressed properties.

Buying Investment Property

It seems to be an ideal time for international investors to acquire some properties due to the weak dollar. For U.S. investors it also appears to be lucrative to get into the game due to the increased number of homes on the market. In my opinion, the number of local families looking for rental homes will be on the rise due to tougher restrictions on obtaining mortgages compared to recent years.

Rental home supply

There seems to be a larger number of higher-end rentals available than in the past. This may be due to the fact that some owners who are not able to sell their homes at their "hopeful price " are now considering leasing. We have also been contacted by a number of custom builders who have excess inventory that is not selling and now want to rent.

Once again, these are just my quick opinions of what I am seeing in our office on a daily basis. Please feel free to contact me at any time to discuss any of your specific questions or situations.