Charleston real estate market report, sales and inventory, Oct 30, 2008
While I'm changing the format slightly of the Charleston real estate market report [ again 
] ... I'm thinking of a few additional changes to make the reports even better beginning with the first of the year.
What hasn't changed is the firm trend of declining unit sales each month combined with high inventory levels. And as you'll see tomorrow when I post the Charleston home price statistics, it is finally putting pressure on pricing although we are certainly not seeing the severe declines that other markets around the country are experiencing.
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.
A couple of quick points. I discussed the increasing irrelevance of days on market (DOM) recently as a meaningful measure when you are listing your home for sale. As I said to a friend who is considering listing, it either sells or it doesn't. With almost a year's worth of inventory of single family homes under $600k, it can't possibly matter if the average days on market is 4 months, there is a one year inventory of competing properties.
And when I was recently talking with a potential buyer of luxury Charleston real estate, available inventory can now be measured in years, not months, so find a home with a seller who finally understands current Charleston market conditions and will price their home to sell at market.