Fox Interview with Don Wessel

I was recently interviewed by Fox Carolina regarding the booming real estate market in Greenville South Carolina. Buyers have been asking me for the past 20 years if it’s the right time to buy and yes it still is. With it’s low employment, cost of living, pure water supply and beautiful downtown, Greenville SC will continue to be the place to be!

 

Video Transcript

Well Fox Carolina is committed to you and this morning we’re taking a close look at the real estate market around Greenville. It’s one of the fastest growing cities, but can housing keep up with the demand? Fox Carolinas Grace Runkel is live in Greenville and Grace we want to talk a little bit more about what local realtors have to say. Well you know the first thing that people are going to notice is that the prices have gone way up, especially compared to what we’ve seen even just last year. We noticed that the prices have gone up 16% so that puts the average home price at about $313,000. And if you take a look at Zillow, we pulled it up this morning, downtown here you can see lots of red dots. That means lots of listings these though are a little pricier, higher than that average cost. If you want to get the lower prices you got to move outwards, but of course those red dots are few and far between. So definitely a lot of things that buyers have to take into account. Now we talked with Don Wessel. He’s been a realtor in Greenville for about two decades and he tells us he’s never seen anything quite like this. Wessel said he sees three things driving the current situation: low inventory, big demand, and a boom in the number of realtors. 20 years ago, Wessel says, Greenville had 800; now it’s like 4,600. It’s a situation hardest for first-time homebuyers. Wessel says they should have saved up as much as possible. “First-time homebuyers, a lot of times they’ll only have about three, three and a half percent to put out. So when they go into this market and they’re trying to compete with people that are putting 20 percent down, 30  percent down, 40 down, or even cash buyers, it’s very difficult for them.” Wessel says this trend is here to stay. A nationwide survey shows that the market is cooling off a little bit in South Carolina as a whole, but right here in Greenville and in the upstate, that is not the case. Back to you.

Wessel said he sees three things driving the current situation: low inventory, big demand, and a boom in the number of realtors.

Current Greenville Real Estate Market

Greenville has undergone a dramatic revitalization over the years. Until about two decades ago, the former textile town had deteriorated to the point where vacant storefronts were commonplace along the downtown area, while overgrown weeds and an overpass hid what has become its feature attraction.

Greenville Today

However, today, downtown Greenville is a vibrant area with small businesses filling up its storefronts. Meanwhile, Falls Park on the Reedy has become the centerpiece of the town.

Driving the city’s rebirth has been an influx of major manufacturers to the region, drawn by its business-friendly climate, low-cost workforce, and central location between booming Sun Belt cities Charlotte and Atlanta. Those jobs are drawing people to migrate to the Greenville area in droves. That population growth has enhanced the region’s appeal to real estate investors.

The downtown area has seen a huge benefit from this rebirth with newly built and renovated condominiums. These luxury condos in Greenville are highly sought after due to their location and updated look.

Greenville Buyers Real Estate Agent

Don Wessel works exclusively with buyers and has been a Greenville Realtor in the market for nearly 20 years. There are many advantages of working with a buyer’s agent. With a buyer’s agent, you are there sole focus and finding you a property that’s fits your wants and budget is their only concern. Most other realtors are mainly focused on getting new listings and that’s where the majority of their effort is spent.

Let Don help you look at the homes for sale in Greenville and find your next place!