Aiken: SC's next "hot spot"?

[krazeeboi]

The S.C. Association of Realtors recently released residential sales data for last year. In 2005, home sales in the Aiken Multiple Listing Service area were up 49.6 percent over 2004, surpassing growth in both the Beaufort and Charleston areas by almost 2-to-1. Retirees in particular are a source of growth. The market in Florida seems to be overextending itself, and Aiken's mild climate, great quality of life offerings, and low interest rates are real advantages for the area.

[upstate29650]

This trend will continue, depsite rising interest rates. To many retirees, Florida is full, and GA, SC, AL & MS are poised to absorb this growth.

[Topher1]

Aiken's been touting itself as a "retirement mecca" for years. In the late 90's quite a few publications ranked Aiken very highly for retirees. Personally, I thought that the retirement momentum had died down considerably, so its good to see some stats to prove me wrong... A lot of the home sales must be existing homes though, because there really aren't any crazy "booming" areas of the county (at least not nearly to the extent that I see all over the Orlando area everyday)...

[GSP Tiger]

How strong is Aiken growing with younger families?

[Topher1]

^

Without many solid facts to back me up, I would say not a whole lot. The only relevent fact that I can come up with is that the countywide school system has remained around approximately 25,000 students for the last 5-6 years. This shows that while the total county population is growing, the population of school-age children seems to be stagnating...

[GSP Tiger]

^

That should be a definite sign of older people moving into the area. I think younger families prefer more of a metropolis feel sensing they prefer to be in Augusta or North Augusta.