Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC. While last week saw a thin slate of economic headlines, consumer credit saw significant gains, the trade deficit narrowed, and jobless claims saw an encouraging drop. Consumer Credit Consumer borrowing saw its biggest gain in a year, with March's consumer credit total growing by 6.7 percent to a total of $3.14 trillion, according to last week's report from the Federal Reserve. All told, March saw a $17.5 billion gain in consumer credit activity. The push was led by non-revolving debt, such as student or car loans, which experienced a substantial 8.7 percent gain, growing from $2.26 trillion in February to $2.28 trillion in March. Meanwhile, revolving debt, such s credit cards grew by 1.6 per... 05/13/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC   Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC. Last week was filled with unexpected employment news shockers, including April seeing the lowest rate of unemployment since 2008 and a surprise increase in initial jobless claims. Meanwhile, personal incomes and spending gained momentum. Unemployment The U.S. economy added a whopping 288,000 jobs in April, bringing the unemployment rate down to 6.3 percent from 6.7 in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. This was the lowest unemployment rate since its lowest level since September 2008, and beat analyst’s expectations of a 6.6 percent rate with 215,000 new jobs. All in all, there were 9.8 million Americans out of work in April, the Bureau stated, which was down by 733,0... 05/06/2014

Greenville's biggest downtown open-air festivity of visual arts is happening on May 9-11 and this year’s festival marks the 10th anniversary of one of the top-ranked arts festivals in the country. So what do we have in store for this year’s Artisphere? Here’s the entertainment line-up! Spirit Family Reunion will perform at 6:30 p.m. on the Main Stage, followed by Houndmouth performing at 8:15 p.m. on the first evening of the festival. Singer-songwriter Holly Williams, the daughter of Hank Williams Jr., will perform at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Blitzen Trapper will take the stage at 8:15 p.m. A lot of local talents will be featured in the event as well as top performers from across the Southeast. List of all performers can be viewed online at  artisphere.us/performing-arts. The event will a... 04/23/2014

  When you feel like unwinding, meeting friends, or just want to have a nice relaxing atmosphere after work come to Main Street. In case you haven’t heard yet, Piedmonth Natural Gas offers free event series that started last March 20 and will run through August 28. Downtown comes alive every Thursday evening with outdoor street party. Live musical entertainment is happening at Noma Square in downtown Greenville from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Local, regional, and national entertainers are featured every week. You will enjoy different music including rock, blues, funk and cover bands. Piedmont Natural Gas Downtown Alive offers great atmosphere, good times with your peers, and good music. For the complete line-up of artists performing in Downtown Alive, check here. What’s not to love in Greenville... 04/22/2014

Investment Properties for Sale in Greenville SCInterest rates are still hovering in its all-time lows, grab this opportunity to invest! Check out all the available investment properties for sale in Greenville, SC. Our MLS feed is updated daily so you will never miss new properties coming on the market.  Why invest in Greenville SC?Location, location, location! Greenville SC is the economic and cultural hub of South Carolina. It is also the fastest growing county in the state. Greater Greenville real estate market offers great opportunities for investors and residents alike. It has many great communities that appeal to families, professionals, retirees and businesses. Greenville SC Real Estate  Check out more information about Greenville Real Estate via our site! We provide the latest ma... 04/18/2014

What is Housing Affordability in Greenville SC? Here's a term you may have heard a lot in the news recently: housing affordability. But what exactly does it mean and how does it affect you as a homebuyer?   What Is Housing Affordability? The two factors influencing housing affordability are income and housing prices. In general terms, housing affordability refers to the percentage of families earning the median income in a given area that would be able to purchase a home in that area. According to the joint Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) created by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo, housing affordability in the third and fourth quarters of 2013 basically held steady, which the NAHB reports bodes well for 2014. More specifically, according to the HOI, of t... 04/18/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC.   Consumer credit beat analysts' forecasts, while initial jobless claims dropped to a seven-year low, according to last week's economic highlights. Consumer Credit Consumer credit grew by 6.4 percent in February to hit $3.12 trillion, a gain of $16.5 billion over the previous month, the Federal Reserve reported last week. This outpaced analysts' expectations of a gain of $14 billion for the month. “Consumer credit is keeping track with the slow but positive growth we've seen in consumer spending throughout the cycle and in household spending in the first quarter,” Action Economics LLC chief economist Mike Englund told the Bloomberg news services. Non-revolving debt, such as student loans and... 04/15/2014

