Charleston real estate sales activity is now concentrated in lower priced homes
We have all heard the dismal news regarding home prices, at first it was confined to the "bubble" markets such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, California and Florida. Prices in the Charleston real estate market held very steady for a long time despite rising inventory but the stock market crash and the poor economy over the past 6 months have finally added Charleston to the list of almost everyplace that has shown home price declines.
As regular readers have been noticing over the past 6 months, median and average prices have been down from the same month of the previous year. You can see this when comparing February 09 to February 08 below.
And look at the decline in unit sales, just about the lowest number of homes sold in in a month in over 10 years while inventory remains plentiful. On a positive note, many Charleston real estate agents (including myself) are reporting that buyer activity has picked up sharply since the first of the year so you should be looking for some improvements in the months ahead.
The trend in Charleston real estate today is towards lower priced homes
Take a look at the percentage of homes by price range that have sold in Charleston year to date:
And now take a look at the percentage of inventory available by price range:
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that there is a ton of inventory available over $400k while most of the sales that have closed this year in the Charleston real estate market have been between $150k and $200k.
Here's the statistics for sales and inventory year to date through March 17:
And now the good news
Prices are really a function of supply and demand. Frankly, demand has been weak, supply has been plentiful. If you have to sell today, of course, that is a problem.
But if you're buying, well, that is a different story. First of all, affordability is better than ever. The combination of low mortgage rates (below 5% as I'm writing this) and lower prices combined with abundant inventory creates a great opportunity for you to buy below market and cushion further potential price declines.
And realize that there is a cost for shelter whether you own a home or are renting someone else's.
If you own, it's your home.