All Blog Entries by Lee and Katherine Keadle

Back to school time is here, but Charleston's summer events continue on! Check out these fun family friendly activities:

• Magnolia Plantation and Gardens: Through August 31, Magnolia Plantation is offering buy one get one free admission (regular cost is $15). Founded in 1676, this famous Charleston site is perhaps best known for having the oldest public gardens in the country (opened to the public in 1870). Located at 3550 Ashley River Road in West Ashley SC
• Calling all Wiener Dogs: On August 31, enter the wiener dog race or the costume contest to raise money for The Mary Ashley Barbot Transplant Fund. The cost is $25 per wiener dog and $5 per small dog costume. Located at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Stadium, 360 Fishburne Street in Downtown Charleston

If you’re wanting to take advantage of the cooler temperatures we’re enjoying, here are some ideas to get started:

• The Charleston Pub Crawl will start on Saturday, August 24 at 2 PM. More than 20 bars and restaurants will participate in this pub crawl/scavenger hunt to raise money for Charleston Waterkeeper (a non-profit dedicated to keeping local waterways clean).
• If you’re wanting to try a new restaurant, the Charleston City Paper has added a summer installment of Dish. This local dining guide categorizes Charleston’s many eateries into Upscale Dining, Casual Fine Dining, Cheap Eats, and Bakeries in addition to providing some really helpful info and reviews. You can check it out at

A new Mt. Pleasant neighborhood built by Ryland Homes - Tupelo Church Lane - is now actively selling. This subdivision is off Highway 17. Coming from Downtown Charleston, it will be on your left just past Park West. The home designs are small to medium sized and nicely upgraded for new construction homes in Mount Pleasant in the $225K to $350K price point. The single family home floor plans range from 1,172 square feet to 2,229 square feet. Home designs include 3 bedroom / 2.5 bathroom plans and 4 bedroom / 2.5 bathroom plans. There are 1 story and 2 story homes, and each has its own attached 2 car garage. Pond and culdesac lots are available as well as interior and wooded lots. There are plans for a community pool in Tupelo Church Lane, where

Moultrie Park is a new neighborhood in the Mount Pleasant real estate market being built by Dobson Homes, LLC. It is a smaller subdivision with a lowcountry feel located off Hamlin Road, across from Brickyard Plantation on Highway 17. The home designs are medium sized and very upgraded for the Mount Pleasant area. These single family home designs range from 1,580 to 1,912 square feet. They include 3 bedroom / 2.5 bathroom plans and 4 bedroom / 2.5 bath plans. Home pricing in Moultrie Park ranges from about $350K to about $420K. There are many amenities located just outside the neighborhood such as the Mount Pleasant Towne Centre which is only a quick 2 minute drive. There is also Boone Hall Plantation which hosts a variety of community events and

I’ve included below some quick MLS statistics on the top 8 areas in the Charleston real estate market. I’ve ranked these according to absorption rate. For example, Mt. Pleasant has the strongest sellers’ market right now since it has only 3.3 months of inventory. If no new homes were to be listed for sale, it would take only 3.3 months to sell its current inventory at the rate that homes are being purchased right now. Having 6 months of inventory is a balanced market – less than 6 is a sellers’ market, and more than 6 is a buyers’ market.

• Mt Pleasant real estate: 3.3 months of inventory; median sales price of $321,775; has had 1,124 homes close from January to June of this year (stats include houses, townhouses, and condos)
• West Ashley real

Summer is warming up and so is the water! It’s the perfect time to experience the waterways of Charleston. For more details and options, check out the Charleston City Paper:

• Charleston Rowing Club: On Saturdays and Sundays starting at 8 AM, you can learn how to row on Horlbeck Creek. This is just one of many offerings this summer located at the Palmetto Island County Park in Mount Pleasant.
• Sailing classes: On Mondays and Saturdays, the Ocean Sailing Academy offers classes for beginners and more experienced boaters. Located at 24 Patriots Point Road in Mount Pleasant.
• Folly Creek Sunset Tours: You’ll find plenty of dates from July until November for these kayak tours that take place on Saturday and Sunday evenings. These are scheduled at

You may have seen in the news recently that mortgage rates have been rising quickly, so I wanted to include an update for you along with your home listings. This past week, rates spiked to their highest level in nearly 2 years and only took 6 weeks to get there from the lowest in recorded history. Rates have gone up almost a full point since May 1, which means that future home buyers have lost about 10% of their purchasing power. Keep in mind that rates are comparatively still very low, and if you’ve bought a home before you already know that this higher rate (averaging about 4.25%) is very good compared to the 7-8% range we saw just a few years ago.

However, if you’ve been pre-qualified in the past few months, know that this 1% increase will affect

Taste and see what the local Charlestonians have to offer! There are always local events to sample Charleston, South Carolina’s best local foods and beverages. Here are just a few coming up:

• Sippin’ Saturdays: This weekly event continues through November 2. Each Saturday from 1 to 5 PM, the winery hosts a different music group and local food vendor. Enjoy tastings in the Firefly Vodka distillery and Irvin-House Vineyard winery. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed. Admission is free, and tastings cost $6 for Firefly and $4 for wine. Located at 6775 Bears Bluff Road on rural Wadmalaw Island.
• Mount Pleasant Towne Centre Market: Every Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM you’ll find seasonal produce, food artisans, and giveaways. Farmers include Freeman

James Island is one of the best areas of Charleston for boaters to live because of the many creeks and rivers that surround the island – not to mention the Charleston Harbor which borders the northeast section of the island. So which James Island neighborhoods offer a boat ramp and dock? Riverland Terrace and Seaside Plantation are two of the most popular communities on James Island for boaters. Having a boat ramp in your neighborhood makes taking your boat out on the water much less of a hassle. You generally don’t have to wait in line for others to put their boat in, and more importantly, you don’t have to wait to take your boat out of the water after a long, glorious day in the sun. A boat ramp in your neighborhood may make the difference as to

Riverland Park is a new construction community on James Island that is in its early stages of development. It offers a very convenient location to downtown (5 minutes away), Folly Beach (10 minutes), and West Ashley. If you are coming from I-26 East, take exit 221-A and get on Highway 17 South toward Savannah. Veer left following signs for SC-700 Folly Beach. Once you cross the Wappoo Bridge, turn right at the foot of the bridge onto Maybank Highway. Turn left onto Riverland Drive. Riverland Park subdivision will be on your right hand side.

Crescent Homes is proud to give new homeowners not only excellent quality construction, but also convenient access to all of Charleston’s offerings. Homes in Riverland Park begin in the low $300’s and go up to