Charleston South Carolina real estate market report, December 2007
I've always published the Charleston South Carolina real estate market report 7 to 10 days after the end of the month thinking that late month sales would all be entered by the real estate agents by then. Wow was I wrong. Because this is the year end report, I decided to check the accuracy of the data and found many more sales were entered after the first week of the new month.
During 2007, an astounding 739 single family homes or 7.7% of the 9600 sales and 300 condos and townhomes or 11.2% of 2674 sales were entered after I posted the statistics.
So here's what I'm going to do. I'll post as usual (for those of you who follow the statistics closely, you'll notice all previous months have now been updated to the most current and available information) and at the end of the month, I'll post an update with more accurate numbers and in the future, rather than rush to press early in the month, I'll post near the end of the month to better reflect more accurate sales figures.
Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. (That statement could never be more true in light of the above.)
Unit Sales and Inventory
Single Family Homes
| Month | Sales 06 | Sales 07 | Change | Inv 06 | Mo 06 | Inv 07 | Mo 07 | Change |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Jan | 785 | 706 | -10.06% | 3719 | 4.75 | 5719 | 8.14 | 53.78% |
| Feb | 858 | 777 | -9.44% | 4023 | 4.69 | 5861 | 7.61 | 45.69% |
| Mar | 1178 | 1012 | -14.09% | 4330 | 3.68 | 6087 | 6.12 | 40.58% |
| Apr | 964 | 790 | -18.05% | 4692 | 4.87 | 6329 | 8.21 | 34.89% |
| May | 1189 | 957 | -19.51% | 4900 | 4.12 | 6711 | 8.54 | 36.96% |
| June | 1322 | 1027 | -22.31% | 5235 | 3.96 | 6932 | 7.89 | 32.42% |
| July | 1028 | 859 | -16.44% | 5618 | 5.49 | 7022 | 8.87 | 24.99% |
| Aug | 1043 | 910 | -12.75% | 5849 | 5.62 | 7107 | 8.76 | 21.51% |
| Sep | 1102 | 717 | -34.94% | 5963 | 5.42 | 7159 | 10.81 | 20.06% |
| Oct | 838 | 630 | -24.82% | 6075 | 7.28 | 7102 | 12.66 | 16.91% |
| Nov | 890 | 656 | -26.29% | 5999 | 6.75 | 7044 | 12.27 | 17.42% |
| Dec | 862 | 559 | -35.15% | 5755 | 6.68 | 6862 | 12.28 | 19.24% |
| Year | 12059 | 9600 | -20.39% | | | | | |
Condos and Townhomes
| Month | Sales 06 | Sales 07 | Change | Inv 06 | Mo 06 | Inv 07 | Mo 07 | Change |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Jan | 331 | 157 | -52.57% | 1189 | 3.60 | 2403 | 15.50 | 102.10% |
| Feb | 276 | 167 | -39.49% | 1665 | 6.03 | 2521 | 15.47 | 51.41% |
| Mar | 374 | 248 | -33.69% | 1763 | 4.71 | 2618 | 10.95 | 48.50% |
| Apr | 435 | 249 | -42.76% | 1730 | 3.99 | 2740 | 11.66 | 58.38% |
| May | 404 | 319 | -21.04% | 1971 | 4.87 | 2805 | 11.54 | 42.31% |
| June | 329 | 306 | -6.99% | 2096 | 6.37 | 2793 | 12.75 | 33.25% |
| July | 345 | 273 | -20.87% | 2289 | 6.63 | 2811 | 11.20 | 22.80% |
| Aug | 313 | 221 | -29.39% | 2318 | 7.43 | 2873 | 15.12 | 23.94% |
| Sep | 284 | 209 | -26.41% | 2419 | 8.52 | 2941 | 15.24 | 21.58% |
| Oct | 268 | 220 | -17.91% | 2624 | 9.79 | 2921 | 14.90 | 11.32% |
| Nov | 209 | 184 | -11.96% | 2579 | 12.40 | 2923 | 17.30 | 13.34% |
| Dec | 244 | 121 | -50.41% | 2467 | 10.10 | 2828 | 23.37 | 14.63% |
| Year | 3812 | 2674 | -29.85% | | | | | |
The "Current Inventory" (inv) column reflects the number of active listings on the market on the 16th day of each Month. The "Months of Inventory" (mo) 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. It can also be referred to as the absorption rate.
