MARKET CONDITIONS IN KANAWHA VALLEY AND PUTNAM COUNTY 9-2-11
Due to the current low interest rates and the availability of housing inventory the Charleston, Teays Valley and Hurricane market has seen an up tick in housing purchases. New construction appears to be picking up in the Teays Valley/Hurricane marketing area according to local builders. The current interest rates range from 3.5% to 4.5 % and appear to holding at the present time with the Fed announcement that it was holding rates. Of course this could change anytime due to the unstable financial market.
In my opinion it is a good time to refinance if you hold a mortgage with an interest rate above 5% but be sure to get a "Good Faith Estimate" from your lender to see if it is beneficial to you. Also Charleston was recognized as being in the top five areas in the nation to experience an increase of employment in the construction trade.. This should produce spin offs to local businesses for purchasing of their products.
Overall the real estate market in our area appears to be stable since we did not receive the large swings in values that other areas in our country produced between 2001-2006. If our employment stays steady along with interest rates the near term outlook appears to healthy.