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Lindsay Jackson, SCR Chief Advocacy Officer The General Assembly has officially wrapped up the 2020 legislative session, marking the end of a two year session. The regular legislative session was interrupted due to COVID-19 in March, but both bodies returned to Columbia on a few occasions to take up specific items such as emergency COVID-19… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview Mortgage rates trending lower are a boost to home buyers, but the declines in the stock market have both a psychological and practical impact for some prospective home buyers. A watchful eye must be maintained on the spread of COVID-19 and whether it begins to impact the overall economy, which would lead… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview As the cost of renting continues to increase, consumers have more incentive to lock in their housing costs by purchasing a home. The latest CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index report released this month saw the cost of renting single-family homes, including condos, up 3% in November 2019 versus November 2018. According to CoreLogic’s… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview This month the Federal Reserve voted to leave its key benchmark rate unchanged, which was widely expected. While the rate decisions by the Federal Reserve do not directly affect mortgage rates, Federal Reserve policy does affect the economic markets overall. Mortgage rates ended the year close to three-quarters of a percent lower… Read more »

Monthly Indicators In October, mortgage rates increased slightly from the three-year lows seen in September. While the Federal Reserve reduced the federal-funds target rate by .25%, this decline was widely expected and largely factored into mortgage rates already, which are still approximately 1% lower than this time last year. Fannie Mae is predicting that continued… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview As we move into the final months of 2019, buyers will find fewer homes coming on the market, but also less competition for those homes. The real estate market this fall is looking healthy. With a strong economy and great mortgage rates, there is a lot to remain optimistic about. For the… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview For the 12-month period spanning September 2018 through August 2019, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate region were down 0.3 percent overall. The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $200,001 to $300,000 range, where they increased 14.0 percent. The overall Median Sales Price was up 4.7 percent to… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview For the 12-month period spanning August 2018 through July 2019, Pending Sales in the Western Upstate region were down 1.3 percent overall. The price range with the largest gain in sales was the $200,001 to $300,000 range, where they increased 10.5 percent. The overall Median Sales Price was up 3.3 percent to… Read more »

Housing Supply Overview After several years of declining inventory and supply, more and more housing markets are beginning to find their way toward a state of balance in terms of available listings. There is still work to be done, but the situation is not as dire as it once was. For the 12-month period spanning… Read more »