SCBIZ Daily Staff

COLUMBIA -- Asserting that the state’s housing market is better than the national average, S.C. homebuilders plan to rally at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Statehouse in Columbia.

“South Carolina’s economy, while not great, has not seen the same low points as the rest of the country,” the S.C. Home Builders Association said in an announcement on its Web site. “It’s time we come together to provide the local media an accurate look at our local housing market and outline the positive impacts of our industry and of homeownership.”

Speakers at the rally will include:

• Doug Woodward, director of the research division and professor of economics at the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business, discussing the economic impacts of the housing industry in South Carolina and the correlation between housing and jobs.

• Valarie M. Williams, executive director of the S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority, discussing the first-time homebuyer mortgage loan program and other programs that assist families.