The media are finally seeing the light.  Interspersed with this week’s real estate news is - could it be? - a glimmer of hope!

OK. First the bad news. According to Don Schunk, research economist at Coastal Carolina University, local retail sales, building permits, hotel occupancy, airport passengers and real estate sales are all down for the spring quarter (March through May).  The numbers for the summer quarter are not final yet, but appear to be flattening.

The good news?  There are signs that our economy is hitting bottom and will be ready for a turnaround in the spring.  Plus, builders have kept the brakes on new construction, and the real estate market is again showing signs of life.  “The buyers know it’s a real buyer’s market,” Schunk said. “It seems like we’re at that point where things are starting to turn around.”

What the numbers won’t show is that Myrtle Beach real estate buyer traffic has picked up even if people aren’t ready to sign a contract yet, said Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors market analyst Tom Maeser.  “It’s been a long correction, but we’re in a correcting mode right now,” Maeser said. “The good news, which is not statistically analyzed, is the amount of traffic in interested people that are out there. We’re having some pretty good traffic flows.”

We told you so.

Interviews by Jessica Foster of the Myrtle Beach Sun News