Greater Charleston leads in permits

More building permits were issued in the Charleston market for single-family home construction that any metro area in South Carolina, a consulting company reports. A total of 2,937 permits were issued in Berkeley, Dorchester and Charleston counties in the past 12 months, California-based John Burns Consulting says. That topped the Columbia area at 2,803 permits, Greenville at 1,790 and Myrtle Beach at 1,479. John Burns Consulting also cites the median home price in the Charleston area at $174,625. That’s second in the state’s metro areas behind Myrtle Beach at $176,509. Greenville is at $129,000 and Columbia, $125,000. Housing stimulus funds on the way At least a portion of the more than $1 billion designated to boost construction of affordable homes will be coming to South Carolina. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development disclosed that $1.04 billion will be awarded to 26 state housing finance agencies, including South Carolina’s, to jump-start affordable housing programs. The program is in its first phase of funding; the remaining states and territories will receive proceeds in the next few weeks. The Recovery Act provides $2.25 billion in grants for capital investments for projects that have stalled from the struggling economy. Every state is getting funds from the program. Other Southeastern states approved for funding last week were Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.