Charleston real estate market report, home prices, January 4, 2010
Sales were up sharply but home prices were down year over year on both a median and average basis but when you look inside the numbers, the price declines were just as much a function of the mix of homes being sold as actual price declines. I don't think anyone believes that their home is worth as much as it was a few years ago, sarcasm ahead (except for some stubborn sellers who think their home is better just because their name is on the title).
But more telling than the median price or the average price are declines in the dollar paid per square foot because when you look at the 12 month comparison chart at the bottom of this post, while the median and average price didn't decline for mid priced homes selling between $300k and $600k or for luxury Charleston real estate selling for more than $600k, the dollars per square foot dropped pretty significantly. And yet in the entry level price point for homes in Charleston selling for less than $300k, just the opposite is true, the median and average price dropped but the dollars per square foot was even with the previous year.
So what's going on anyway.
I think (and it's just my opinion) that prices will not be increasing until inventory declines and there is simply a lot of inventory on the market. Your home is no longer an ATM machine, you can't refinance your way out of debt and buying a home will return to the reasons people have always bought homes, a place to call home, raise a family, create memories and make their life better. A few years from now, prices will once again pick up as inventory gets absorbed, more people continue to move to Charleston and (once again, just my opinion) inflation picks up because inflation is always good for home prices especially when you borrow at low long term mortgage rates and pay with current dollars that are worth less. And with the government throwing money around to solve every problem, there will be inflation no matter how creative the statistical magicians in Washington try to minimize it with creative solutions like core inflation as if nobody buys food or energy. Duh!
So, after my little rant, let's get back to a current look at Charleston home prices and see what kind of statistical magic I can cook up this month.
Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
In the charts below, the blue line represents 2007, the red line 2008 and the yellow line 2009. And by the way, I don't know why prices tend to go up during December but you'll see that again when next month's market report is posted.
Median Prices
Average Prices
12 month comparison
