The foreclosure crisis brings devastation to everything that crosses its path. This is especially true in South Carolina’s new home market which is suffering from the impact of the increasing number of repossessed house.
And greatly affected by the national foreclosure problem and real estate market collapse are contractors who struggle to survive the drastic drop in housing prices.
SNR Builders and Renovators co-owner Robin Winter said that the repossessed house crisis has damaged the new home market and caused property prices to plummet beyond control. She explained that most homebuyers are looking for deeply discounted foreclosure properties instead of buying houses at market value.
She said that the trend has severely affected her company which has shifted to doing additions and remodeling work in order to survive the current crisis. She added that her company used to employ 12 people but since the start of the repossessed house crisis, it trimmed down to only 2 employees.
Winter pointed out that the real estate market is trying to cope with the current condition by shifting its focus on affordable housing for first-time homebuyers. She claimed that she had a great deal of difficulty marketing and selling custom houses her company built with high market values.
Meanwhile, Premier Construction and Restoration owner Jim Markley said that he stopped building new houses this year because the current real estate market is not conducive for newly-built homes. He said that his company used to build seven houses per year.
He explained that during the heyday, his company sub-contracted with other industries, such as lumber stores, flooring stores, brick masons and paint supply stores. These industries are all suffering right now due to the repossessed house crisis.
In order to survive, Markley said that his company has diversified and now handles home renovations, adding that the repairs his company performs are all insurance-related.
Statewide, the average monthly rate of repossessed house in South Carolina is more than 2,000. Currently, the state has a total of 5,271 foreclosure homes for sale at a median listed price of about $60,000.
The current median home price in South Carolina is $81,300, 10 percent lower from the national average of $89,600.
