Charleston South Carolina real estate market report, February 2008 analysis
A little different format for the Charleston real estate market report once again. Due to the large amount of data presented, the report was getting a bit unwieldy to view and actually, difficult for me to upload. So I'm breaking the report into 4 sections, Charleston home prices, unit sales, inventory and analysis. Click any or all of the links at the bottom of the post to view what's of most interest to you.
As to pricing which is probably most important to everyone, no matter how many different ways I gather the data, the fact remains that statistically, Charleston home prices remain stable. Now anecdotal evidence from being out there in the trenches seems to say otherwise. I've seen lots of overpriced listings. I've seen even more price reductions. I've evaluated what a home is worth for clients and it is generally less than list price. There are motivated sellers and there are sellers who basically shouldn't bother to be inconvenienced by listing their home for sale at this time at their asking price.
Now my friend Claude will pounce all over a drop in price as the reason you shouldn't buy now. He seems like a good guy and of course, he makes a valid point if the only reason you want to buy a house is to make money. He said in a comment that the "easy money days are over for now". You can't make money flipping any longer, you have to live in your home for a while and there are many good reasons to own vs. rent but certainly, if you aren't planning on living in your home for a few years, you should expect to actually lose money when all the costs of home ownership are figured in.
But wait a minute. What happens when this whole housing, mortgage and credit mess gets cleaned up. I don't suspect it will occur in the next few days or even months but when it does, and it will, isn't there going to be a lot of pent up demand from people who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to buy and therefore increasing demand and likely driving prices up once again. That's why it's important to look at inventory and absorption rates and watch for declines. Look at unit sales and see when activity picks up. And keep looking at prices that have been remarkably stable despite headlines to the contrary from around many other real estate markets around the country.
I can also tell you that my website traffic has been very busy, there have been numerous inquiries from people around the country interested in the Charleston South Carolina real estate market. Some are moving here for job reasons and the Charleston area has experienced great job growth; others simply want to retire to Charleston while others are interested in purchasing investment property or buying a second home or a vacation property. For many good reasons, Charleston is a place where people want to live now and in the future. So no matter what current real estate conditions might be (and they really aren't as bad as the media might make it out to be, at least in the Charleston area), I believe the future of Charleston real estate is bright.
I hope you enjoy the new format, let me know what you think. Thanks, Howard