South Carolina's economic outlook is positive

New data released by the South Carolina Department of Commerce proves once again that South Carolina is a great place to live and work.  Part of the allure of Greenville, SC is not only its future viability but also how the city (and state) is currently faring economically.

Part of these gains were driven by a recovering real estate construction market:

The real estate and construction industries show some signs of recovery as more than 1,400 residential building permits were issued in February, exceeding January’s total by 8.7 percent and the total from February, 2011 by nearly 30 percent. The total value associated with the permits issued in February was $267 million, surpassing the previous February by $80 million. While the median home sales price of closings in South Carolina fell to $140,000 from $145,000 in January, the number of residential closings increased 17 percent to 3,291 in February. Foreclosure activity increased considerably in February, with a total of 3,339 foreclosure filings or 12 percent more than the previous month.

The data for South Carolina real estate closings was positive with 10.7% more real estate closings in South Carolina versus last year.   There are, however, 56.7% more foreclosures than February 2011.

Specific data for Greenville, SC real estate shows that the median price has increased from $121,000 in February 2011 to $135,000 in February 2012.  Greenville is also blessed with one of the lowest unemployments rates of the state (7.7%).

The median home sales price increased slightly over the previous year to $140,000 from $136,800. The volume of residential building permits and the valuation of those permits both continue to show strong increases over last year. The total Residential Valuation associated with the permits increased 43.5 percent, while total number of permits issued grew by 29.9 percent, up by 336 permits compared to a year ago. Foreclosures rose 56.7 percent percent with 1,582 more foreclosures filings than the previous February.

The SC Department of Commerce has released a PDF with all the data.