'); } -->
Despite a surge of home sales in the last few months of the year, 2009 proved to be another sour year for real estate in South Carolina.
Home prices dipped to a four-year low in the Columbia area this year as sellers - particularly in upper-end markets - struggled to sell their homes.
A tax credit helped boost home sales in South Carolina by 63 percent in November over the past year, according to a report released Thursday.
Columbia-area home sales soared 69 percent in November compared with the same month last year, as buyers snapped up starter homes.