single family
Date Sales Cur Mo Inv Date Sales Cur Mo Inv Y/Y Sales Y/Y Inv
Inv Inv
01/06 783 3697 4.72 01/07 565 5451 9.65 -27.8% +47.4
02/06 855 4000 4.68 02/07
03/06 1170 4300 3.68 03/07
04/06 963 4654 4.83 04/07
05/06 1185 4845 4.09 05/07
06/06 1312 5156 3.93 06/07
07/06 1016 5486 5.40 07/07
08/06 1039 5691 5.48 08/07
09/06 1091 5758 5.28 09/07
10/06 833 5815 6.98 10/07
11/06 875 5658 6.47 11/07
12/06 837 5406 6.46 12/07
condos and town homes
Date Sales Cur Mo Inv Date Sales Cur Mo Inv Y/Y Sales Y/Y Inv
Inv Inv
01/06 331 1159 3.50 01/07 126 2170 17.22 -61.9 +87.2
02/06 276 1628 5.90 02/07
03/06 374 1720 4.60 03/07
04/06 434 1685 3.88 04/07
05/06 405 1883 4.65 05/07
06/06 329 1989 6.05 06/07
07/06 343 2141 6.26 07/07
08/06 312 2160 6.92 08/07
09/06 282 2246 7.96 09/07
10/06 264 2407 9.12 10/07
11/06 206 2348 11.40 11/07
12/06 239 2202 9.21 12/07
The "Current Inventory" column reflects the number of active listings on the market on the 16th day of each Month. The "Months of Inventory" column is equal to the "Current Inventory" divided by the "Monthly Sales". This reflects how many months it would take to sell out of inventory at the current month’s rate of sale.
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Let's take a look at pricing on a year vs. year basis:
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single family
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Date Sales Avg List Avg Sale DOM Median %LP/SP
01/06 783 $347,444 $338,307 57 $206,531 97.37%
01/07 567 $354,457 $341,101 77 $225,000 96.23%
Active 5770 $564,866 N/A 116 $315,450 N/A
condos and town homes
Date Sales Avg List Avg Sale DOM Median %LP/SP
01/06 331 $257,562 $253,632 23 $173,000 98.47%
01/07 126 $241,790 $236,710 87 $181,750 97.90%
Active 2316 $348,543 N/A 130 $224,950 N/A
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First, I think it is helpful to break out the single family results and as you can see, the market for single family is better (but not as good as I'd like to see it). January and February are the 2 slowest months in the year but sales are off significantly from the same period a year ago. Prices are higher for single family on both an average and median basis. Condos are off a little on average but up a little on median.
The most interesting thing is to look at what is active today and the prices compared to what has sold. They are significantly higher than the solds and unless the statistics are being skewed by a lot of really really expensive properties, it makes no sense. Wait a sec, I'm going to double check...
ok, I'm back...and the numbers above are correct, so now my best guess is that a lot of lower and middle priced properties have been selling and the high end is a bit sluggish. The high end of the Charleston real estate market is dependent upon relocation from other parts of the country and if homes elsewhere aren't selling, purchases and moves may be put off. Additionally, another aspect of the Charleston market is vacation and second homes which are more discretionary and possibly decisions to purchase these homes may be affected by worry about the housing market so maybe that is why inventory at the high end is so high.
Let's take a look at condos and townhomes, certainly a drag on the market. A large number of condo conversions and new construction has simply not been absorbed. These were being purchased by residents as well as speculator/investors and since at least 50% of the investor market has dried up, sales are off significantly. I hear that many of the investor owned units are being put on the rental market rather than being "flipped" as in the past. That's good news for rental rates but since mortgage rates are still historically low, it still makes sense to purchase if you can.
As to single family, I've been talking about it for a while and sellers have to understand. You are competing with a lot of other property and it doesn't matter what you think your home is worth, you have to price to market in order to sell. I've seen homes sell within 45 or 60 days and I've seen home sitting unsold for 6 months to a year. If you want to sell and not just have a sign in your yard, you must price it to sell, not sit. The good news is that even if you don't get absolute top dollar for your home, you will be able to purchase more house for less money than before so it really is a wash financially. It's not about ego, it's about selling and moving on.
In conclusion, I'm very glad to have taken the effort to break out single family from condos and town homes because it reveals the data even more clearly. While sales and inventory in both classifications aren't great, you can clearly see that single family is in better condition.