Real estate continues rebound

Upstate Realtors expect 2010 to build on end of '09 improvements

DECEMBER 30, 2009 1:12 p.m. (1)

Realtors in the Greenville and Spartanburg see signs that home sales are slowly improving even as the year ends as the worst in recent years.

To jump start the market, the federal stimulus money that boosted sales late this year to first-time home-buyers has been extended and expanded to cover existing homeowners.

Citing recent sales figures, Nick Sabatine, chief executive of the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors, says “things are pretty positive. That’s not just spin. Things are getting better.”  Continue reading...

 

Local business leaders envision 2011 recovery

The industrial market continues to show signs of strength

FEBRUARY 2, 2010 11:15 a.m. (0)

The next few months will be relatively stagnant for the Upstate real estate market as many business leaders believe 2011 – not 2010 – will bring a recovery from the latest global economic depression.

Even as news of two quarters of gross national product growth, which signals an official end to the U.S. recession, came to light Tuesday morning, the meeting of 300 area business leaders was subdued at the CBRE Furman Co. annual economic forecast.  Continue reading...

 

Assets troubled?

A local real estate company is branching out to help

APRIL 4, 2010 9:30 p.m. (0)

A Greenville real estate company has established a division to help financial institutions with troubled assets.

The Marchant Co., founded in 1993 by Seabrook Marchant, will help financial institutions manage troubled assets, such as foreclosures and underperforming properties, by maintaining individual properties or meeting other needs.  Continue reading...

 

Working the wireless way

Coldwell Banker Caine moves toward a hub-style office

MAY 25, 2010 8:00 a.m. (0)

Coldwell Banker Caine Real Estate’s gallery in downtown Greenville is the prototype of what the company envisions as a new generation of space bringing sales agents, customers and the public together in accessible settings.

Brad Halter, company president, said the galleries blend an open public environment with working space for agents throughout the company’s Upstate sales force.  Continue reading...

 

Space Case

Some say vacancies downtown are just another sign of the times. Now a group of business leaders has a plan to turn the trend around.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2010 10:01 a.m. (0)

The signs in the windows of Greenville’s downtown office buildings say it all.

“For Lease.”  Continue reading...

 

FHAngst

New regulations from the Federal Housing Administration causing financing woes for some condo buyers

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 1:24 p.m. (0)

Failure of condominiums and their associations to comply with new Federal Housing Administration regulations and lender reluctance to finance purchases without equal compliance is hurting an already difficult condo market.

Only 14 of Greenville’s condominium developments have met the new strictures to qualify for FHA mortgages or, for that matter, financing from conventional lenders who are insisting on equally restrictive or higher lending standards.

Unapproved are some of downtown Greenville’s most exclusive – and pricey – addresses and upscale condominiums fresh on the market.  Nor are most of Greenville County’s long-established modest and low-end condo developments, making re-sales difficult.  Continue reading...

 

Spartanburg Marriott changes ownership

Included: plans to expand

DECEMBER 12, 2010 1:15 p.m. (0)

Spartanburg’s troubled Marriott at Renaissance Park will be under new ownership around Jan. 1 if all of the pieces fall together, said Greenville’s Andrew Cajka, president of Southern Hospitality Group, one of three partners seeking to close the deal.

The property is under contract with Bridgewater Capital Solutions of Atlanta, the current owner of the hotel building. The city owns the 4.7 acres the hotel occupies.

Changes to the city-owned lease with Bridgewater cleared City Council at first reading Monday and a final reading is on track for approval at next week’s meeting. The changes to the lease would enable SMR Hospitality LLC, the new potential owner, to finalize the sale.  Continue reading...

 

Now, to the power of two

Longleaf, Coldwell Banker announce partnership

JANUARY 21, 2011 11:37 a.m. (0)

Longleaf Development and Coldwell Banker Commercial Caine are combining forces in Spartanburg in a partnership they see as strengthening both at a time the city is on the cusp of growth.

“This is an opportunity to take basically the 70-plus units Coldwell Banker Caine brings to the table and gives us the back office to accomplish our goal, and that is to be the premier commercial house in Spartanburg,” said John Bauknight, a co-founder of Longleaf.

Brad Halter, president of Coldwell Banker Caine, said the partnership came about as a result of the retirement of Jack Newton, who has headed Caine’s commercial real estate operation in Spartanburg since 1997 and has been “one of the premier agency guys in Spartanburg” for 55 years.  Continue reading...

 

Industrial age

The supply of available factory space is dwindling here

MAY 23, 2011 12:49 p.m. (0)

With acquisition of the Sara Lee plant, Amy’s Kitchen took a prime industrial property off the Upstate’s for-sale inventory of large plants.

That’s the good news. The bad news is availability of industrial buildings is growing thin, putting the area at a competitive disadvantage in competing for new manufacturers.

With construction of spec buildings at a 30-year low, the supply is not being replenished.  Continue reading...

 

C. Dan Joyner: 1937-2012

Risk-taker, decision-maker, joyful soul: friends recall leader

JANUARY 12, 2012 2:18 p.m. (0)

Real estate magnate C. Dan Joyner was a hard man to say no to; he was also a man who had a hard time saying no to others.

Joyner died of heart disease Sunday evening at Bob Secours St. Francis Hospital. He was 74.

Joyner had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy 14 years ago and was told he had five to seven years to live. Few people knew of his condition.  Continue reading...

 

Cliffs plans to blast out of bankruptcy

Chapter 11 filing first step in plan to rescue Clubco and The Cliffs  

MARCH 1, 2012 11:58 a.m. (0)

The Cliffs Club & Hospitality Group has filed for bankruptcy to deal with more than $100 million in debt and ultimately give a wealthy Texas couple the opportunity to finish the eight golf communities for the affluent in the foothills and mountains of the Carolinas.

Read more about the Cliffs Communities.

The Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for South Carolina showed the club group (Clubco) had assets of $175 million and liabilities of $333 million, which includes liabilities for club refunds in the future. The club group filed papers Tuesday.  Continue reading...

 

Upstate housing sales on the rise

Competitive bidding is returning as prices inch up

JUNE 21, 2012 10:18 a.m. (0)

After four years of buyers holding sway in the housing market, sellers are beginning to see a slow swing of the pendulum toward balance in supply and demand.

“I definitely think it is still a buyers’ market, but there is a decrease in inventory,” said Kathie Gajda, president of the Greater Greenville Realtors Association and broker of Gajda & Gutbrod Real Estate Corner.  Continue reading...

 

Life after 'C. Dan'

Second generation is carrying the legacy forward at Prudential C. Dan Joyner Realtors

JUNE 21, 2012 10:23 a.m. (0)

The booming voice, cheerful greetings and unbridled enthusiasm of C. Dan Joyner no longer are heard at Prudential C. Dan Joyner Realtors – but the founder is ever present.

Six months after Joyner’s death Jan. 8 at age 74, his son Danny and son-in-law David Crigler reflected on the leadership transition of the family business that has dominated Greenville’s real estate market for years.  Continue reading...