In the market

Many prospective home buyers felt paralyzed last fall as the financial crisis widened, but not Jeannelove Ferguson.

She saw a chance to buy her first home at a great price.

"On one hand, it's awful because it's opportunistic," she said. "But my finances were ready, I was ready to look and I kept hoping I'd be able to get a great deal."

Ferguson, who thought of herself as a perpetual renter, became a house hunter by accident last spring when a friend and newly licensed real estate agent needed a companion for some "practice" showings.

Ferguson, 39 and single, figured she didn't earn enough at her job at a North Charleston technology firm to qualify for a mortgage.

But she had grown tired of renting. And her three dogs — two labs and a border collie — needed a yard to run around in.

So her friend's practice showings turned into a search for a place of her own. She saved for a down payment and cleaned up a few neglected credit issues.

Ferguson quickly found that builders were offering discounts and other incentives, but she wanted a house with character.

"I did not want to live in a cookie-cutter home," she said.

She also discovered that not all sellers were eager to negotiate, even in a down market. One owner seeking $140,000 agreed to cut the price by just $800. Ferguson also checked out houses in foreclosure and other so-called distressed properties but decided the process of acquiring them was too time-consuming.

Finally, she happened across a renovated two-bedroom residence in North Charleston's Park Circle. She stopped by at dusk, and she flipped on a light that illuminated the back yard and a tall oak tree. That moment cinched it.

Studies show that more first-time buyers are taking the plunge as home prices fall. The National Association of Realtors said last fall that this segment of the market made up nearly half of all purchasers.

Ferguson bought her home Feb. 13 for $120,000 after the seller knocked off nearly $20,000. The appraiser, who estimated the value at $158,000, wrote "great deal" on his report.

To boot, Ferguson as a first-time home buyer also qualified for an $8,000 tax credit that's part of the federal stimulus plan.

She's still painting the place, but plans to keep some of the 1970s-era decor. But the bright yellow and green flower print wallpaper in her kitchen? It's only a matter of days until it becomes a memory.

"Every time I come across a piece, I rip it off," she said.