It’s Friday! Flour Field, the ballpark that hosts more than 70 Drive home games, hosted its first Friday Night Fireworks show of the season, the first among the twelve fireworks shows. One of the anticipated moments in the game is definitely the second where fireworks are set off after the game.  Fans enjoy these beautiful colored flames and twinkling sparks as they light up the night skies over the ballpark. The Friday Night Fireworks is one of those attractions that draw fans into the event aside from cheering on the hometown team. The Drive organization is staying ahead by offering a great time for fans watching the game, aside from the fireworks on Friday, there are nightly specials throughout the week including the $1 drinks on Thursday and Family Fun Day on Sunday. Click here to s... 04/12/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC. New and existing real estate seems to be trying to catch up to housing demand, which has been stymied by rising home prices and narrowing inventories, while claims for jobless benefits by the newly unemployed remained low. Existing Home Sales Bad weather pushed the volume of existing home sales down in February, while narrowing inventories pushed prices up, the National Association Realtors reported last week. Total transactions of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 0.4 percent from January to an annual rate of 4.6 million units in February. This was 7.1 percent below the 4.95 million-unit level in February 2013, marking the lowest pace since July 2012,... 03/25/2014

Are you getting ready to sell your home?   In this tough economic time it is even more important to have a quick and profitable sale. Home staging can give you just that for little or no cost at all. You don’t even need to hire a professional stager to do it because you can take care of this yourself. Here’s how: Clean and get rid of the clutter. This is the simplest, it doesn’t even cost you money at all, way you can do to stage your home. Make sure that all rooms are spotless clean, even the windows and the yard. It will also help if the house smells good. Remember, buyers also have other senses and a bad smelling home can be a deal-breaker.   Depersonalise. Why do you need to depersonalise? It’s simple. You want your buyers to view it as their potential home, if you keep all your col... 03/21/2014

Taxes and Your Home For Greenville SC March 2014 There are many benefits to owning a home: gaining control over your environment, becoming part of a community, the opportunity to build equity, and of course, tax breaks. * The Most Common Tax Deductions There were once again rumblings that the mortgage interest deduction was going to be eliminated, but we've gotten a reprieve for yet another year. Why is this a great benefit? The government is giving you a credit just for paying interest on your home loan. You can even deduct interest paid on a loan secured by a second home or a home equity loan. Houses, condos, co-ops, mobile homes, and even some RVs or boats may qualify. Points are a way of defining the cost you pay to the lender for your home loan. One point is one percent of the prin... 03/21/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC.   Last week's economic headlines showed that retail sales were up while first-time jobless claims had dropped as the winter's frigid grasp on the economy seemed to be loosening. Retails Sales Retail sales for February increased 0.3 percent to $427.2 billion, and were 1.5 percent higher than last year's sales from February 2013, the Census Bureau reported last week. February's performance outpaced analysts' expectations of 0.2 percent growth for the month. “The economy seems to be rebounding from a winter-related slump,” Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ chief financial economist Chris Rupkey told the Reuters news service. “We expect the Fed will stay the course with its exit strategy.” “We see th... 03/18/2014

Facebook Pages New Design Facebook Pages New Design, is it all good?  1.)  The big change that has mixed emotions is the elimination of the application tabs at the top your page.  Many rely on these apps to grow their fan base, capture data and engage with their audience. Don’t worry, the apps are not gone entirely, they now show in two different places.  Under the “More” drop down menu (many feel this is hidden and hard to find) and on the left hand column section called APPS.  2.)  There will only be one column (on the right) for the page’s timeline.  Which means we have to say goodbye to the nice double wide view of images.  Details about your business (About, photos, videos) will now appear on the left column of your page. 3.)  Also, the name and category of your page will now show ... 03/14/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC. Last week offered some optimistic economic headlines. February's jobs report showed job growth, as did last week's jobless claim report. Incomes and spending credit, however, all ticked up to varying degrees. Employment Shrugging off the cold weather, employers added 175,000 jobs in February, putting the nation's unemployment rate at 6.7 percent, which was relatively unchanged from January's rate of 6.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. Many of the new jobs were in professional and business services as well as wholesale trade. “The report showed solid job growth in February despite clearly negative effects from the weather,” Dean Maki, chief United States economist ... 03/11/2014

