Real Estate Guide: Buying a House in Greenville SC

Greenville, SC has a mild climate, picturesque landscapes, a growing economy, and a raft of outdoor activities. Add to this great schooling district and a real estate market that’s stable and growing, and you begin to get an idea of why the city is so popular. Several online publications have cited Greenville as one of the best places to live and the New York Times even included it as one of the top areas to visit in the world!

Buying a house in Greenville means getting the best of all worlds. Young professionals come for the economic opportunities of a booming city, families come to raise their children in close-knit communities, and retirees come for a better quality of life. Overall, Greenville, SC offers a great opportunity for homebuyers looking for a balanced and beautiful location to call home.

Upscale neighborhoods in Greenville

With so many neighborhoods to choose from, it can be tough to decide where to live. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of some of the best areas and neighborhoods to buy a house in Greenville, SC:

Downtown Greenville

Downtown Greenville is lush, pedestrian-friendly, ecologically sustainable, and culturally vibrant. Here the beauty of the natural surroundings such as Falls Park which holds Reedy River Falls blends seamlessly with some of the best restaurants, bars, and shops in the city. If you’re looking for an urban lifestyle, yet still want natural beauty, Downtown Greenville is the place for you.

The West End

This neighborhood is located just west of Downtown Greenville, and it’s known for its tree-lined streets and beautiful homes. The West End was established as a historic district in 1993. However, development is planned that will encourage growth and further improve the area’s livability.

Augusta Road

Just to the south of Downtown is Augusta Road. Here you’ll find wonderful historic homes as well as later built, and even recently renovated ones. These range from single-family homes to large mansions covering a considerable land. Very close to the downtown and commercial district, yet still, far enough away to retain its own distinct charm, Augusta Road strikes a very good balance between high-end living and proximity to great amenities.

Cleveland Forest

Cleveland Forest is one of the most recent developments in Greenville and immediately became one of the most sought after addresses. There’s a wide array of sporting activities here including volleyball and tennis courts, park and picnic areas, cycling and walking trails and there’s even a zoo.

Home appreciation in Greenville, SC

One of the main expectations people have when buying a home is that their home will build equity over time. With every mortgage payment that you make, you should be building more equity in your home. If you can pay for your home outright, you’ll save in interest rates and be able to watch as your investment continually grows in value.

Of course, this only works if the home continually appreciates, and the Greenville real estate market, has proven incredibly resilient over the last few years, showing a continual upward trend in house prices. While there are always dips and highs in any area for median house prices throughout a period of time, what you’re looking for is an overall increase, and that’s exactly what the Greenville real estate market shows.

In January 2020 the median sold price of a home in Greenville was a little under $250,000. In January 2021, this figure reached $270,000, and a year after that, it reached $300,000. By December 2022 the figure stood at close to $350,000.

These figures show that the Greenville real estate market is incredibly stable and appreciates at a consistent and steady rate, even though some of the turbulent times in the industry in recent years.

Buying a secondary or vacation home in Greenville, SC

Apart from buying a house in Greenville, SC as a permanent home, you could also opt to invest in a secondary or vacation home. This would allow you to earn passive income as your home appreciates in value.

Buying to rent

Around 57% of households in Greenville are rented, making renting out a viable option. Note that the highest rental prices can be charged in neighborhoods such as Downtown Greenville, Cleveland Forest, Augusta, and East Park. These areas can command rental fees close to or even over $2,000 a month. Neighborhoods such as Pleasant Valley, Donaldson Heights, and Magnolia present the more affordable end of the spectrum for renters and can command rates of $1,000 a month.

Guide to Buying a house in Greenville, SC

Before you buy a house in Greenville, SC, it would be best to determine what factors are most important to you. While there are many factors and considerations, one of the smartest moves you can make at the onset is to get in touch with the best real estate professionals you can in the area. This will not only streamline your search, but make the whole buying process much smoother and likely to be a success.

A real estate professional can be your guide, administrator, an expert in the area, and less considered but incredibly important, your objective support in some of the most stressful times you’re likely to experience.

Step 1: Set a Budget

Setting an initial budget frames the whole project. It determines the boundaries of what you’re willing to invest beyond which there should be very little if no wiggle room to go over. This narrows your search and prevents you from endlessly bumping up your upper limit to the point where a purchase becomes financially precarious or outright unfeasible.

This is relatively easy and straightforward when you’re buying a standard property but becomes a little trickier when you’re looking at luxury homes. In the luxury market, you’ll expect more and there will be properties that are easy to fall in love with but which may be priced beyond what you had initially set as a budget.

