Charleston Real Estate Market Blog

We recently had a conversation with a first time home buyer who was living with her parents and working hard to save up a 20% down payment. She didn’t realize that she had already saved three times the amount she needed!

This miscalculation got us wondering…how many home buyers actually know the correct minimum down payment it takes to purchase a home? We thought we’d put together this blog to help other home buyers who are currently saving up their funds!

Primary Residence Purchases

• VA* and USDA: 0%
• First Time Home Buyer Conventional: 3%
• FHA: 3.5%
• Conventional: 5%
• Jumbo: 5%

Investment Properties and Second Homes

• Conventional Second Home: 10%
• Conventional Investment: 15%
• Jumbo Second Home: 20%
• Jumbo

Through October 31, Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant is hosting great Halloween entertainment for visitors of all ages:

• Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch: This very kid friendly fall festival offers a corn maze, Halloween themed hayride (pictured), jump castle, two of South Carolina’s largest jump pillows, petting zoo, three story slide tower, tube swings, and sand pit. There are also great photo ops for the kids since pumpkins, tractors, and fall decorations fill this wide open space. Admission is $10 per person (kids age 2 and under are free with accompanying adult) and includes access to all of these attractions except the pony rides. Learn more about the Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch!
• Boone Hall Fright Nights: For teens and adults, you’ll find

Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of flat fee listings in our local MLS. These listings are easy to spot because usually the photos are dark or sideways, the report is only partially filled out, or the comments section doesn’t really highlight the property well. I usually know it’s a flat fee listing before I even see that it’s labeled as Limited Service (that’s our MLS designation for what most sellers refer to as flat fee listing agents).

In strong sellers’ markets like our Charleston real estate market, we often see sellers trying to save money because they know how quickly homes are selling. We saw this trend back in the 2005 market where it seemed like listing agents only had to put a sign in a yard in order to sell a listing.

The point of this

You’ve gotten pre-approved with a local mortgage lender, found the perfect home, and negotiated with the seller for a fair price. Your home inspection went well, and the home appraised for slightly more than your contract price. Nothing could go wrong at this point, right?

A recent study showed that 36% of contracts never made it to the closing table due to financing. Although lender issues can arise out of the blue, it’s surprising how many of these problems are preventable. Home buyers often assume that once they’re approved for their home loan, it’s a done deal in terms of financing. However, this is simply not the case. Your approval status is based on the income, employment, debt-to-income ratio, and other factors you had at the time of your

Over 2,300 Realtors recently took part in a study that examined the causes of fallouts for real estate contracts. We’ve included here the most common reasons that contracts fall apart along with tips to keep your closing on track.

Financing: 36%

Thirty-six percent of Realtors in the study cited financing as the cause for their ratified contract not making it to the closing table. To avoid falling into this trap, home buyers should talk with a lender before they start seeing homes. Many buyers think that their credit is better than it actually is, or they have mistakes in their credit report that can be easily fixed, or their self-employed status makes their income difficult to track, or their debt puts them just outside of the magic

Congratulations to Katherine for selling one of the Most Expensive Homes in Mount Pleasant! The local Mount Pleasant Magazine has honored her for a sale in which she represented buyers purchasing a home in Dunes West. We’ve included a link to the press release below. In the article, Katherine talks about what it’s like to work with her husband, Lee, for twelve years and also about being a business woman (and mom) in Charleston.

You can read the full article or learn more about The Keadle Real Estate Group!

Although Charleston is overall the strongest sellers’ market we’ve probably seen in the history of our MLS, the individual Johns Island real estate market can be a tougher market for sellers. Right now, almost 70% of homes selling on Johns Island are new construction. This area has become a go-to suburb for buyers wanting newer homes priced especially under $500K within Charleston County since markets like James Island and Mount Pleasant have become so much more expensive. (Where else in the county can a buyer get a brand new house for under $270K?!)

The large selection of new construction homes on Johns Island is great for buyers, but it creates a tougher position for sellers of pre-owned homes to compete. Builders generally offer incentives

Here you’ll find the most popular new construction communities in Charleston right now. You can use these links to learn more about the communities, view photos, and search current homes for sale:

• Mount Pleasant: Oyster Point (townhouses from the $420’s, houses from the $530’s), Stratton by the Sound (houses from $440s), Carolina Park (new houses priced from the $450’s), Copahee Landing (new houses from $450s), Bentley Park (houses from $510s), Dunes West (houses from $650’s), Midtown (houses from $690s)
• James Island: Freeman’s Point at Seaside Plantation (houses from the $450’s), The Village at Stiles Point (houses from $510’s - these are still in preliminary stages, so ask us!)
• Johns Island: Brownswood Village (from $250’s), Riverview

Increasingly, new construction is becoming a good route for home buyers in our local market. This is partly because we have a historically low inventory of homes for sale right now. Plus, when new listings do hit the market, they tend to sell quickly (making it hard especially for out-of-town buyers to secure their top pick).

Here are some of the benefits of choosing new construction:

• Flexible time frame: Whether you’re looking for a newly finished home that can close in the standard 30-45 days, or you’re not ready to close for 6 or 7 months, we can find a home that matches your time frame.
• The more time you have, the more options you have: That 6-7 month time frame is perfect if you’re wanting to choose your lot, floor plan, finishes, and

There are currently four home builders in Summers Corner: Saussy Burbank, FrontDoor Communities, Dan Ryan Builders, and Sabal Homes. Each home builder has a model home so that buyers can see the most popular finishes and colors for these new construction homes in Summerville. You can learn more about this new community on our Summers Corner page, but we wanted to dedicate a blog solely to Dan Ryan. This builder is currently offering the largest homes in Summers Corner with floor plans ranging from 2,100 to more than 3,600 square feet.

Keeneland Floor Plan

The Keeneland is one of the most popular because buyers can choose the elevation with double front porches or wrap around porches that extend along one side of the home. These low country