Charleston real estate market report, sales, inventory and home prices, May 29, 2010
It was another excellent month in the Charleston real estate market during April with sales 11.7 percent higher than March and 43.8 percent higher than in April of 2009. And there should be even more good news to report in the next few months with 674 closings already recorded for May (and regular readers know that many more closings get entered later rather than sooner). There are 1606 homes under contract and contingent so quite a few of those should close and 696 homes are pending with all contingencies removed so most of those should close.
There was improvement across all price points and the Charleston luxury home market enjoyed its two best back to back months since July and August of 2008, just before the height of the financial crisis. With the Charleston economy doing very well overall and job creation reasonably strong, interest rates still amazingly low, improved affordability, lots of inventory for buyers to choose from, motivated sellers, we are very fortunate to live in Charleston.
Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Home Prices
Once again, the real indicator of Charleston area home price declines is the dollars paid per square foot rather than the median and average price which is more of a reflection of higher activity levels at lower price points. Affordability has improved due to both lower mortgage rates and the ability to buy more home for the money.
Sales and Inventory
Home sales
Monthly sales are represented by the blue line for 2008, the red line for 2009 and the yellow line for 2010. The current trend is very positive.
Inventory and Absorption rate
Inventory is represented by the red line and corresponds to the left axis; the absorption rate is represented by the blue line and corresponds to the right axis. The spring buildup of inventory is a little higher than last year reflecting more sellers feeling that the worst is behind us and now is a good time to put their home on the market.
Sales, inventory and absorption rate for all homes and by price point
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.