Charleston highest, Spartanburg lowest

The Spartanburg area has the state’s lowest rate of foreclosures, according to first–quarter data recently released by RealtyTrac, with one home in distress for every 369 homes. At the other end, the Charleston MSA has the highest with one home for every 153 homes in some form of foreclosure. The Columbia area recorded one home for every 202 homes in distress. For the country as a whole, there is one home in distress for every 138 homes, which is just under one percent of homes nationwide.

Speaking of homes...

The federal tax credit that was a popular incentive for first–time home buyers officially ended on April 30. But in S.C. there are still state incentives such as the S.C. State Housing $40 million Palmetto Heroes Program, which provides low interest home loans to current S.C. teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, and EMS personnel who qualify. Eligible Palmetto Heroes can get a 5.125% interest rate. Also, the program provides down payment assistance up to $7,000. Depending on the borrower’s income, the $7,000 down payment can be forgiven over time. The S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority raises money to loan by selling Mortgage Revenue Bonds (MRBs). For more information go to www.schousing.com.

Business newspaper business

Brown Media Holdings, owner of Brown Publishing Co., has filed for bankruptcy protection in New York City and has agreed to sell the company’s assets to an unnamed bidder. Brown Media Holdings operates business news publications and general news items among 10 states. Brown Publishing owns SC Biz News LLC, which publishes Charleston Regional Business Journal, Columbia Regional Business Report, and GSA Business (with Upstate Business LLC). Also under the same corporate umbrella are SCBIZ magazine and several other online and print products.

State budget and low–cost airlines

The S.C. Senate removed a $15 million fund from the state budget designed to offer incentives to lowcost airlines in order to approve a state $5 billion spending plan. The Senate will debate an airlines incentives bill as a separate item. A compromise appears in the works. Meanwhile, the Charleston County Council voted in the first of three rounds for a proposed five percent hike on rental cars in support of financing low–cost airlines incentives for the Charleston airport, raising about $1.5 million annually. Charleston and Greenville are getting service from Southwest Airlines starting next year. Columbia feels it has a shot at JetBlue and AirTran, the low–cost air carrier that departed Charleston for the last time five months ago.

Staying downtown

Putting 150 employees into 50,000 square feet in the Wilbur Smith Building at the corner of Gervais and Sumter, the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management with TM Floyd & Company and VC3 Inc. recently fully executed their lease agreements with representation from NAI Avant. The Consortium is a collaboration of companies, colleges, universities, and other groups focused on increasing the information technology talent pipeline in Columbia. TM Floyd & Company is a leading IT consulting group dedicated to providing innovative and cost effective solutions focused on the insurance industry. VC3 Inc. is a 16–year–old IT firm providing services to the public and private sectors in S.C., N.C. and Ga. Both TM Floyd and VC3 Inc. are partners of the Consortium.

National Travel & Tourism Week

Travel and tourism is a $1 billion industry in the Midlands, good for at least 12,000 jobs. The 27th National Travel & Tourism Week, May 9–15, is sponsored annually by the Washington–based Travel Industry Association. For more information for Columbia visitors, go to www.columbiavisit.com.

Slow growth for S.C.

The South Carolina Leading Index, compiled by the state’s Commerce Dept., is designed to project where the state economy is headed for the next six months. The index saw its sharpest monthly gain in March since 2000. Even so, the Commerce Dept. doesn’t expect the state to recover in the short term all of the jobs it lost in the recession. The improved state economic recovery is discussed among Commerce Dept. people as a timeline over years instead of months. According to GreenvilleOnline.com, John Rainey, chairman of the state’s Board of Economic Advisors, said recently, “Our view at the BEA is we’re still tracking along the bottom. The trajectory is no longer down for the data we can sort. The trajectory is flat to a little tilt up. But we just don’t have enough information from our universe of data to point to any sharp move on the upside. We’re just not quite there yet.”