The story of C. Dan Joyner started with just one man in 1964. Today, the Greenville-based real estate agency, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner, REALTORS is a family run business with 405 agents and 60 employees.
The business didn’t grow independently. It developed with precision in paying close attention to the future of the Upstate. And with that, when Greenville started expanding, their business in finding homes for residents did, too.
C. Dan and his wife, Kat, hired a consultant to study the growth patterns of Greenville when he started the now-family business, following his time in the U.S. Army as a 1st Lieutenant.
“They identified strategic markets, the markets they felt like we needed to be in. And so slowly, but surely, we identified sites and moved out into the little pockets that were experiencing growth,” Kat said.
Simpsonville, Pelham Road, Greer, Spartanburg, Anderson, Wade Hampton, Easley and Augusta Road were all on the list. In 1964, this list was merely speculative. Today, it’s right on par with the development that C. Dan Joyner has had a hefty hand in.
“You could tell that the growth was starting. There was a lot of new construction but it’s amazing. The guy was dead-on,” Danny Joyner, C. Dan’s son and President and CEO, said. “Every one of those markets has just exploded.”
The Joyner family has seen Greenville’s growth under a microscope because they’ve helped families, first time homeowners and retirees find their perfect houses – From the urban oasis suburbia land-grabs and back again.
“Downtown was originally the place to be, then everything moved out and moved up to Wade Hampton, then Wade Hampton moved to North Pleasantburg,” Danny said. “Then, North Pleasantburg kicked off Haywood Road, and Haywood Road kicked off Woodruff Road.”
“I think the city was very smart, with some incredible leadership. They did their homework as far as looking to see what other cities did to revitalize themselves, so the way they revitalized downtown is what really attracts a lot of people to Greenville.”
C. Dan and Kat built their first house in Gower when it was a single house in a lot. Now, the area is huge subdivision. From $20,000 to $450,000, time has been good to the real estate market wherever C. Dan Joyner has had a hand. Collins Creek used to be a cow pasture, and now houses sell on the market for $1.5 million. Sherwood Forest is another hot spot which attracts young professionals and couples.
Gower, where C. Dan and Kat raised their three children, is a tight-knit family neighborhood. “We have third generations moving back to Gower now,” Danny said.
In that neighborhood, there were 129 “guppies” on the neighborhood swim team, comprised of four and under swimmers. “So that tells you the number of young people moving here.”
All but one of the eight Joyner grandchildren have moved back to the Gower area. C. Dan himself grew up on Augusta Road. “I think that says something about Greenville and the area, that they want to come back,” his daughter, Beth Crigler, said.
C. Dan passed away in 2012, but his work ethic and mission for community was passed down. “He was so busy but he also never missed a basketball game or a baseball game or a soccer game, dance recital, he sat through everything and didn’t leave early. And not just for us, but for the grandchildren too,” Crigler said. “We have children, grandchildren all working in the company. That is what would make C. Dan happy. That we are all right here,”
“It all goes back to C. Dan and his legacy, and obviously he had a very strong foothold in this neighborhood and that’s kind of what spawned his success” commented Lynn Freemon, the second of C. Dan and Kat’s three children and the company’s advertising manager.
But, with the success of the company and the thriving market come some challenges. Namely, the amount of inventory on the market.
“I’ve told several people that right now is the best time I’ve ever seen to sell your house in Greenville,” Crigler said. “But right now might be the most difficult time I’ve ever seen to buy a house because of the lack of inventory on the market. There’s a lot of people that would like to sell their house but the prices have escalated, and they can’t find something to move down to or replace it with.”
Just as the growth consultant speculation, Greenville’s grown outward and inward is booming. Crigler’s advice? “The rates are low. Buy. Do it now.”
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