Myrtle Beach Real Estate - Surviving the Economic Downturn

The Myrtle Beach housing market is not as bad as it could be. There are many cities having a much tougher time during this recession. The San Francisco and Miami markets are struggling mightily.

Myrtle Beach real estate prices and sales have declined in 2008, but despite this the area is still ranked among Builder magazine’s top 15 Healthiest Housing Markets for 2009. Counter this to some traditionally strong markets in California and Florida and we begin to see that Myrtle Beach is holding strong.

Myrtle Beach occupied the No. 15 spot in mostly due in part because of its population growth, the magazine said. Many retirees are attracted to the area by vast stretches of beaches and the endless chioces of world-class golf course options, it said.

“Though permit activity dropped sharply last year, Myrtle Beach remains one of the hottest markets in the country, especially when you analyze the number of permits pulled per resident,” according to the magazine.

Builder magazine teamed with Hanley Wood Market Intelligence to come up with the lists by cross referencing building permits, home prices, job creation and population trends.

“It’s all relative,” Boyce Thompson, the magazine’s editorial director, wrote Tuesday in an e-mail. “We publish our list of the weakest markets today, and it’s a bloodbath. Myrtle Beach stands out in comparison. Population growth has been strong there compared to the rest of the country. When you have people moving in, they need a place to [live].”

The magazine analyzed 75 markets. Houston ranked first with Detroit having the unfortunate distinction of being the biggest loser.

Source Builder Magazine