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Charleston South Carolina real estate, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.

Is it? Not really, but it does make an excellent headline! Here is another article highlighting the problems in the current real estate market and mortgage market. Thankfully, for those of us in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market, we were not mentioned.

Should that story stop you from buying a home in the Charleston South Carolina market today? It would depend on why you are considering buying a home. If you want to purchase a home in Charleston to flip and make a lot of money, I would say that really isn’t a very good idea. Do you want to buy a home in the Charleston area to live in and enjoy for a number of years? If that is the case, now may be the best time to buy your dream home in Charleston.

The Internet and the media are great sources for information, but most articles are written at the National level while all real estate is local. While you see stories of declining prices and increasing foreclosures in many areas of the country, especially California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, prices have held stable in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market. Talk with a local real estate professional who you have confidence in.

For a seller, it’s important to not panic and to price your home to sell in today’s competitive market. Listen to what your real estate agent says it will take to sell your home which might include pricing it for less than you might think it is worth and/or including incentives to both the buyer and the buyers agent. Depending upon the condition of your property, it might be wise to make some repairs (cosmetic or major) or you might consider staging your home. Your goal is to sell your home.

For a buyer, be sure you are buying for the right reasons and more importantly than ever, make certain your financing is solid. Understand the real cost of home ownership and the terms of the mortgage documents you are signing.

Consult with a professional real estate agent and other trusted advisers and investigate the many outstanding opportunities in today’s Charleston South Carolina real estate market.

Published Saturday, August 18, 2007 5:46 AM by Howard Arnoff

Comments

# re: Charleston South Carolina real estate, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.

Hi Howard, Your blog is a great resource for anyone relocating to the Charleston area like we will be doing. I was interested in what taxes would range from for a $300K-400K single family home. In my current area in NY a $300K- 400K home (and there are very few of those) would be about 7-8K/year for combined school and property taxes. Thanks for your response and keep up the great work!

Saturday, August 18, 2007 7:11 PM by Ray

# re: Charleston South Carolina real estate, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.

Ray, thanks for stopping by and the nice compliment. Not only do we have a wonderful selection of very nice homes form 300-400k but taxes are probably a quarter to a third of what you currently are paying.

Sunday, August 19, 2007 4:21 AM by Howard Arnoff

# re: Charleston South Carolina real estate, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.

My wife and I looked at several houses in the Mt Pleasant area this weekend in the 600k - 750k range and there was a lot to choose from.  We looked at Hibben (Belle Hall), Daniel Island and Park West (Tennyson and Masonborough).

What struck me the most was the difference in price between a New Construction home and a 2 - 3 year old resale of the same quality. In Hibben the resales started at $202 a sqft and the new construction started at $275 a sqft. Big difference and a greater differnce that has been seen in the past.

The best "deals" seemed to be in Park West where one street we viewed in Tennyson had 5 of the 10 homes for sale...ouch (all resales).  

In Masonborough there was plenty of new construtions to choose from and I saw two house where construction had been stopped and the house looked abandoned.

Daniel Island was a mixed bag and I didn't get the impression that prices were coming down that much.  

Once again, we were only focused on the 600k plus range where prices have not shown steep decrease just yet...however inventories have continued to climb.  I almost feel like it is a dam that is about to burst.  The other big issue I see is that the interest rate on jumbo loans continues to climb (above 7% today) and this will take away buying power as well.

The sky is not falling...but it's beginning to rain.

Monday, August 20, 2007 2:54 PM by Claude Daigle

# re: Charleston South Carolina real estate, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.

Claude, thanks for stopping by and making some very insightful comments. Mount Pleasant is interesting because many of the buyers came from the Northeast and since it has been difficult for them to sell their homes up North, they can't buy here and there has been less demand here than previously. The same can be said for Daniel Island so I think we can lump all of the neighborhoods together for the sake of discussion.

I'm actually surprised the resales you mentioned have been priced that sharply compared to similar new construction. Many sellers still seem to be overvaluing their properties. Perhaps long days on the market are taking their toll and waking some people up to new realities.

I think some builders have idled construction at a certain point to allow for buyer choices of hardwood, cabinets, countertops and other finishes. Some could be in financial trouble, builders can be great builders but not great businesspeople and some could have gotten squeezed financially.

As to jumbo mortgages over 7, that should be a temporary phenomenon. With the liquidity crisis,  lenders can't sell their paper and since jumbos can't be purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and with investors on Wall Street currently running scared, rates have soared on jumbos despite the typical very low 1/10 of 1% delinquency rate.

I have long said that supply and demand are out of alignment and that prices should fall with growing inventory and fewer buyers. Thus far they haven't and that says a lot about the Charleston economy and the Charleston South Carolina real estate market. The fact is, job growth is strong and many people would like to live in Charleston, it is after all, a very special place.

Claude, once again thanks for stopping by and let me know if I can be of help to you and your wife in the future.

Monday, August 20, 2007 6:05 PM by Howard Arnoff

# re: Charleston South Carolina real estate, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.

Hello Howard. First i wanted to say thank you for the time & effort you put into this informational site.

My family & I just returned from a visit to Charleston & I must admit....the builders in the areas of North Charleston & Summerville/Ladson seem to be headed for big trouble. Besides the major glut of homes on the market,we were unimpressed...to say the least with the strip mall like construction of identical homes with little differentiating character on postage stamp size lots. This kind of development serves one purpose....Profits. I hope that in the future when the Mortgage debacle is behind us a better development management system is put into place to better serve your beautiful towns.

Summerville was by far the nicest town we visited.

Thanks again & keep up the good work sir!

Monday, September 03, 2007 11:42 AM by Mike G

# re: Charleston South Carolina real estate, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.

Mike, thanks for stopping by and for your nice compliment. Summerville is a beautiful and historic town that retains its small town charm despite its proximity to Charleston as a suburban bedroom community with all the typical amenities.

As to the builders, whether it is for profit or simply providing a product that people want, the product is what it is. A lot of people bought the "look a like" houses on small lots that you are describing during the "boom" and will continue to do so in the Charleston area as well as many other cities throughout the country in the future.

What you are probably describing is the affordability factor since not everyone can afford a custom to semi custom home on a nice sized lot so you have to buy what you can afford.

The Charleston area is prospering with many people moving to the area because of good job creation as well as for retirement. Planning for inevitable future growth means infrastructure issues must be dealt with to maintain quality of life.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007 3:38 AM by Howard Arnoff

# Charleston real estate blog one year anniversary - number five

The Charleston real estate blog celebrated its 1 year anniversary on November 20th and while we are spending

Thursday, November 22, 2007 7:39 AM by Charleston Real Estate Blog
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