  Movoto Real Estate, an on-line real estate brokerage in CA, has named Five Forks as one of the top places to live in South Carolina on its recent real estate blog. Five Forks came in at No. 1 followed by Hilton Head Island. Other suburbs in the Greenville that have made it to the list are Mauldin which came in as No. 4, Greenville at No. 6, Taylors at No. 18, Greer at No. 29, Simpsonville at No. 31, and Easley at No. 50. Five Forks has one of the highest overall quality of life scores, it also has one of the lowest sales tax rates in the state. This suburban community is one of the fastest growing in Greenville. The place has seen an increase in many housing developments through the years. The median age of homes in Five Forks is 5 years, with a median home price of $245,500 and a re... 03/09/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC.   While developments in the Ukraine and Venezuela dominated last week's news, some noteworthy economic developments were announced, including a surprise spike in new home sales, an unexpected climb in new jobless claims, and a confusion among the two leading consumer outlook indices. New Real Estate Sales of newly built homes hit a five-and-a-half-year high in January, with completed transactions of new single-family homes hitting an annual rate of 468,000, the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported last week. January's sales marked a healthy 9.6 percent climb from December's revised rate of 427,000, and were 2.2 percent higher than January 2013's pace of ... 03/05/2014

A Guide to Decide If You Can Afford to Buy Greenville SC Tools for a successful homebuying experience for First Time HombuyersA Guide to Decide If You Can Afford to Buy Greenville SC Step 1: Get Pre-Approved The only way to truly know how much home you can afford is to ask a lender. Getting pre-approved lets you know how much you can afford before shopping for your home. What to Know and Where to Find It: Income: Stable income assures a lender you can make your monthly mortgage payment. Debt: Add up auto payments, credit card payments, student loans, alimony, child support, and other. Cash: Total assets, amount in checking and savings accounts, and other investments. Step 2: Determine Monthly Mortgage Payment Including Escrow Escrow is a third party account used to retain funds, includi... 02/26/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC. While cold winter weather continues to assail much of the country, last week saw some sunnier economic headlines as real estate and jobs performed better, and new data pointed to growing economic strength. Existing Home Sales One look at last week’s real estate market shows the cold weather is continuing to have its impact on housing, but is the weather the whole story? Sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in January from 4.87 million in December, the National Association of Realtors reported last week. This was the lowest level in a year and a half - 5.1 percent below January 2013’... 02/25/2014

Reverse Mortgage FAQs in Greenville SC Here's a guide for reverse mortgage FAQs in Greenville SC. 1) What sources are acceptable for the cash required to close? The sale of the departure home. The sale of the home buyer's other assets. The home buyer's savings. Gift money. 2) What sources cannot be used for the cash required to close? Seller Financing and concessions. Cash withdrawn from credit cards. A bridge loan of any kind. Subordinate financing. 3) What property types are eligible? Single family. HUD-approved condos. Planned unit developments (PUDs). 2-4 unit properties (one must be owner-occupied). 4) What property types are NOT eligible? Co-ops. Second homes. Boarding house. Bed and breakfast establishments. 5) What requirements must the new home meet? Must become the buyer's pri... 02/24/2014

Economic News in Review Greenville SC Here is last week’s Economic News in Review Greenville SC. Sales of existing homes saw considerably healthy activity in December, and near-term employment saw some stability, while leading economic indicators gained slightly. Real Estate The big economic news last week was in real estate, with sales of existing-homes for all of 2013 hitting their highest point since 2006. Sales of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops grew by 1 percent in December to an annual rate of 4.87 million, the National Association for Realtors reported. Compared to a year ago, last month was down 0.6 percent from a 4.90 million-unit pace from December 2012, the association reported, but when 2013 was taken as a whole, its 5.09 million sales were 9... 02/18/2014