Columbia, S.C.: “We Don’t Boom, But We Don’t Bust.”

It seems as though just as I get back from the beach, everyone else starts traveling! Good to be back though.

While walking into my office today, I couldn’t help but notice the latest volume of Columbia’s MLS book. It is HUGE!!! It is almost as big as the Columbia phone book! I could not believe it. Looking at it, one would probably think that we are in a slow market. Some may say a buyer’s market. This may be true in some areas, but not all.

As Tip O’neil said, “All politics are local.” This is so true in real estate. The downtown Columbia market has a plethora of sellers, but also has a great number of buyers. Most of the Realtors I know have buyers that are ready and willing to purchase. They just have to feel through more “weeds” to get to to the right home for them.

In many areas of Columbia (suburbs), the amount of buyers is not keeping up with the amount of listings. What I am saying is, real estate markets are almost “Super Local”.

At present, I am carrying about 15-18 listings, with 5 or 6 more that are ready to hit the market as soon as I can take the pictures. My listings dot Columbia from Chapin to Lake Carolina, with most being downtown. This may be the most that I have enjoyed in my real estate career. About 35ish% of them have offers on them or are Under Contract. However, I probably have 30 or 40 buyers! My own personal business tells me that Columbia is just fine. At the moment, buyers simply have a lot to look at.

Furthermore, while looking at the Columbia MLS book, one must consider the massive amounts of new neighborhoods and condo projects on the market at the moment. We will save that for another post.

Don’t get me wrong, your house may sit a little longer than it would have 2 years ago. In my recent experience though, if you have a nice home and a good Realtor to market it and advise, it should “pop.”

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    Booooring !!

  2. anonymous,

    I am sorry this post was boring for you, but people are constantly asking me why there are so many houses on the market. Possible Sellers are scared to put their houses on the market because of all of the signs in Columbia.

    Hopefully, I can hit a nerve with you in the next Post.

    Thanks for visiting!

  3. Anonymous says

    In what areas do most of your buyers looking?

  4. anonymous,

    I probably enjoy 40 or 50 buyers. They are looking for all sort of things. Everything such as lots, acreage, waterfront, condos, suburbs, fixer-uppers and move in ready homes. To answer your question directly, most of my buyers are looking for downtown Columbia, South Carolina homes to live in.

    What are you interested in?

  5. Franklin,
    Thank you for this post. As a local Realtor, it is nice to see someone else thriving “in this market”. Though the past few months have been down, I have also seen a huge influx recently. It’s refreshing to know there are others who are doing well…sad that anonymous thinks it’s boring. It begs the question why they bother reading (and then commenting) if it didn’t hold their interest.
    Thanks again for the insight,
    Laura Oliver
    SC Homes and Land Realty

  6. I don’t know how I got to this post!!!! Too funny, I thought this was a recent post, and I didn’t even look at the date. Aaahhh, 2007 how things were different in real estate!! Please excuse my comment, I thought this was a recent post! I still hope you have as many buyers “on the fence” now (and I hope you bring them to my listings!).
    Take care,
    Laura

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  8. This was a great read Franklin. I do agree that recently I have seen a positive increase in sales within my business, especially in regards to our
    Charleston real estate listings. Definitely a big improvement and I hope you are benefiting as well!

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