About Florence County, SC

Need a quick birthday gift or wedding gift? Then go to the hospital. What? The Hospital? Yes, one of the best gift shops in Lake City is located at the Lake City Community Hospital. The Gift Nook is located in the front entrance of the hospital. It is open Monday through Friday from 9am – 4pm. The Gift Nook has a variety of gifts for many occasions. It is staffed by the volunteer auxiliary. Not only will you find great gifts there but you will also be helping out the community by supporting the local hospital.

For folks who are waiting for the bottom in the real estate market, please consider . . .

1. Local inventory of homes for sale is beginning to shrink somewhat.

2. Overall home prices in South Carolina haven't seen any significant decrease.

3. Thirty-year mortgage rates have risen from under 6% to over 6.5% in just a couple weeks.

4. Many building material prices, which were at a several year low, are now beginning to see significant rises again.

5. Inflation worries may cause the Federal Reserve to raise their rates.

All this just goes to show that you can't time the bottom of a market. You can only see the bottom when the market is well on it's way back up. So, if you are thinking about buying or selling, now is the time!

New Home Market Report

Florence, South Carolina

YTD Statistics as of May 31, 2008

Prepared by Ron Moore

Founder of the Home Team Pros

RE/MAX Professionals

1000 to 1250 square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 14 homes available, representing a 5.5 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 243 DOM, a huge increase over the average 111.

3. Pricing – $91 per square foot, down from a three-year average of $92.

4. Sales – 7 sales YTD, which is 44.6% behind where sales should be.

5. Observation - Though declining inventory is positive, the DOM, flat pricing and highly sluggish sale's rate are all negative indicators.

1251 to 1500 square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 68 homes available, representing a13.4 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 156 DOM, a significant increase over the average 108.

3. Pricing – $99 per square foot, up from a three-year average of $96.

4. Sales – 20 sales YTD, which is 21.3% behind where sales should be.

5. Observation - The fact that current inventory is high, that the average DOM are significantly up and that sales are sluggish indicate an extended slowdown for this size home.

1501 to 1750 square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 28 homes available, representing a 9.3 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 120 DOM, a significant increase over the average 82.

3. Pricing – $107 per square foot, up from a three-year average of $101.

4. Sales – 7 sales YTD, which is 53.3% behind where sales should be.

5. Observation - Though increased pricing power is a positive, all other indicators are lagging and point toward continued pressures on this market.

1751 to 2000 square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 21 homes available, representing a 6.9 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 101 DOM, a moderate increase over the average 91.

3. Pricing – $108 per square foot, up from the three-year average of $100.

4. Sales – 14 sales YTD, which is only 8.4% behind where sales should be.

5. Observation - The declining inventory and increased pricing power are positive indicators. The DOM and YTD sales rate are neutral to slightly negative.

2001 to 2500 square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 56 homes available, representing an 11.8 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 152 DOM, a huge increase over the average 93.

3. Pricing – $107 per square foot, up from a three-year average of $103.

4. Sales – 12 sales YTD, which is 49.5% behind where sales should be.

5. Observation - Though pricing power is positive, all other indicators are negative.

2501 to 3000 square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 33 homes available, representing an 15.8 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 120 DOM, a slight increase over the average 113.

3. Pricing – $107 per square foot, up from a three-year average of $105.

4. Sales – 8 sales YTD, which is 23.2% behind where sales should be.

5. Observation - Overall, this would be a tough market for a builder but affords excellent opportunities for buyers..

3001 to 3500 square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 14 homes available, representing an 10.3 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 146 DOM, a huge increase over the average 73.

3. Pricing – $126 per square foot, significantly up from a three-year average of $116.

4. Sales – 7 sales YTD, which is .2.9% ahead of where sales should be.

5. Observation - The pricing power and strong sales rate make this size home attractive for builders but the DOM and current inventory are of concern.

3501+ square feet

1. Inventory – There are currently 11 homes available, representing a 15.8 month inventory.

2. Days on Market – 268 DOM, a huge increase over the average 63.

3. Pricing – $135 per square foot, up from a three-year average of $128.

4. Sales – 2 sales YTD, which is 42.4% behind where sales should be.

5. Observation - Buyers should be able to find some good values here.

I am a real estate agent in South Carolina and I live in the middle of two towns - Lake City and Florence. The MLS that I am a member of includes both towns. Florence is definitely the larger city with a population of around 30,000 and Lake City with a population of around 7,000. The following stats compare Lake City and Florence sales in the residential market so far this year

(January 2008 - May 2008):

Town Class # Sold % Sold Avg. Price DOM

Lake City RE 9 32.14% $83,811 142

Florence RE 303 45.22% $176,613 88

There has been a decrease in both the volume of sales and the percentage of sales in my area. With the slump in the real estate market I have been working hard on developing my own personal website - www.teresamcdonald.com . The website my office has does not get much attention so I wanted to do a more dynamic site where I can share my quarterly newsletters and other information I pass on to my clients.

Big plans are in the making for the town of Lake City. After hiring two firms to identify untapped potential growth in the city, Lake City now has coordinated the findings and designed a complete revitalization plan. Phase 1 consists of making over the National Bean Market Museum and Town Square, adding a Health Care Campus, revamping existing features of the city, adding a Ronald E. McNair Space and Science Museum, a Visitors Center, a new city hall, markets, offices, and renovating Main Street and Sauls Street. This first phase should totally transform the face of Lake City and the lives of its residents. This is a big task for a small town but the rewards should be great. Revitalization should bring more industry and create more tourism, two of the major goals of the city. Along with the revitalization plans there is also a marketing campaign to promote the many changes that will be taking place in Lake City. Plans are in place and funding will be sought to make the plans a reality. In the near future we will see a complete transformation in the small town of Lake City. Lake City will be one of those small southern towns that northerners flock to for retirement.