Great event last week at the SMC Educational Event at Addison Homes!

What does it look like behind the walls of the first mainstream Zero Energy Home in Greenville SC? 

That's a question Greenville HBA's Sales & Marketing Council asked - and Addison Homes answered! On Tuesday, November 11 Builders and Agents met at Addison's model home in Trailside for a "pre-drywall tour".

Construction is currently under way, so this educational event was all about taking a look at the energy-efficient products and processes you won't see again once the walls go up. Todd Usher, president of Addison Homes, provided an overview of the house as a system; in addition, representatives from vendors including Dow Solar, Velux, Icynene, Prime Energy Group and Wood Insulating were on hand to answer questions about their products.

Did you miss this Learn More, Earn More opportunity "Behind the Walls of a Zero Energy Home"? The SMC of the Upstate will have more education sessions in 2015. Some of the upcoming events include our Builder/ Realtor Panel on January 15th and Housing Market Forecast on February 3rd.  

Todd Usher, President of Addison Homes explaining the features of the Zero Net Energy Home

 

Website picks Greenville as the fourth best place in South Carolina for job seekers

nerdwallet.com picked Greenville County as the fourth best place in South Carolin for job seekers.  Factors nerdwallet considered include:

1. Is the county growing?
2. Can you afford to live in the county comfortably?
3. Are most people employed?

nerdwallet cited Greenville's growth rate of 3.9 percent, a median household income of $48,518, and a 6.8 percent unemployment rate as factors in the county's ranking.

In the top 10 were four counties in the Upstate including Pickens (8th), Oconee (9th), and Anderson (10th).

The top 10 counties in South Carolina for job seekers are:

1. Lexington County
2. Beaufort County
3. Kershaw County
4. Greenville County
5. Richland County
6. York County
7. Aiken County
8. Pickens County
9. Oconee County
10. Anderson County

A combination of a higher average income, lower monthly housing cost, and lower unemployment rate pushed Lexington County into the top spot.

Read the complete report at nerdwallet.com by clicking here.

Greenville MSA makes the Improving Markets Index for the sixth consecutive month

Anderson makes the list for the first time in November

For the sixth straight month, the Greenville MSA (Greenville, Laurens, and Pickens counties) made the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI). The list of U.S. housing markets showing measurable and sustained improvement rose by 22 to include 125 metros in November. This number includes representatives from 38 states and the District of Columbia, up from 32 states in October. One other city from South Carolina made the list: Anderson.

"Greenville's inclusion on the Improving Markets Index is testimony to the solid improvements our housing market has made in the last year," Robert Markel, CGR, President of the Home Builders Association of Greenville, said. This marks a third consecutive monthly gain for the index.

The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. That means Greenville has been improving for a full year. Markets added to the list in November include such geographically diverse locations as San Diego, Calif.; Gainesville, Fla.; Omaha, Neb.; Louisville, Ky.; and Charlotte, N.C.

“Not only did 22 additional markets qualify for the improving list in November, but the geographic distribution of included metros expanded from 33 states to 38 (plus the District of Columbia), while 97 out of 103 markets retained their spots on the list from the previous month,” observed Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. “This shows that a housing recovery is firmly taking root and helping generate needed jobs and economic growth across much of the country -- though we know that this expansion could be even stronger were it not for ongoing challenges including overly tight lending conditions and difficult appraisals.”

“The solid increase in the number of improving housing markets this month illustrates the degree to which the housing recovery has gained momentum since we initiated the IMI last year,” noted NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Compared to the 30 markets that made the list as of November 2011, we now have 125, which is about one-third of all the markets surveyed for this index.”

“This new high point for the Improving Markets Index provides the latest evidence that housing has turned a corner due to rising demand from consumers who are increasingly confident about the direction of local home values,” said Kurt Pfotenhauer, vice chairman of First American Title Insurance Company.

The IMI is designed to track housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. The index measures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top improving Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The three indicators that are analyzed are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, housing price appreciation from Freddie Mac and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau. NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three measures for at least six consecutive months following those measures’ respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list.

A complete list of all 125 metropolitan areas currently on the IMI, and separate breakouts of metros newly added to or dropped from the list in November, is available at www.nahb.org/imi.

Greenville makes list of improving markets for fourth month

The number of improving housing markets across the country rose to 99 in September, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI). This is up from 80 metros that were listed as improving in August and includes representatives from 33 states as well as the District of Columbia.

The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. Markets added to the list in September include Tucson, Ariz.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Springfield, Ill.; Greenville, N.C.; and Bend, Ore.

