Nov. Homes Sales Up 62 Percent from Last Year

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - New numbers released Thursday show a little good news on the real estate front. November homes sales in our state were up 62 percent from the same month last year.

"We definitely were expecting an increase from '08 to '09. The numbers that were published and that were shown were a lot bigger than we thought they were gonna be," says Morris Lyles, broker-in-charge of the midtown office for ERA Wilder Realty.

Needless to say, the increase in homes sold last month is making his upcoming holiday a little happier. The numbers from November of 2009 increased 62 percent compared to November 2008 statewide. In Columbia, it was 69 percent. "Our office, we actually saw an increase that was even a little bit more than that, based on our numbers," Lyles says, "It's showing that people again are getting positive about real estate. They understand that it's a good investment, that it's a worthwhile investment."

While more merchandise moved is great for his agents, it's not quite time to pop the cork on the champagne. The latest numbers show a giant leap in home sales over last November. That's good for the economic recovery process as a whole, but you also have to think about just how low they were last year. Says Lyles of November 2008, "It was probably one of the worst months, it is one of the months as I've ever had as a broker and a manager of an office."

But, with the first-time home buyers' tax credit getting extended through April and the extremely low interest rate, folks are looking back into buying. "I would say that, right now, we're still seeing a good amount of activity for December," Lyles says, "We're cautiously optimistic about it and excited for the results, but realize that we've still got a lot of work to do."