Charleston real estate market report, Aug 2008, inventory and absorption rate
Inventory remains at elevated levels but has stabilized at these current levels for more than 12 months. The absorption rate however has increased somewhat because of declining monthly sales. The absorption rate really isn't that bad for single family homes and condos/townhomes under $600k but for Charleston luxury real estate, the absorption rate isn't being measured in months but rather in years, currently at 3 years for luxury homes and an astounding 5 years for luxury condos and townhomes. You should note though that statistics for the luxury market are much more volatile because this classification encompasses approximately 10% of the Charleston real estate market. As an example, earlier this spring, the luxury condo and townhome market appeared to be booming simply because one very large project closed absorbing a lot of available inventory.
Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
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.
