Housing inquiries up as prices slip down

By Jessica Foster

People aren't buying Myrtle Beach real estate at the rate they once did, but they are looking.

Myrtle Beach recently made Realtor.com's list of markets across the nation with the fastest-growing search activity, likely because people are readying to snag a deal when the market bottoms, and they're looking in areas with the steepest price declines, experts said.

Of the 135 markets with the biggest uptick in Web traffic, Myrtle Beach was 42nd, with a 24.6 percent increase in search activity on the home selling site for the National Association of Realtors. The survey compared search activity in July to July 2007.

Topping the list was Stockton-Lodi, Calif., with a 140.9 percent increase, and at the bottom was Roanoke, Va., with a 1 percent increase.

Other markets in the Carolinas that made the cut include the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson area (up 12.2 percent), Columbia (up 2.2 percent) and Wilmington, N.C. (up 1.1 percent).

Many markets on the list, and all of the top 10 markets, are in the states hardest hit by the housing slump, such as California, Florida and Nevada.

"As prices are adjusting down, interest is adjusting up," said Realtor.com spokeswoman Julie Reynolds.

The Grand Strand has also seen price declines in recent months, more so than most areas of the state.

The median price of homes sold on the Grand Strand dropped 7 percent for single-family houses to $202,497 and 20 percent for condos to $165,000 during the first half of 2008 compared with the same period last year, according to the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors. The median price is where half sell for more and half sell for less.

Statewide, the median-price decline for all homes was 3.4 percent to $154,000, according to the S.C. Association of Realtors.

"We've got some units here that are back to their original selling prices," said CCAR's market analyst Tom Maeser. "In some cases with new homes, they're below what it was selling for when it was built new."

Skyrocketing prices during the housing boom that started in 2004 and tapered off in 2006 spurred the correction.

"Annual average appreciation, it was just going out of control," Maeser said. "We couldn't have kept that pace by any stretch. Now, there is some settling down and some lowering of prices."

Late this spring, local Realtors really started to see foot traffic, inquiries and Web searches pick up for the first time since 2006, Maeser said.

Experts are confident that the pent-up demand will translate into sales, it's just a matter of when. Despite the falling prices, Grand Strand home sales this year have been down from 2007 levels every month.

There are still hurdles to overcome, including tight credit markets that have made financing a home more difficult, and some potential buyers could be holding off to see the results of the upcoming presidential election, Maeser said.

Still, the uptick in interest is encouraging, Reynolds said.

"There are some markets where interest is picking up, whether it's for investment opportunities or perhaps for families looking to trade up," she said.

"We hope that leads to sales sooner than later."

Contact JESSICA FOSTER at 626-0351.