About Oconee County, SC

According to an interesting article I just read, Oconee County will need some affordable housing in the future amid the gated subdivisons and lakeside McMansions, at least that is the opinion of some planners and residents. In the article, they define affordable housing as homes between $80000 and $120000. But considering there are 63 single family homes for sale in Oconee county today in my MLS between $80 &$120K, I am not sure we are looking at a crisis.

Any Oconee resident that wants to give their 2 cents about this is encouraged to send your comments & ideas to the county planning department and the county planning commission regarding the updating of the housing element of the county comprehensive plan can do so by visiting the planning department Web site at oconeesc.com/planning/comprehensiveplan.htm or by submitting the comments in writing to Oconee County Planning Department, 415 S. Pine St., Walhalla, SC 29691.

Click here to learn about Oconee County SC, and then be sure to Search the MLS to find your next home!

Housing may not be done so do not stick a fork in it yet. With the Mortgage Bankers Association announcing refis up 4.2%, existing home sales up 5.1& according to NAR, and interest rates down, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. And that light may not be a freight train bearing down on us!

But we are not out of the woods yet. With the news that South Carolina has the highest jobless rate in 26 years, I have to be honest that not everything is perfect. The jobless rate in SC was reported last month at 11% compared to the national rate of 8.1%. I have no doubt that we all know someone without a job, and the outlook is grim. I was watching the various political shows this morning and the topic turned to the outrage the average American feels about the economy, bailouts, and executive bonuses. The question was "Should there be this much outrage?"

Consider the news about Oconee County's population growth rate, which was sprinting through most of this decade, is now prodding along at a turtle's pace according to the final estimate put out recently by the U.S. Census before its big count next year. So the economic downturn that has hurt other parts of the country has affected us locally, at least that is what the article says. No matter how badly everyone wants to move here, if they cannot sell their home in other parts of the country, they can't move here. Our housing market is generally stable, but we cannot help those people elsewhere in the US. If they can't sell there, they cannot buy here.

But we all know as soon as those people elsewhere can sell their homes, they are coming to Upstate South Carolina. And we are ready to welcome them to the greatest place to call home!

More news regarding Oconee County was word that Johnson Controls Inc., which operates a plant in West Union, said Friday it will cut jobs and close 10 manufacturing plants as part of a restructuring effort that it said will cost between $200 million and $215 million. But of course they did not say which plants will be affected, so maybe the West Union plant will escape the axe.

I just posted the market statistics for Anderson County but now I am going to discuss Oconee County Single Family Homes that were sold in February 2009.

Last month in Oconee County, 31 Homes sold with an average of 174 Days on market at 86% of Original Price. This is 4 less homes as last month! Homes sold on average 16 days quicker last month and for 5% less than last month.

Let's Compare This To last year. In February 2008 there were 41 Homes sold with an Average of 178 Days on Market at 91% of Original Price in Oconee County.

So 10 more homes sold in February 2008 when compared to 2009. And Days on Market was a little longer but not much last year. Also the % of original price was lower this year when compared to last. But when we look at February 2009 compared to January 2009, less homes sold, with about the same DOM and a little less & of original price.

Please contact me to get your Free CMA to see how much you can expect a home such as yours to sell for!

The City Council in Seneca is making an effort to rid the city of some eyesores, namely dilapidated homes. It appears that City Administrator Greg Dietterick recommend to council that the city release $20,000 from its general fund to begin the process of demolishing six properties Halbig and city inspectors see as the worst hazards.

Seneca is such a pretty place and the people deserve to have a City Council fighting to improve property values and the safety and well being of its citizens. It only makes sense to get the few ugly homes looking as good as the rest of Seneca does. My hat goes off to the city of Seneca and the City Council!

Wow. This is the hardest time I have had in the real estate industry -- in over 8 years. Things are tough. More houses on the market than ever -- it's definitely a buyer's market. And people still want to buy but the loans are hard to get. And then, you get through all that paperwork and the loan gets approved. Then, what happens. This week, I was in this situation and the title search comes back with a judgement against the seller. The only way to get by it is to get the judgement filers to sign off and they won't. So, the buyer loses money. And the house is going into foreclosure because the seller can't afford to keep it.

What else can happen?

I am just trying to hold my head up high and keep on trying to help people. That's why I got into this business and that's why I love it. Oconee County is still a great place to live and work.