With all the whining I hear about how bad the market for real estate in Myrtle Beach is right now, I was rather surprised to find that according to Realtor.com, we were in a list of the fastest growing populations around.Palm Coast Florida (wherever that is) was the fasting growing, at 7.2%.
St George, Utah was 2nd, at 5.1%. I don't doubt that. I have a Mormon realtor friend there and that is some kind of a beautiful place to live...even for a non-Mormon...:-)
Raleigh, North Carolina is the biggie for the south. I have been hearing this for months now. There must be something there that wasn't there 15 years ago when I went through it. Like Greensboro and other Triad areas, all I saw was ugly factories and industry...and a lot of Kudzu growing everywhere. I was born and raised in High Point and Greensboro. No thanks to that now!
Gainesville, Georgia is next at 4.5%. Not sure about that area, but I think it's very cheap to live there. Could be wrong. It's relatively close to Atlanta, too.
Austin Texas is next. Si Senor'. Wonder how much of their growth is in Mexicans...legal or illegal? It's big, though. I've got a couple of realtor friends there and they are slammed to the walls in business right now.
MYRTLE BEACH is number 6 on the fastest growing cities in the US!!! We come in at 4.2%. We're attracting a nice selection of retirees from up north who recognize our value compared to the inflated Florida prices. We've always gotten a large amount of residents from North Carolina and oddly, West Virginia. We have bars here that are gathering places for W. Virginians. Half the people I know and have worked with are from there. I'm not sure why...except that I would not want to live in West Virginia...:-)
Next up is Charlotte, NC. I think they are on a slight decline. This time last year their real estate was as hot as Raleigh, but it's dwindling just a tad now, so my friends there tell me. They are the same as Myrtle Beach at 4.2%.
New Orleans and nearby Metairie are growing due to rebuilding after the wrath of Katrina. At 4% growth, let's hope somebody is doing something to protect from that happening again. Whatever goes up there now is your (and my) tax money at work to replace.
Grand Junction, CO is next. I know nothing about that area. It's at 3.7%. Too high up and cold for me!
Clarksville, Tennessee is last at 3.7%. Take the last train to Clarksville, my Monkee boys used to sing. I got a smile out of this one!
I am looking forward to our Myrtle Beach real estate market returning to normal. This place to too close to paradise to be suffering from slow sales and buyers putting off owning something that they will enjoy forever. Foreclosures in Myrtle Beach are starting to increase, and with short-sales, this is the best time ever to find the oceanfront condo for sale that you can get for a song! Cheap oceanfront property abounds everywhere!
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