Greenville, SC has been on the list for four months. Click here to learn more.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate ranks Greenville fifth for fun and affordability

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate ranked the top 25 cities in the country for affordability and fun.  The website looked at every zip code in the country for the following factors:

• Median home price is within 20 percent of state median income; and
• The greatest number of bars and restaurants within the zip code

The top 5 included

1. Ocean City, MD
2. Ala Moana-Kakaako are of Honolulu, HI
3. Tempe, AZ
4. Scottsdale, AZ
5. Greenville, SC

Other cities of interest include Wilmington, NC (7), Winston-Salem, NC (10), Florence, SC (13), Gainesville, GA (14), Myrtle Beach, SC (15), North Charleston, SC (23), and Athens, GA (24).

Read the entire report at BloombergBusinessweek by clicking here.

Greenville area new job announcements up 50 percent in 2011

The Greenville Area Development Corporation announced 3,092 new jobs in 2011, a record number and up 50 percent from 2,083 jobs announced in 2010.

Read the entire report at GSA Business by clicking here.

Greenville is the ninth fastest growing city in America

According to a report by CNNMoney, Greenville was the ninth fastest growing city in America between 2000 and 2010.  CNN Money analyzed U.S. Census data to arrive at its report.

Read the entire report at CNNMoney.com by clicking here.

Below is a list of the top 10 fastest growing cities in America:


Charlotte, NC, population 1.25 million, grew 64.6 percent
Raleigh, NC, population 884,891, grew 63.4 percent
Cape Coral, FL, population 530,920, grew 60.8 percent
Provo, UT, population 482,819, grew 59 percent
Austin, TX, population 1.36 million, grew 51.1 percent
Las Vegas, NV, population 1.89 million, grew 43.5 percent
McAllen, TX, population 728,825, grew 39.3 percent
Knoxville, TN, population 558,696, grew 33.1 percent
Greenville, SC, population 400,492, grew 32.5 percentSan Antonio, TX, population 1.76 million, grew 32.4 percent

Eight of the ten cities are in Southern states.  Greenville is the smallest city on the list, but if the entire metro area is included (Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson), the area's population is about 1 million.

Gallop: Greenville fifth in community optimism

According to a recent poll by Gallup, Greenville ranked fifth out of 190 metro areas in the U.S. in community optimism.  Specifically, 74.2 percent of Greenville area residents said the area is getting better as a place to live.

Read the entire city optimism article at Gallup.com by clicking here.

Forbes: Greenville tied for first in best cities for job growth this Spring

A new report by Forbes finds that Greenville is the top city in the U.S. in expected job growth during the second quarter of 2012.

The finding is based on a survey of employers by ManpowerGroup.  According to the survey, the employment growth outlook for Greenville is impressive with 26 percent of area employers that expect to add jobs during the second quarter of 2012, compared with 2 percent that plan to reduce employment.  Greenvilled tied with Knoxville, TN, for the top spot in the report, followed by Syracuse, NY, Oklahoma City, OK, and Tulsa, OK.

Read the entire report at Forbes.com by clicking here.

Did You Know: Characteristics of Owner-Occupied Housing in the Greenville Metro Area

A recent analysis by NAHB shows how the Greenville are stacks up against other communities in the US when comparing owner-occupied and single-family housing statistics.  Did you know:

• Greenville ranks 99 in the nation in population, with 619,832 in an area that encompasses Pickens County as well.
• Greenville ranks 96 in owner-occupied housing units, with 164,688 owner-occupied homes.
• Greenville ranks 155 in homeownership rate.  The Greenville area homeownership rate is 68.2 percent.
• Greenville ranks 303 in vacancy rate with 3.7 percent of owner-occupied homes standing vacant.
• Greenville ranks 271 in percent of single-family detached housing, with 82.1 percent of is housing stock classified as single-family detached.
• Greenville ranks 228 in median home value.  The median value of a home in Greenville is $142,600.
• Greenville ranks 260 in median income of homeowners.  The median income of homeowners in Greenville is $54,549.
• Greenville ranks 71 in the nation in homes built in 2005 or later.  According to NAHB's report, 11.2 percent of homes in Greenville were built since 2005.
• The percent of owner-occupied homes in Greenville fell 1.7 percent.  Greenville ranks 235 in the nation in the percent increase in owner-occupied homes.

You can read NAHB's report, and view other metro areas in the country, at NAHB.org by clicking here.

Builder: "New Home Sales Suggest Climb Gaining Steam" in Greenville

A recent report by Builder magazine show that sales of new homes increased year-over-year in August, as well as for July.  The improvement suggests that "the market may be gaining momentum" in the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley MSA.

