News

Watchdog Report – January 21, 2025

Hello REALTORS®,   ‘Tis the Season…for business licenses at least.  Most cities in South Carolina require a business license to conduct business in their city.  Nearly all of them impose a business license tax as well, and the tax is not insignificant.  In fact, most cities receive a substantial portion of their revenue, sometimes as high… Read more »

Read More

December 2024 Market Reports

Monthly Housing Indicators U.S. existing-home sales improved for the second consecutive month, rising 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million units, an eight-month high, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Sales were up 6.1% compared to the same time last year, marking the largest year-over-year increase since June 2021. Economists… Read more »

Read More

Watchdog Report – January 6, 2025

Hello REALTORS®,   The November election doesn’t end important dates on the government calendar—there have been several important dates over the last few weeks.  You could put them on your calendar, but your Realtor Government Affairs team monitors them for you.  These are some of the more important dates:  Federal Government Funding Deadline?  This seems to… Read more »

Read More

Watchdog Report – December 16, 2024

Hello REALTORS®,   The elections are over, but there are still key dates coming up to finalize the results of elections to federal offices, including one this week.  You might want to mark your calendar.  Federal Government Funding Deadline?  This seems to be the routine: just before Christmas, we have the threat of a federal government… Read more »

Read More

November 2024 Market Reports

Monthly Housing Indicators U.S. existing-home sales rose 3.4% month-over-month and 2.9% year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million units, exceeding economists’ expectations for the month and marking the first annual gain since July 2021, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Lower mortgage rates in late summer and early fall helped… Read more »

Read More

Watchdog Report – December 9, 2024

Hello REALTORS®, The elections are over, but there are a few key dates coming up to finalize the results of elections to federal offices, including one next week. You might want to mark your calendar. December 17: Electoral College Meets to vote for President of the United States (their votes were determined by the General… Read more »

Read More

Watchdog Report – November 18, 2024

Hello REALTORS®,   Now that we are finally past the elections, I can catch up on what has been happening in local government.  Most election years, governmental bodies do a little less legislating and a little more politicking.  But in the Western Upstate, most elections are decided in the Primaries in June.  That was true in… Read more »

Read More

October 2024 Market Reports

Monthly Housing Indicators U.S. existing-home sales unexpectedly slipped 1.0% month-over-month and 3.5% year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.84 million, the lowest level in more than a decade, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Prospective buyers have pulled back in recent months, despite lower mortgage rates and more home choices compared… Read more »

Read More

Special Report from the NAR Board of Directors

Board Approves Budget: Culture Transformation Plan Passes At its Monday, Nov. 11 meeting, the National Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors approved NAR’s operating, advocacy and Consumer Ad Campaign budgets and approved a membership figure of 1.4 million to serve as the basis for dues revenue in the 2025 budget. To date in 2024, membership… Read more »

Read More

Watchdog Report – November 11, 2024

Hello REALTORS®, The elections wrapped up last week.  First, click this link to see the Election Results for the Western Upstate, and see below for notable election results. Click here for the Election Results. No Runoff Election in Clemson I had this result wrong last week.  Clemson uses an election method that does not require… Read more »

Read More