S.C. ranks sixth in nation for home value appreciation over the past year

From the Charleston Regional Business Journal

Staff Report
Published Nov. 25, 2008

South Carolina ranks sixth in the rate of appreciation for single-family homes over the past year, according to third-quarter statistics released Tuesday by the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Nationally, home values dropped 4% from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008, the report said. During that time in South Carolina, values rose 2.42%.

The nation’s 4% four-quarter decline was the largest four-quarter drop in the history of the index, which started in 1975.

The quarterly report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency is based on sales and refinancing data for existing single-family homes. Transactions included in the data are conforming, conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The report ranks states and metro areas only by yearly changes, but it also lists value changes for the third quarter of 2008. Those quarterly numbers are negative for most states and metro areas.

During the third quarter, home values dropped 0.45% in South Carolina, compared with a 2.68% drop nationally.

Among metro areas ranked by appreciation from third quarter 2007 to third quarter 2008, the Augusta-Richmond County MSA, which covers parts of South Carolina and Georgia, was No. 2 in the nation. The area, which saw values increase 5.48% over the year, fell behind only the Austin-Round Rock MSA in Texas.

The Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville MSA came in at No. 65, with 1.37% appreciation over the last year. The area’s values fell 0.30% during the third quarter of 2008.

The Columbia MSA is listed at No. 24, with 2.92% appreciation during the year. For the quarter, home values dropped 0.05%.

The Greenville-Mauldin-Easley MSA was No. 9 in home appreciation during the past year, at 4.55%. For the quarter, the Upstate MSA saw home values drop 0.61%.

Also in the Upstate, Spartanburg was No. 11, with a 4.12% appreciation rate over the year and a 2.2% increase in the third quarter. Anderson was No. 39, with 2.28% appreciation over the year and a drop of 1.86% over the most recent quarter.

“The impact of foreclosures and tightening credit conditions weighed heavily on house prices in the third quarter,” FHFA Director James B. Lockhart said.