Charleston real estate market report, sales, inventory and home prices, September 2011
September was another solid month for the Charleston real estate market with sales higher than September of 2010 by just over 10 percent. You can generally divide real estate into two 6 month periods and September marks the beginning of the slower season for home sales as we head into the holidays.
There is more good news on the inventory front as it continues to decline into the seasonally slower 4th quarter. About the only bad news this month was sharply lower sales in the luxury Charleston home segment with sales down over 35 percent for homes selling for $600,000 and higher after doing very well over the past year and a half (look at the chart at the very bottom and sales and absorption rates are highlighted in bold). We'll have to see if the trend continues or if it was just one bad month.
As to home prices, while the median and average prices might not tell the complete story, the price of homes on a dollar per square foot basis has continued to decline meaning that if you are planning on buying a home in Charleston, you're going to get more home for your money. And combine that with record low interest rates and affordability is certainly improving.
Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Year to Year Comparison and Home Prices
Sales and Inventory
Home Sales
Inventory
Inventory and Absorption Rate
Inventory is represented by the blue line and corresponds to the left axis; the absorption rate is represented by the red line and corresponds to the right axis.
Sales, Inventory and Absorption Rate for all homes and by price range
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.