Housing market shows signs of recovery

ON THE MOVE: Derek Dugan recently moved into a new home in the Gatewood neighborhood. His old house in River Bluff didn’t sell a year ago, but this time, it sold within two weeks. Staff photo by MICHAEL GIBBONS.

Two years ago, Aiken residents Derek and Debby Dugan put their River Bluff home up for sale, and, after one year, it still sat on the market.

The Dugans decided to stay in their home for the time being and, about a month ago, figured they'd give it another try.

This time, they found a home in the Gatewood subdivision at a great price, put a bid on it and bought it. Along with the excitement of finding the new house came the uncertainty of being able to sell the River Bluff home.

"We were definitely nervous," Dugan said, but the nervousness did not last long. "I put my house up on the market, and it sold in two weeks."

While the Dugans' case is certainly not the norm, it is a sign of some improvement in Aiken County's housing market.

The nationwide recovery anticipated in the housing market during 2011 didn't happen in South Carolina, a statewide report on residential real estate activity found, but Aiken County appears to have fared better than other parts of the state.

The annual report on the South Carolina housing market, released last week by the South Carolina Realtors Association, said that statewide 2011 was "another transition year in what has become a more drawn-out bottoming process than most would like."

However, Aiken County Realtors are seeing an uptick in business, according to Kristyne Shelton, Aiken Board of Realtors association executive.

"I think from the housing perspective, especially in Aiken County, we are definitely seeing some positive signs," Shelton said. "I have seen movement, and, from talking to our Realtors, people want to buy houses in Aiken. Our Realtors are getting busier, which is fantastic."

Betty Surrency, vice president and broker/manager with Meybohm in North Augusta, said the numbers presented in the report are a mix of good and bad news for the area.

"I think part of the good news is we have less houses entering the market, so we can absorb what we currently have on the market at a greater pace," Surrency said. "Some of the values have fallen slightly, but I think that is part of what we're seeing in the whole area, which is a correction in a market that was inflated somewhat back in 2007."

Median sale prices in both Aiken and North Augusta have increased by 4.1 and 3.4 percent, respectively, since 2010, according to the report.

Average home sale prices have also increased less than 1 percent in Aiken and decreased 0.5 percent in North Augusta since 2010.

Median sales prices and average sales prices statewide decreased 1 percent since 2010.

Aiken's pending sales - homes in the process of being sold to a known buyer - are up 3.1 percent from 2010, compared to the state average of a fraction of a percent.

The inventory of homes for sale has seen a 15.6 percent decrease statewide but only a 7 percent decrease in Aiken and a 2.9 percent decrease in North Augusta.

Surrency said that the decreasing inventory is a positive sign.

"If we have a reduction in listings as a whole, I see that as healthier," she said. "You have a better balance between the number of buyers and the number of sellers."

She added that it is important to have a certain kind of listings - ones that are priced right and in good condition.

Statewide, homes typically stayed on the market for an average of 143 days in 2011, while Aiken's average days on market was 200, and North Augusta's was 167, according to the report.

Aiken had 1,272 closed sales in 2011, down just more than 1 percent from 2010, and 849 closed sales in North Augusta, a 5.7 percent decrease from 2011.

Diane Miniard, a Realtor with Meybohm in Aiken, said that may be because some sellers are less willing to negotiate.

"I think we just have sellers that just want to stay closer to their list price," Miniard said. "A lot of people definitely have their homes priced at what they're worth, but it is a buyer's market."

Statewide, the number of closed home sales totaled 46,762 - a 1.7 percent decrease from 2010.

Hilton Head and the Charleston Trident areas increased closed sales by 9.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, according to the report. Other areas, like the Southern Midlands decreased 10.6 percent, and the Piedmont region decreased 15 percent.

"Aiken didn't see the huge decrease in property prices that was experienced around the state," Shelton said.

Both Miniard and Surrency said Aiken County also has not seen the amount of foreclosures the rest of the state has.

"This area, and Augusta, is a more stable area than metro Atlanta or other major markets. We just have a very diverse industry base, Surrency said. "We have the Savannah River Site, we have Plant Vogtle and Fort Gordon, and Bridgestone is doing expansions. We just have a very diverse industry base, so we haven't been affected as much as other areas."

Shelton said 2012 looks promising.

"I think we're going to do just as well as we did in 2011, and I think we're going to do just a little bit better," Shelton said.

Minard agreed that 2011 was slightly better than 2010, and she foresees 2012 being another step in a positive direction.

"I'd like to see Aiken on top of all the good charts and not mentioned at all on the bad charts," she said but added that it would take time to get to that point.

While the state did not see the across-the-board improvement it hoped for, the report acknowledged that South Carolina as a whole is "on the mend."

"Layoffs have slowed, hiring has accelerated, fewer homes in financial distress are entering the market," the report read. "It's good to see that time still has a way of healing most wounds."

Anna Dolianitis is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, as well as court and legal matters affecting Aiken County. She has been with the Aiken Standard since August 2010.

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