Large commercial real estate deals are already benefiting from changes to South Carolina’s property tax laws approved in 2011, while the impact on second-home sales has been limited.

“The projects that we have on the drawing board wouldn’t be on the drawing board” if the law hadn’t changed, said John Darby, president of The Beach Co., which has several large projects under way.

The tax changes created an exemption for commercial properties, a category that includes second homes, that greatly reduces property tax increases that can kick in when properties change hands.

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South Carolina (SC) is now the leading US state for both vehicles and tyres, bolstering BMI’s view that its business environment is supportive of the state becoming a major hub, especially for tyres ( see ‘Business Environment Makes South Carolina A Tyre Hub’, October 7 2011 on our online service). Moreover, we believe the addition of a brand new plant for German tyre producer Continental, as well as a new model for BMW’s local production line, will contribute to the state’s efforts to cement this position in future.

In 2011, exports of vehicles from SC rose 52% year-on-year (y-o-y), the highest increase of any product shipped from the state. As a result, it overtook Michigan as the country’s leading state for vehicle exports – a position last held in 2009 on the back of BMW’s expanding production and export facility. The German carmaker’s plant in Spartanburg is its global base for SUV production and the state’s export performance and that of BMW have been closely tied. In 2011, the plant’s output rose 73% y-o-y, of which around 70% is exported.

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Residential home sales in the Greater Columbia market were up 12.9% in November — not down by 70% as previously reported, according to statistics revised by SC Realtors.

The association reported Monday that it had uncovered “a serious error concerning the closed sales for the Greater Columbia market,” which were released in its monthly report last week and published Dec. 16 by the Columbia Regional Business Report. The revised report shows residential closings for Columbia totaled 491 units — not 123 — compared with 435 closings for November 2010. The result was an increase of 12.9% for the month of November compared with the same month in 2010, the association reported.

In year-to-date comparisons, residential sales for the first 11 months of 2011 were down 12.1% to 5,886 units compared to 6,693. The association previously reported sales for the 11-month period were down 17.6%.

South Carolina REALTORS® (SCR) today released its November 2011 statewide market reports. Home prices are one of the most popular barometers of market vitality, yet they only tell part of the story. Soft prices may accompany improvements in other indicators such as purchase demand, absorption reates, seller concessions or market times.

Regional, market-wide prices fell short by not recognizing the mix of homes that close each month, be it weighted toward single-family, lender-mediated or new construction. In addition, price movements often lag changes elsewhere in the marketplace. New Listings in the state of South Carolina decreased 9.9 percent to 6,242. Pending Sales were up 10.0 percent to 3,571. Inventory levels shrank 15.2 percent to 50,352 units, a common trend across the country. Prices were fairly stable. The Median Sales Price decreased 0.7 percent to $149,000. Days on Market increased 3.0 percent to 143 days. Absorption rates improved as Months Supply of Inventory was down 14.3 percent to 12.6 months.

Not only do forces beyond supply and demand affect home prices, but other factors outside of housing serve as inputs into the equation. New job growth and consumer confidence drive household formations which in turn fuels purchase demand and pressures prices. Similarly, when real incomes rise, families can afford more house and move-up buyers become increasingly motivated. To that end, the jobless rate fell from 9.0 percent to 8.6 percent in November — the lowest in 2.5 years.

From the Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A. website -

In Carolina Chloride, Inc. v. Richland County, Opinion No. 27013, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that a member of the public has no right to rely upon representations of county personnel regarding real property zoning classifications. In its July 2011 opinion, the Court held that the zoning classification of real property is a matter of law, rather than a matter of fact, and that a person cannot be liable for mistaken statements of law.

The lawsuit was brought by Carolina Chloride, Inc. (“Carolina Chloride”), a property owner who believed that its property was zoned M-2 based on a letter from the Richland County zoning administrator and the issuance of various permits and licenses indicating the property was zoned M-2. Carolina Chloride did not learn of its property’s true zoning status until a prospective buyer sought approval for expansion and was denied due to an RU classification. Although the property was subsequently re-zoned, Carolina Chloride sued the County, alleging that the County’s provision of inaccurate zoning information caused the transaction to fall through.

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A double-dip recession is increasingly unlikely for the S.C. economy, state economic forecasters said Wednesday, citing higher tax collections that continue to exceed expectations.

“The revenue picture continues to brighten and things seem to be stabilizing,” said Chad Walldorf, chairman of the state Board of Economic Advisors, which prepares economic forecasts used by the governor and lawmakers to write the state budget.

The board had projected the state would collect 1 percent fewer tax dollars this year than it did last year. But the board learned Wednesday that collections are running nearly $71 million, or almost 6 percent ahead of those projections.

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Foreclosure numbers fell statewide during the third quarter of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010, continuing a trend from midyear, according to a market report released today.

Every major market in South Carolina saw a decline in foreclosure numbers in the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The Upstate, Lowcountry and Midlands all saw double-digit declines from 2010 to 2011.

RealtyTrac said that the downward trend in South Carolina mirrors national numbers but that more foreclosures could be coming after lenders get past paperwork problems related to streamlining the foreclosure process. South Carolina’s foreclosures were up 2.76% compared with last quarter, and national numbers were up 0.35% compared with last quarter.

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For the second year in a row, Area Development has conducted a survey of a select group of highly respected location consultants who work with a nationwide client base. They asked the consultants to name their top-5 state choices in 12 site selection categories.

States were ranked in each of the 12 site selection categories based on the number of times they were named as a “top-5″ choice by the responding consultants. Next, a top-5 state’s ranking in each of the 12 categories was assigned a weight in accordance with its position in these individual categories. Based on these total weighted scores, Texas is far and away the consultants’ #1 choice for doing business, followed by Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina (with weighted scores only a point apart), and finally Indiana in the #5 spot. Taking the #6–#10 rankings based on weighted scores are Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and — surprisingly — California, in that order.