The Council of Shopping Centers released a statement yesterday that they predict holiday spending to increase 3 percent over last year.  This trade group which represents shopping malls said Friday that 'November-December spending should top $250 billion, the highest since the 2007' peak.  This prediction does not include sales at grocery stores, restaurants or gas stations but sales should certainly improve with these businesses also.

  A 3% increase in spending will be major news for the remaining retailers because after all the store closings of the past 2 years they should each grab a larger portion.  If the 3% increase materializes some stores could see 5 to 7% year over year growth.  This is how economic recoveries begin.

Terry Edwards     New & Existing Home Sales

tedwards@sc.rr.com     803 920 5327

http://www.russellandjeffcoat.com/

The USDA rural home loan program is back!  

A USDA Guaranteed Loan is a Government insured 100% purchase loan.  These loans are offered in the rural areas of Richland County and include portions of Hopkins and Irmo.

Under the terms of the program, an individual or family may borrow up to 100% of the appraised value of the home.

Many of these USDA loans are available with no money down and no mortgage insurance is required, so you keep your payments low.  A 620 minimum credit score is required for one of these USDA mortgages.

I recently helped a buyer purchase this nice home in Irmo with a USDA home loan

If you have already found the home you want to buy let me check the address for you to verify the availability of  the USDA funding.  If you are hunting for a rural home for sale in the Hopkins or Irmo area contact me to see the homes currently listed for sale with the local MLS.

Terry Edwards     tedwards@sc.rr.com

803 920 5327   

New & Existing Home Sales

USDA Rural Home Loans Available for Richland County SC

Columbia SC    

I waited a couple of months for the grand opening hoopla to subside and chose a random Sunday afternoon to visit the new Mast General Store to see how business was going.  Mast moved into the historic Lourie’s Building at 1601 Main Street in late May.  Located at the corner of Main and Taylor Streets in downtown Columbia the building has housed retail operations since 1884.  Columbia is the ninth location for Mast.

The store sells traditional mercantile goods ranging from penny candy and bird houses to cast iron skillets and rocking chairs, along with clothing on the main floor.   Footwear and trail and travel gear are located downstairs.  Mast is also making their stock specific to Columbia with a good assortment of USC Gamecock merchandise.

The store really had a good many shoppers present while I was there and this block of Downtown Columbia did not resemble the ghost town of recent years.

Barrels of candy......who doesn't like that?

Columbia City Council is using a $2 million federal loan to help the store.  The Recovery Zone Facility Bonds -- the first issued in South Carolina--are low-interest bonds that come through the South Carolina Jobs Economic Development Authority, utilizing facility bond allocations that the City of Columbia and Richland County received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

This marker is located at the corner of Main and Taylor Streets.  Columbia is full of Revolutionary War history.

New banner on Main Street celebrating the USC Gamecocks

Mast weekly ad link   http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/Communities/mast/index.cfm/this-weeks-ad/

Lourie's link   http://columbiaclosings.com/wordpress/?p=88&cpage=1#comment-464946

Columbia SC Real Estate & Business Report

While doing some research on the lingering causes of our National Debt I found out the Bureau of the Public Debt announced last week that it will no longer issue paper bonds starting next year and is moving to electronic bonds that are automatically redeemed when they mature.  More than $16 billion in unredeemed Savings Bonds are circulating and no longer earning interest.

The bondholders, us, our parents and grandparents, haven't redeemed matured bonds. Many were most likely lost over the years, or they may be stuffed in an envelope in dresser drawers and not opened in decades.  I imagine a good many were sold through estate sales and possibly in collector’s hands and floating around on eBay.

