Real Estate Pulse on Southeastern Cities
Community Finder’s Best Cities to Live list includes 28 southern cities in Florida, Georgia, the Carolina’s and Tennessee. After analyzing the latest data we've collected on all these cities, serious buyer's searching for where to retire would be smart to notice these vital signs:
SOLD HOME PRICES ARE STILL TRENDING DOWN
In 2012, sold home prices are down 3-4%, year over year in the Southeast. Second home markets seeing the largest price decreases include areas such as Blowing Rock North Carolina and the Outer Banks. Another one is the Best Value Retirement City named by U.S. News and World Report, a northern Georgia best small mountain town hammered by decreasing home prices. Second home markets typically lag behind in an economic recovery which creates great buying opportunities for smart shoppers.
CITIES BUCKING THE TREND
Overall, South Carolina homes are showing the highest sold price trend. Real estate markets bucking the down trend include Bluffton South Carolina on the coast and Greenville South Carolina in the mountains. Bluffton is on the mainland adjacent to Hilton Head Island. We believe the moderate weather, variety of outdoor sports such as golf, fishing, and boating along with excellent shopping and medical care make Bluffton an exciting place to live.
Greenville South Carolina is a hip college city infused with great restaurants, art galleries, cultural headline entertainment, sports, job opportunities and is an excellent outdoor playground. Less than an hour’s drive to the north, outdoor enthusiasts can hike scenic Table Rock State Park or boat on huge blue green Lake Keowee at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To us, Greenville is a more modern version of Asheville North Carolina. Greenville has a yuppie vibe combined with an environmentalist’s attitude.
AFFLUENT NEIGHBORHOODS IN A PRICE UPTICK
We’ve noticed a surprising trend as affluent families probably hoping to stay under the radar, are snagging up the deals buying homes in the most desirable neighborhoods such as Lake Oconee and Lake Burton in Georgia and Highlands Cashiers in Western North Carolina. Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee reports sales records this year and is now under solid new ownership by MetLife.
Lake Burton is also one of Georgia’s best kept secrets, a Georgia mountain lake where sports celebrities and corporate executives own lakefront summer homes. For decades, the Highlands Cashiers area has been known a rich man’s summer playground, affluent families such as the Ford's, Edison's and Rockefeller's. Home sales in the area have been stagnate for a while but not anymore!
FIVE BEST VALUE CITIES BY THE SQUARE FOOT
1) Gainesville Georgia on Lake Lanier - Georgia's Most Visited Lake
2) Vero Beach Florida - Tried and True, a Snowbird Beauty
3) Knoxville Tennessee - In the Middle of Everything, Easy Access from All Directions
4) Waynesville North Carolina - Best 'Spill Over' Asheville City
5) Greenville South Carolina - Best Redevelopment City
Average square foot prices for an existing home in these cities range from $53 a square foot to $73. New home square foot prices are higher. Existing sold home prices average $132,600.
Searching for a home can easily make your blood pressure rise. Keep your real estate pulse in check, by letting us help you. Ask us for a list of the best neighborhoods to live in your favorite state in the Southeast. We visit and analyze each an every community we recommend.
Write info@communityfinder.com or call us toll free at 866.384.1799.
