Bi-Monthly MLS Statistics for Tri-County Charleston

The MLS stats are in for November 16-30, 2012. When comparing YTD (Year to Date) numbers for 2011 and 2012, here are the findings:

• 5,213 Active listings in 2012 compared to 6,488 in 2011 (that’s a decrease of 1,275, or 20% fewer homes for sale than this time last year)
• the number of closed homes for 2012 was 9,325 (remember that this was a few weeks ago) compared to 8,227; this is an increase of 1,098, or 13% listings that have closed

These numbers show that the Charleston real estate market as a whole is recovering well. If we focus on specific areas, here’s what we find:

• areas with the highest number of closed homes include West Ashley (with 40 closed homes in this two week period), James Island (24 closed), North Charleston (60), Mt. Pleasant (74), Summerville/Ladson/Ridgeville (96), and Goose Creek (38)
• areas with the lowest number of closings are Rural West Ashley (3), Wadmalaw (1), Folly Beach (5), Kiawah/Seabrook (5), Sullivan’s Island (0), Isle of Palms (2), Wild Dunes (3), and Moncks Corner (1)

You’ll find that in general this past year, the beaches have not performed as well as other areas of Charleston. Economists and other real estate experts expect that these areas will be some of the last sections of the Charleston market to recover – partly because of the higher price ranges and partly because these are usually second homes. In other words, most home buyers who are looking to relocate for a job, move up to a bigger primary home, or purchase their first home are not looking at the beaches (and these groups make up the majority of home buyers right now).