Average and median prices
Single Family Homes
| Month | Average 06 | Average 07 | Change | Median 06 | Median 07 | Change |
| | | | | | | |
| Jan | $338,307 | $329,364 | -2.60% | $206,531 | $221,450 | 7.20% |
| Feb | $290,867 | $290,621 | unch | $208,965 | $218,269 | 4.50% |
| Mar | $319,579 | $310,000 | -3.00% | $210,551 | $219,916 | 4.40% |
| Apr | $319,989 | $324,465 | 1.40% | $215,000 | $229,000 | 6.50% |
| May | $343,653 | $350,283 | 1.90% | $216,728 | $229,250 | 5.70% |
| June | $306,038 | $357,550 | 16.83% | $213,116 | $225,000 | 5.58% |
| July | $325,242 | $328,594 | 0.10% | $226,580 | $222,261 | -1.91% |
| Aug | $319,838 | $349,536 | 9.29% | $221,937 | $221,295 | -0.29% |
| Sep | $286,945 | $289,441 | 0.86% | $200,935 | $198,186 | -1.37% |
| Oct | $332,620 | $299,628 | -9.91% | $215,000 | $205,000 | -4.65% |
| Nov | $301,428 | $282,899 | -6.15% | $216,900 | $205,238 | -5.37% |
| Dec | $291,799 | $302,224 | 3.57% | $210,000 | $215,000 | 2.38% |
Condos and Townhomes
| Month | Average 06 | Average 07 | Change | Median 06 | Median 07 | Change |
| | | | | | | |
| Jan | $253,632 | $224,970 | -11.30% | $173,000 | $178,000 | 2.90% |
| Feb | $246,102 | $224,281 | -8.90% | $167,275 | $156,900 | -6.20% |
| Mar | $250,851 | $253,029 | 0.90% | $204,613 | $169,900 | -17.00% |
| Apr | $239,540 | $222,034 | -7.30% | $193,093 | $175,000 | -9.40% |
| May | $243,927 | $226,365 | -7.20% | $192,600 | $169,750 | -11.90% |
| June | $238,437 | $281,486 | 18.05% | $181,900 | $211,840 | 16.46% |
| July | $216,871 | $258,615 | 19.25% | $183,310 | $188,750 | 2.97% |
| Aug | $228,221 | $233,410 | 2.27% | $181,100 | $181,774 | 0.37% |
| Sep | $238,503 | $354,789 | 48.76% | $190,488 | $219,000 | 14.97% |
| Oct | $237,610 | $329,832 | 38.81% | $183,171 | $218,810 | 19.46% |
| Nov | $208,051 | $248,250 | 19.32% | $165,000 | $183,000 | 10.91% |
| Dec | $230,212 | $288,880 | 25.48% | $152,500 | $187,000 | 22.62% |
12 month comparisons
| Single Family Homes | | | | |
| | | | |
| Date | Sales | Avg Sale | Median Sale | DOM |
| | | | |
| 12 months 1/1/2006-12/31/2006 | 12,059 | $314,758 | $214,000 | 68 |
| 12 months 1/1/2007-12/31/2007 | 9,600 | $315,968 | $217,000 | 93 |
| Change | -20.39% | 0.38% | 1.40% | 36.76% |
| | | | |
| Condos and Townhomes | | | | |
| | | | |
| Date | Sales | Avg Sale | Median Sale | DOM |
| | | | |
| 12 months 1/1/2006-12/31/2006 | 3,812 | $237,297 | $183,000 | 66 |
| 12 months 1/1/2007-12/31/2007 | 2,674 | $257,671 | $184,900 | 106 |
| Change | -29.85% | 8.59% | 1.04% | 60.61% |
Highlights:
Unit sales declined by 20% for single family homes and by almost 30% for condos and townhomes. Inventory remained elevated all year and don't be misled by the slight drop in December inventory, it will be back on the market in January as many sellers take their homes off the market during the holiday season.
Prices remain very stable, single family homes appreciated by 0.38% on average and by 1.40% on a median basis. Condos and townhomes appreciated by 8.59% on average and by 1.04% on a median basis. I still can't figure out how condo prices are holding up but all in all, the Charleston South Carolina real estate market has not seen the price declines being reported in many other markets around the country.
Here's what else is new:
I won't be continuing to report the price change by month from one year to the next, instead, you will still get the 12 month comparisons reflecting more accurately the total sales and prices paid for the past 12 months compared to the previous 12 months.
Finally, this year I broke out the sales for condos and townhomes from single family homes to give you a better perspective on Charleston market trends. Next year, look for sales in the luxury housing market (over $600,000) to be broken out from both single family homes as well as condos and townhomes for additional clarification.
Please let me know what you think and what other information you might like to see. Thanks!