3rd Quarter is "in the books" in Beaufort, SC

One of the really interesting -- at least I think so -- aspects of the shifting real estate market is that it "shifts" the way we purchase property in Beaufort County. Just a few years ago, conventional financing was the way to go. Through the first three quarters of 2006, for instance, a whopping 83.6 percent of all home sales were conducted utilizing conventional financing, according to statistics gleaned from the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service (MLS). During this same time period, less than 5 percent of home loans were through the Veterans Administration (VA), and about half of one percent (.006) were loans that utilized the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). Cash sales accounted for about 10 percent of purchases.

Not so in 2009. You can throw those trends and stats out the window. Through the same time period in 2009, more and more buyers are seeking out a variety of "non-conventional" funding sources, and the number of buyers using conventional financing has plummeted to 50 percent, according to the Beaufort MLS.

Cash deals have emerged as a big player in the 2009 real estate market, more than doubling its market share since 2006. Almost 19 percent of 2009 residential transactions have been conducted via this mode, according to Beaufort MLS statistics, up from about 10 percent in 2006.

VA loans have made huge gains in 2009, more than quadrupling their market share. In 2006, about 4.6 percent of residential sales used their VA in 2006, while that figure is about 18.5 percent in 2009. Back in 2006, there was an abundance of 100 percent financing available through conventional means. Much of that financing has dried up in 2009, so military veterans and active duty personnel have gone back to the VA as the source for 100 percent financing.

Although FHA loans still comprise a relatively small (8 percent) share of the marketplace, there is nothing small about the gains FHA loans have made. As mentioned earlier, FHA loans comprised about one half of one percent back in 2006, when the market began its slowdown.