Real Estate Boom? Maybe Not

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) _ A 72 percent increase in condo salesin South Carolina’s largest resort town looks pretty good until theprices show that much of the activity is in short sales andforeclosures. The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported Saturday that without thedistressed real estate, sales for 2010 are lower than a year ago.And experts don’t expect that to change soon. More than a quarter of the properties sold in Myrtle Beachbetween April 1, 2009 and April 1, 2010 were foreclosed propertiesor ones that banks let owners sell for less than their mortgagevalues. More than 10 percent of the single-family homes and condoslisted for sale in the area are distressed. Real estate analyst Tom Maeser says prices won’t rebound untilthat inventory is cleared out.