Acadia and the Southern Connector

          The Acadia residential community, www.AcadiaSC.com, in Piedmont is located next to the Southern Connector, I-385 in Greenville County, South Carolina. Acadians enjoy a special friendship with our neighbors who manage and operate the Southern Connector Toll Road. Pete Femia, Liz, Don and the whole team at the Connector office have been helpful to Acadia in so many ways, and we wanted to say a big “THANKS!”

          They help volunteer at our special events, support our charity causes like the Dragon Boat Festival for Cancer Research at Greenville Hospital. They return our lost dogs, plow our snow bound streets (well, we did see 2 inches of snow last winter!), and give us preferential treatment on the Connector by letting us travel for free and drive at whatever speed we like. Just kidding about this last part, but they do help us with keeping our Palmetto Pass discount tags up to date. In that regard, here is important information about our new Palmetto Pass. Be sure to visit Liz and get your new Pass.

          The Southern Connector is now issuing the next generation of Palmetto Pass toll transponders. The new transponders or "Sticker Tags" as they are known, are much smaller and thinner than previous transponder models. They perform at a high rate of accuracy and are less obtrusive on windshields. They can be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner because they contain no battery. The Southern Connector has also upgraded the hardware necessary to process both the new Sticker Tags and the older, Hard Case transponders. From now until April 1, 2012, swap out your Passes at no cost. After April 1, 2012 you will be required to purchase Sticker Tags at a cost of $5.00 per tag. The Connector office has extended the hours of Customer Service Center until April 6, 2012, from 8:30am until 6:30pm, Monday through Friday.

          Please do not drop off your current Passes to toll collectors. If you cannot visit our Customer Service Center and want to exchange Passes, please mail the old Passes to P.O. Box 408, Piedmont, SC 29673, via certified mail. Questions? Call Liz at 864.527.2143, or by email lizzie@southernconnector.com.

Copyright © 2015 | Acadia, LLC

Steady Up-Trends in New Home Sales for Acadia Community and Greenville, SC

          Beginning in September 2011, there has been a confidence-building increase in new home sales. While the fall and winter months are typically the “off-season” for the residential real estate market, this upward trend has continued through the end of the year. Sales in Acadia of homesites for custom homes and of Acadia’s affordable luxury townhomes have continued through the year-end. We see encouraging growth in Greenville County and South Carolina at large, too. 

          Existing home sales in the state increased by 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011, existing homes inventory has steadily dropped, and home prices are rising again. Greenville, SC home sales rose a respectable 7.6% in December. In addition, building permits in the Upstate have risen by 5.8%, after four years of decline. As economic conditions in general improve, builders and new home buyers are beginning to gain more confidence. It helps that mortgage rates are the lowest ever. Hopefully, this growth will continue throughout 2012 and into 2013 for our Acadia community and Greenville, SC.

Copyright © 2015 | Acadia, LLC

Real Estate Market Rebound: Steady Recovery

          The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says that new home construction has increased to 586,000 starts since our low-water mark in 2008 of 554,000. Better yet, according to Hart & Cooley’s latest survey, 2012 should see a significant increase of 16.3%, with an even larger increase in 2013 to nearly 1 million starts. While 2005 was the high-water mark of 2 million starts, no one believes that is a realistic expectation for the future, and was itself an unsustainable level.

          There is further good news for anyone looking to sell their home. From 2009, homes sat on the market for over a full year. As of September 2011, the average time has dropped to 7 months, a more manageable level. What’s more, the Case Shiller Home Price Index for our 20-Metro Composite - which includes Atlanta and Charlotte - shows an upward trend in average selling price. Also, traditionally housing sales slow towards year-end, but this September saw a pleasant spike in peoples’ plans to buy new homes.

          Hopefully, these encouraging improvements will continue as our country works to strengthen its economy, and we realize a steady recovery for all. In Acadia, our community in Greenville, South Carolina, we are seeing some of this improvement too. Our luxury townhomes are selling well, and our Cottages have attracted lots of attention by the empty nesters and young families looking for Acadia’s active outdoor lifestyle.

Copyright © 2015 | Acadia, LLC