Grand Strand Real Estate Market Update – March 2013

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A consistent factor in nearly all the markets across the nation since late 2007 has been inventory and in many cases – too much of it. Whether this meant a large number of distressed sales, homes that just were not selling enough or buyers lacking confidence to buy – much of America went through a real estate downturn.

Distressed Property Inventory Lowest in Several Years

Today, that has changed. Not only is it a very active marketplace but also we are seeing a complete shift in trends whereas sellers now have the upper hand in lower to mid-level price ranges.

Consider this: just two years ago as much as forty percent of our available inventory was made up of short sales and bank owned properties. Today’s distressed property inventory has significantly reduced. Of our present-day 4,000 or so homes on the market right now, only 4% of them are bank owned foreclosures, which translates to about currently active 180 listings. For condos that number is even lower at just 3.3% of the approximate 3,500 available condos for sale being distressed properties.

Multiple Offers Are Artificially Inflating Prices

What was once very much a buyer-controlled marketplace has complete turned the tables – even for distressed properties. Buyers are up against a lot of competition, particularly in the $200,000 and under price bracket. It is necessary to be prepared to pay close to asking price for many of these homes given the high occurrence of multiple offer situations these days.

As demand continues to rise and inventory keeps dwindling downward buyers will be facing more and more of these situations where prices will be artificially inflated. So far the Fed has not done much to change interest rates and the expectation is that they will last at least a while longer. With fewer distressed properties competing with standard sales now is a great time for buyers to get in on the action.

Sellers Market for Homes Priced $200k and Under

With all the pent up demand from after the Presidential election and then the Fiscal Cliff issue – now there is a lot more consumer confidence and much more buyer activity in the marketplace. If you have been on the fence about selling – this is the time to jump off and consider listing your home before mainstream spring market sellers begin to list.
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As always, we provide a market snapshot on our video blog but for a customized look at your own real estate outlook and goals, I invite you to visit us! We look forward to helping you achieve your goals!