New Site!!
at 4:10 pm on Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Those of you who visit here regularly probably noticed that this site was down for a couple of days. First of all, thanks for visiting regularly. Second, the site was down because it is somehow connected to my real estate site and I recently revamped that site. Anyway, everything seems to be back in order now.
Please check out my new site at SethWells.net. It has a lot of really useful information on it that I hope you will find helpful.
Information Explosion
I came across a website this evening that blew my mind with the amount of information that it provides. The website is called neighboroo and it produces demographic information, divided up by zip-code, easier than any site I’ve ever seen. I think part of what excited me about this site is that all of the information is delivered via a Google powered map.
The categories of available information are: Populace, Housing Cost, Housing Market, Schools, Safety, Health, Climate, Income/Work and Age/Ethnicity. Each of those categories also has several subcategories. I would certainly recommend this site to anyone who is planning a move. Oh yeah, if the colors on the map aren’t making sense to you, just click the “Explain” link directly above the legend. Or maybe you don’t see any colors at all because you are Red-Green color blind — they’ve got that covered, too. Brilliant site. Kudos.
Rates Hit Highs
Market Watch posted this article laying out all of the numbers for you about the 10-month high rates. There is one quote in the article that bodes well for homeowners: “As house prices grow less quickly and household incomes rise, the housing market will likely recover from its current slump, but perhaps not before the end of this year.”
The article found here describes that Consumer Confidence is at a 10-month low. It’s certainly no coincidence that consumer confidence hits at a 10-month low when rates hit a 10-month high. You may now be thinking, “What does all of this mean?” Well, I’ll defer to a post by Brad Inman for an explanation. He essentially says that low consumer confidence is a good thing because it slows real estate speculation and makes home buyers examine the numbers much closer. Therefore, people are more likely to buy homes that they can afford for the long-term.
Frequently Asked Question
at 9:06 pm on Thursday, 7 June 2007
Like most Realtors, I get this question all the time: “How is the market doing?” Well, it certainly depends where you are. This post talks some about the doom and gloom that most of us are used to hearing. And it’s true…in those markets. However, one of the things that I love about Columbia is that the real estate market here is extremely stable. It is very unlikely that you will see any amazing swell in property value (Bubble) but at the same time, you almost certainly won’t see any great trough either (Bubble Burst).
I believe that the Columbia area is a fantastic place to own real estate. You can pretty much count on a slow steady increase in value. Here are a couple of reasons why the real estate industry is stable in this area:
- Geographic Location. People want to live here because of the weather. Also, you can be in the mountains or at the beach in about 2 hours. There are a few really nice lakes in the area. Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah, Asheville and Atlanta are all an easy drive from here. We’re also inland enough that hurricanes are not too much of a threat.
- Employment. This is another big one. Being the state capital, there are many government jobs - state and federal. The University of South Carolina provides many jobs. And Fort Jackson creates an economy in the Northeast part of town. There are other large companies in town, too.
One thing I’ve noticed while talking to people around town: A large percentage of the people living here aren’t originally from here. I, too, am a transplant. I’m originally from Natchitoches (Nak-a-tish), Louisiana but I moved here from Charleston. Which brings me to the last reason I’ll list that people love to live here…It’s the reason I’m here:
Carolina Girls! You’ll hear that they’re the best in the world…and that’ the truth. I live here because my wife is from here. If you’re lucky enough to get hooked up with a Carolina Girl, you’ll be willing to live 800 miles from home, too!