New home sales rose 41.6 percent in August, to 109, compared to 2011, and rose 32.3 percent in July, compared to the same month last year.  For the 12 months ending in August 2011, 949 new homes were sold, up from an annualized 917 in July.  However, out of all housing sales, new home sales made up just 14.5 percent of sales, although that is a rise from 11 percent in August 2010.

Greenville makes Forbes list of top 10 downtowns in America

Forbes included downtown Greenville on its list of 10 cities with America's Best Downtowns.

As recently as fifteen years ago, there would be no chance of Greenville making anybody’s list of top downtown areas. Suffering from decades worth of neglect losing business to the suburbs, the city engaged in an aggressive renewal project that has been enormously successful in transforming the downtown into a thriving cluster of new homes, shops, restaurants, and arts offerings. “There are pedestrian areas where people are walking around and shopping, and it’s really different from the other cities in South Carolina,” says Clampet. The addition of a BMW plant 30 miles outside the city has had a big impact on the workers coming in, and has changed it, in Clampet’s terms, “from a backwater to a really functioning and beautiful place.”

Read the entire report in Forbes by clicking here.

Unemployment is up, but so is the number of new jobs

Did you know that while the unemployment rate is up in South Carolina, to 10.9 percent, so is the number of jobs?

During July the number of jobs grew by 4,100, the highest rate of growth this year. However, the number of people looking for work grew by 10,360, contributing to the increase in the unemployment rate.

For the Greenville metropolitan area, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent as the number of jobs grew faster than the number of people looking for a job. In fact, Greenville is the only metro area in South Carolina where the unemployment rate fell both in July 2011 compared to June as well as compared to July 2010.

Click here to review the entire report at the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.

Greenville is ranked by website as 6th best place to live

RelocateAmerica.com ranked Greenville 6th on its list of "Top 100 Places to Live." The basis for its rankings in 2011 include positioning for economic recovery, currently strong economic growth, and proven overall economic stability. Factors also high on the list include employment, education, community leadership, and quality of life.

The top five cities were Austin TX, Grand Rapids MI, Boulder CO, Raleigh NC, and Dallas TX.

Click here to read the report and review the list of Top 100 Places to Live at RelocateAmerica.com.

Want to see the comings and goings of people moving to and from Greenville. Forbes.com has a great map that shows the inward and outward movement of people to and from Greenville County.

Click here to view the "Where Americans Are Moving" map at Forbes.com. Then click on the county you are curious about.

FOX News: Greenville SC in the national spotlight again

Fox News profiled down town Greenville in a 90-second segment this morning, the second time Greenville has been featured in the national press in the last two weeks.

According to the Greenville News, FOX News producers became interested in Greenville when they were here in May for the Republican Presidential Debate at the Peace Center in Downtown Greenville.

Click here to watch the FOX News profile of Greenville.

Click here to see the recent NPR feature.

Garden&Gun: Sweet Greenville, the hippest little city in South Carolina

Garden&Gun features a city portrait of Greenville in its August/September issue. By Ashley Warlick, the article calls Greenville "the hippest little city in South Carolina." The portrait also features vignets on where to eat and drink.

Read the portrait of Greenville in Garden&Gun by clicking here.

Greenville ranked top micro city

FDI Intelligence ranked Greenville number one among the top 10 micro cities of the future. The assessment was based on six measures, including human resources and quality of life. Micro cities have less than 100,000 residents.

Read the report at GSA Business by clicking here.

NPR: A park helps Greenville weather the recession

National Public Radio this week broadcast a nearly five-minute feature on how Greenville's Falls Park in the heart of downtown helped the city weather the recent recession.

The story profiled Mayor Knox White and his leadership in spearheading the park. It also profiled the subsequent economic development and community pride that has resulted from $13 million spent on the downtown part beginning in 2004.

Click here to listen to the story at NPR.org.

Fortune ranks Greenville one of the five best places to retire

Fortune Magazine recently rated Greenville one of the five best places to retire. The article cited affordable housing, a moderate climate, a great downtown, and proximity to Charlotte and Atlanta as qualities that make Greenville a great place to retire.

Read the Article

The other four places are Napa, California, Ann Arbor, Michigan, San Antonio, Texas, and Palm Coast, Florida.

Forbes Ranks Greenville 20th in Best Bang for the Buck Cities

Forbes magazine ranked Greenville in the top 20 cities in the country of best places to live. Forbes cited a stable housing, low taxes, stable employment, and short commutes. Read more