Hello REALTORS®, At this writing, almost all the filing periods for local city councils are closed.  The remaining filing periods close by August 25 at 12 noon.  I am not going to cover all the details of the elections this week, but some are interesting and worth highlighting.  But first, these city and town councils in the Western Upstate will be on the ballot this fall: Anderson County Pickens County Oconee County Easley, Pickens, and Liberty, which are part of GGAR in Pickens County, also have elections this fall.  Notable is that Allie Winter, a Realtor with Justin Winter Sotheby’s...

Housing Supply Overview Nationally, sales of new single-family homes fell 2.5% month-over month as of last measure, marking the first monthly decline since February, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the decrease, new-home sales are up 23.8% year-over-year, as a lack of existing home inventory has boosted demand for the new-home market in recent months. As a result, builder confidence has continued to improve, reaching a 13-month high in July, according to the latest NAHB / Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). For the 12-month period spanning August 2022 through July 2023, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate Association...

Hello REALTORS®, We have worked on three significant issues this month, all of which have received final readings and were adopted.  They include a new sign ordinance at the City of Anderson, updates to the Stormwater Design Manual at Anderson County, and a large overhaul to Easley’s zoning ordinance.  Anderson County’s Stormwater Design Manual Your government affairs team worked with county staff and county council’s Planning and Public Works Committee to update the manual to address citizen complaints about excessive stormwater runoff in new developments.   The changes included: City of Anderson Sign Ordinance Almost a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme...

Hello REALTORS®, Many local governments had lighter meeting schedules in July, but there is still a lot to report.  These are some of the important issues that we are following: Anderson County City of Anderson Pickens County Pickens County Council gave second reading in July to issuing $12,750,000 in general obligation bonds to fund the Highway 183 expansion project.  Final reading may be on their August 7 agenda. Clemson Oconee County Impact Fees Impact fees continued to be studied and proposed throughout the Western Upstate.  In addition to Clemson’s proposed new fees, Easley is phasing in an impact fee and...