The government still owes over $50,000 from its first bonds issued in 1790, which was authorized by George Washington’s administration and used to pay off Revolutionary War debt.  Owners of bonds also have never collected on issues to fund the Louisiana Purchase and the War of 1812.  I seriously doubt these will ever be collected and they will remain on the books as debt forever.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Columbia SC Real Estate & Business Report

Our National Debt has Been Growing Since 1790

Home For Sale   313 Keystone Drive   Myers Creek   Hopkins SC 29061

This former C&C Builders model home in the popular Myers Creek neighborhood of Hopkins is now for sale for only $125,000!  313 Keystone Drive is located on a cul-de-sac with very limited traffic.  The 3 year old home has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths with a finished room over the 2 car garage.  

The kitchen features a black appliance package, a pantry and a breakfast bar

The living room has a wood burning fireplace and a trey ceiling

This home has energy efficient windows and a sprinkler system in the front yard

The Myers Creek neighborhood is located about a mile off Garners Ferry Road near Caughman Park.  Several of the Myers Creek neighborhood home owners are stationed at Fort Jackson, Shaw AFB and McEntire Air National Guard Station.

Terry Edwards     New & Existing Home Sales

tedwards@russellandjeffcoat.com     803 920 5327

 Hopkins area homes for sale search link:      http://www.russellandjeffcoat.com/

Columbia SC Real Estate & Business Report

Home For Sale   313 Keystone Drive   Myers Creek   Hopkins SC 29061

Columbia SC     The latest quarterly South Carolina employment data is a mixture of good news/bad news.  Unfortunately over 71,000 employees were laid off by businesses that could not afford to keep them.  Another 14,000 people lost their jobs due to businesses shutting down completely.  These figures do not take into account the number of out of work independent contractors who are issued a 1099 rather than a W-2.  

 On the positive side a number of brand new businesses in the state have opened and hired 15,800 employees.  The economic recovery is working for some businesses because existing companies added over 75,000 workers to their payrolls in the quarter.

 The difference is roughly 6,000 employees on the plus side.  Not enough to celebrate with a street party but a step in the right direction for our local economy.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Columbia SC Real Estate & Business Report

Ford Vehicle Sales Are Booming

Ford says that the company's truck sales had one of its best months in 3 years.  June sales for the F-Series trucks were up 7 percent and the Ranger were up 18 percent. Total vehicle sales for June were up roughly 14%.

The F-Series truck remained the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. with June sales of over 49,000 units.

This is bullish data for the US economy because truck sales indicate an increase in construction and service activity.

Columbia SC Real Estate & Business Report

 Famously Hot Columbia SC Breaks 90 Degrees Every Day in June

The high temperature in Columbia was 90 degrees or above every day in June, 2011.  The city has never before recorded a June without at least one day where the high stayed in the 80s.  Our Famously Hot moniker held true.  The last day of spring and the first day of summer hit 101.

Not a single daily high was broken. The closest came on June 20, when we reached 101 degrees.  See this impressive calendar from the weather service:

http://www.accuweather.com/us/sc/columbia/29201/forecast-month.asp?mnyr=6-01-2011

Columbia SC     Real estate developer Bob Hughes has received final approval to purchase the 165 acre State Mental Hospital complex in downtown Columbia.  This is one of the largest land sales to ever occur inside the city limits.

The State Budget and Control Board approved the $15 Million sale this week.  Plans are to sell the property in small parcels to independent developers.  A 2005 design for the property consists of close to one million feet of retail and office space and more than 1,200 homes to be built.

165 Acre Complex Sold in Downtown Columbia SC

Columbia SC Real Estate & Business Report

COLUMBIA, S.C.     Construction will soon begin on a six-story downtown parking garage that will supply an additional 530 parking spaces at the corner of Taylor and Sumter streets.  A lighted walkway will lead around the corner to Main Street on the block with the new Mast General Store and The Nickelodeon theater.

The parking garage will also house a new city bus shelter and several bike racks.  An exciting sign of the new times will be the 10 electric vehicle charging stations in the garage.  I hope the designers are planning for the expansion of more charging stations because in the coming years we will see more and more electric vehicles on the road.  The first floor of the garage will contain over 5,500 sq. ft. of retail space.  Completion of the parking garage is scheduled for next summer.

Columbia SC Real Estate & Business Report