Charleston real estate market report, home prices, February 1, 2010
Let's face facts. Home prices have declined over the past year. And if you bought a home in the past few years, your home is not worth more than when you purchased it no matter how nice it is, how good a deal you got or any other justification you might come up with. Buyers know this, Charleston real estate agents know this and appraisers know this. And if those three won't value your home for more than you paid, there isn't much chance of you selling your home for more. That doesn't mean that Charleston home prices have crashed like other areas around the country because that simply hasn't happened but the reality is that prices have declined over the past year and a half.
Using the median sales price or the average sales price does not accurately measure home prices simply because the mix of homes sold has changed so dramatically over the past year. Increased activity in entry priced homes automatically drops the median and average price. So how can home prices be best analyzed. I would suggest that dollars per square foot would be the best way but the only problem is verifying the accuracy of the data and since the Charleston MLS is a user based data system, we are at the mercy of the information provided.
In looking at the price trend over the past two years, I'm comfortable with the dollars per square foot for all months except January and February of 2009 where despite a sharp drop in the number of homes sold, the price paid per square foot was sharply higher than the previous year.
So I'll post the median and average prices as always because this is the year end wrap up but beginning with the January 2010 Charleston market report, I'll emphasize dollars per square foot over median and average home prices. Additionally, I think that the 12 month comparison continues to offer you the best trend analysis by smoothing seasonal fluctuations and giving you a clear picture of what's happening in the Charleston real estate market.
And one little point, I cannot figure out how come prices are generally higher in December even though activity is generally slower due to the holiday season. Anyone have a guess?
Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Dollars per square foot
Median home prices
Prices are represented by the blue line for 2007, the red line for 2008 and the yellow line for 2009.
Average home prices
Prices are represented by the blue line for 2007, the red line for 2008 and the yellow line for 2009.
12 month comparison