Here’s where a Realtor can be of great benefit, in the early stages of your buying journey. A good real estate professional will do their best to make your dream choice a reality, but they’ll also be an objective advisor, who’ll let you know if you’re at the point when you may be overstretching yourself. At these points, your Realtor can often guide you to a great property that meets your criteria yet still sets you on a financially viable path.

Step 2: Get preapproved for a mortgage

It is always a good idea to get pre-approved for a mortgage before buying a house. There are many benefits to doing this, including:

1. You’ll know exactly how much a lending institution will grant you, making your downpayment options clear.
2. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage shows sellers that you are a serious buyer. This can give you an advantage over other buyers who have not gone through this process.
3. Mortgage lenders may give you better interest rates if you are preapproved. This can save you considerable amounts of money over the life of your loan.

Step 3: Go house hunting in Greenville, SC

Here comes the fun part. By all means, looking through internet property sites in the area is a good way to become more familiar with the housing market of an area, get a sense of what the home looks and feels like, and learn a little about the different communities.

However, online searches can only take you so far. Visiting a home before making an offer is highly recommended. Yes, there are instances when buyers make a bid for a home without a viewing, afraid that it may be snapped up. This is especially true for luxury homes in highly desirable neighborhoods, but a little caution could save a lot of headaches and money.

Visit the property to see first hand and get a feel for what it will actually be like to live not only in the property but also in the area. Again, having a real estate professional advising you means you’re more likely to visit homes that match as closely as possible if not ideally, your dream property.

Step 5: Making an offer on a home

Here are a few tips to help you make a compelling offer that will give you the edge of other bidders:

1. Work with a buyer’s agent in Greenville, SC to get an idea of what homes in your price range are selling for. This will help you determine what a fair offer would be.
2. Make a reasonable offer. In Greenville, houses sell at close to their listed prices and sellers are unlikely to accept substantially lower than market asking prices. If you lowball the seller, they’re likely to reject your offer outright. Make an offer that’s too high, and you could end up overpaying for the home.
3. Have your financing in order before making an offer. This will show the seller that you’re serious about buying the home.
4. Be prepared to negotiate. The seller may counter your offer, and here’s where some trade-offs between the parties can get both across the line. Your real estate agent becomes invaluable at this point with their experience in negotiations getting you the most beneficial deal possible.

Step 6: Closing on a Home

Once you’ve found a home, made an offer, and had your offer accepted, the last thing standing between you and your new home is the closing.

So what happens at closing?

1. You and the seller will sign all the necessary paperwork. This paperwork includes the sales contract, loan documents, and other disclosures and you’ll enter into escrow where all the documents are held until all conditions by both parties are met.
2. You’ll pay for the remaining balance of the purchase price. This is usually done by wire transfer.
3. Once the check has cleared, you are now officially a homeowner! The seller will sign over the deed and the keys, and you’ll be ready to move in.

Best time to buy a house in South Carolina

When the best time to buy a home will depend on your particular circumstances as well as general market trends. That being said here’s an overview of what to expect at certain times of the year.

The winter months of December and January provide an intriguing time to buy a home. On the one hand, you’re likely to have less competition for homes as there are fewer buyers actively looking to buy homes in these months. This can translate to you getting a home for slightly under the market value as you’ll have a slightly stronger hand in negotiations. However, as mentioned earlier, buying a house in Greenville, SC means paying close to the asking price, so even in these months, it’s unlikely that you’ll pay more than 2% under the asking price.

Spring and summer are traditionally when the real estate market gets into full gear. House prices tend to peak at these times but there’ll also be more properties on the market.

In the fall, families with children may want to relocate (to be closer to their schools or to go to a different schooling district altogether). By this time of year, the majority of sellers have cleared their summer house sales and many of the remaining sellers will push harder to sell their houses before the holidays. Again, this is a period where there is more room for negotiation over prices.

Buy Greenville, SC luxury real estate with Ink Properties, LLC

With over 10 years of experience in real estate brokerage and development, the agents at Ink Properties, LLC have extensive experience selling luxury listings. This elite team of Realtors from Ink Properties provides high net-worth individuals unparalleled service in securing some of the most sought after properties in the area.

They offer a 5-star package to buyers relocating from out of state. Clients get a complimentary iPad and a personalized must-have list with rankings.

Ink Properties, LLC also provides the highest quality marketing and exposure for listings. Top-end photos and videos are used in customized websites to help sellers showcase their homes in the best possible light.

Get in touch with the elite team of Realtors from Ink Properties for a seamless and stress-free homebuying journey. Call Ink Properties today at 864.565.0000 / 864.777.9533, or leave a message here.