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Residential Real Estate
Consumer Stories

Housing remains a priority for workforce development

A panel discussion sponsored by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce highlighted the ongoing need for new housing units. Called the Real Estate Reality Check, it featured experts in real estate, insurance, and mortgages. Although designed to help homeowners understand what to expect in the coming year, the presentation began with a slide directly connecting housing to workforce development. “It’s a total partnership,” Andrea Bowles, Sales Manager and Relocation Director with Blanchard and Calhoun, told ABD. “In order to attract vibrant businesses, successful businesses, you’ve got to have housing. In

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Dana Lynn McIntyre April 24, 2026 No Comments
B2B Podcasting

Simon Says: Progress on CSRA home buying experience

In the last month of February, the interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped below 6% for the first time since fall of 2022. That, coupled with a key affordability study, is providing some good news to potential homebuyers. This decline in interest rates should provide some relief to potential homebuyers who have found housing increasingly unaffordable over the last three to four years. Housing is defined as unaffordable if housing costs (principal, interest, tax, and insurance) are greater than 30% of median income.  The graph below, which comes from

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe, AU Hull College of Business Economics Professor March 10, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

CSRA Real Estate group applauds Georgia Home Act

The Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives has thrown his support behind legislation eliminating homestead property taxes. Called the Georgia HOME (Home Ownership and Market Equalization) Act, it would eliminate property taxes on homesteads by 2032. It would preserve property tax exemptions currently in place. “This landmark legislation will not only mandate the elimination of property taxes on primary residences by 2032 but will also provide immediate relief for homeowners by doubling, or more than doubling, the state homestead exemption every year until the mandate takes effect, and providing

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Dana Lynn McIntyre February 5, 2026 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Local developer comments on fees tacked onto new commercial buildings and homes

On Nov. 1st, newly approved impact fees took effect in North Augusta. It means that in the future, new developments are subject to fees from $2,315 for residential customers with the smallest meter and up to $90,000 for a new commercial building. Funds raised will go toward parks and recreation, sanitation, and water. A developer of “The Hive” was candid with business leaders at a recent North Augusta Chamber event. Lauren McCarthy, Division Vice President for Stanley Homes, provided the renderings. She told ABD that the new fees will influence

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 17, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Extra fees could hinder development in one CSRA city

A $62 million budget vote is coming tonight in North Augusta, with property tax adjustments and fees for water getting discussed. (For more info, read more at the end of our story.) This is on the heels of new impact fees that took effect on Saturday, November 1. These fees impact developers and homeowners. Tiffany Heitzman (pictured above), Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association Greater Aiken-Augusta Region, told ABD she sees the potential for a negative effect on growth. These impact fees will be charged on new commercial, residential,

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Dana Lynn McIntyre and Neil Gordon November 3, 2025 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Job boom is coming, causing Aiken-Augusta housing crunch

A study by the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) projects that an eight-county region will need to add more than 17,350 new housing units by 2030, an increase of 43% housing development needed annually. That is triggered by an anticipated 16,256 new jobs by 2030. The study was conducted in partnership with Georgia Power and KB Advisory Group. It encompasses Richmond, Columbia, McDuffie, and Burke counties in Georgia, and Aiken, Allendale, Barnwell, and Edgefield counties. The goal is to evaluate current housing trends along with expected job creation over the

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Dana Lynn McIntyre October 9, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Simon Says: CSRA housing getting expensive

When I moved to Augusta over 20 years ago, one of the selling points was its affordability, especially for housing. Unfortunately, that may be changing. According to the Home Ownership Affordability Monitor tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, housing in the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has been unaffordable since May 2022. Housing unaffordability is defined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as annual costs of home ownership exceed 30 percent of the annual household income. Costs include principal and interest on mortgage loans, associated

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Dr. Simon Medcalfe September 2, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Clearing begins for North Augusta multipurpose development

Work clearing a wooded section of land between E. Martintown Road and E. Buena Vista Avenue has grown enough to begin attracting attention. The site preparation marks the first tangible progress on a development that initially went before the North Augusta Planning Commission in August 2021 as a sketch plan review. First known as the Mealing tract development, the official name was Bluegrass Place. The 53-acre multipurpose development went before the North Augusta City Council in early 2022 and was approved. Site work began early this year. “Finally, we have

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Dana Lynn McIntyre July 9, 2025 No Comments
Consumer Stories

$17 million acquisition marks entry into CSRA real estate market

Arlington, Virginia-based Blackfin Real Estate Investors, LLC has closed on the purchase of Sage Creek Apartments located at 1315 Marks Church Road in West Augusta for $17.3 million. It’s the firm’s first acquisition in Georgia. Built in 2016, Sage Creek offers a fully gated three-story garden-style design with 9’ ceiling heights, modern level finishes, washer/dryer connections, and an above-market amenity package. Blackfin Managing Director of Investments, Matthew Petrillo, stated, “Not only is this a great physical asset on a compelling basis, but Augusta’s diverse economic drivers provide stable job growth

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Staff Report July 8, 2025 No Comments
B2B Stories

Designing Women…and men offer FREE workshop

There isn’t a week that goes by that someone isn’t posting on various CSRA social media pages, “We are moving to Augusta, Aiken, or North Augusta and want info on the best neighborhoods, schools, and other options.” For families selling their home or buying one, staging and renovation are big business, and so is making the home your own “forever place”. That is where interior designers come into play. Chris Tsilimidos, owner of CSCM Furniture & Décor, Brittney Nelson, Brit Nelson Interiors, and Barbara Berlanda Stevens, BtheSpace, specializing in Interior

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Mitzi Oxford June 22, 2025 No Comments
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