Market Trends

Among the cities and towns further inland, the Summerville real estate market remains strong because of its great public school system, charming small town feel, affordability, and large selection of new construction homes for sale.

Let’s look first at the absorption rate for Summerville (which our MLS categorizes as Areas 61, 62, and 63). Since this is one of the most affordable housing markets in Charleston, most homes for sale in Summerville are priced under $250K. The area’s affordability is perhaps one of the biggest draws for home buyers, so it’s no surprise that all 3 MLS areas show a sellers’ market in this price bracket. The absorption rate is 4 months. This indicates that if no new listings were to be added to the MLS, it would take 4

Like most areas around the country, the Charleston real estate market has cycled from a booming sellers’ market in 2005 and 2006 to a buyers’ market in 2008-2010 and back to a strong sellers’ market in 2013. At the Keadle Group, we’ve been in business since 2002, so we’ve experienced the full range of activity, helping both buyers and sellers throughout each of the market stages.

Fortunately, Charleston did not suffer the lull in its housing market as much as the rest of the country. In fact, it still ranked well in the down years because of the steady demand from home buyers relocating here. Our local economy and job market have remained relatively strong, which has also helped to shield Charleston over the years.

With the full 2013 stats in from the

Charleston’s real estate market has maintained its momentum throughout 2013. With the September MLS statistics now available, here are some of the trends we’re seeing:

• Compared to last year, there’s a 25% increase in closed sales, a 36% increase in closed volume, and an 8% increase in median sales price.
• In comparing today’s numbers to 2011, we’re seeing a 38% increase in closed sales, a 59% increase in closed volume, and a 15.6% increase in median sales price.
• Year To Date (the first 9 months of this year), there have been 9,562 closed sales with a median price of $208,000 (the average sales price is $288,228). The closed sales volume has been almost $2.8 billion.
• In the under $500,000 price point, there is a larger demand for homes than the

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

How is the Charleston SC real estate market? Has it been a good year? Whether you are purchasing or selling a home, 2013 is a fantastic year to be involved in the market. When comparing Charleston County’s 2013 year to date information to 2012’s year to date data, you will see that this year is doing leaps and bounds better than last year. By this time last year, sales volume was at just over $1.085 billion. For the current year to date, we are looking at a volume of over $1.425 billion in real estate sales. This is a $34 million increase in home sales volume in the Charleston area in just over a one year time period!

The average sales price for a home (including condos and townhomes) in Charleston County in 2012 YTD was $303K. However, the average

How is the West Ashley real estate market? We get this question quite often from prospective home buyers who are searching for a home in the Charleston real estate market. West Ashley is one of the more affordable suburb communities of Charleston, and it’s located just southwest of the city proper. You’ll find a range of purchasing opportunities – from historic houses to brand new construction homes in West Ashley.

Current prices for West Ashley houses for sale start in the high $100’s for a nice starter home and go up to a couple million dollars for a home on the Ashley or Stono River. Most condos in West Ashley range from $100K to $250K for a larger floor plan. However, keep in mind that many of the condos on the lower end of this scale are cash

The Charleston real estate market has had the strongest quarter we’ve seen in years! From January 1 to March 31, Charleston sold 2,361 homes with a median sales price of $193,000. Comparing this quarter to the same time last year, that’s a 16.5% increase in the number of sales and a 7.3% increase in the median sales price.

As the inventory of homes for sale continues to decline, we’re seeing more new construction projects in the area. However, many of these subdivisions and subsections won’t be available until later this year or early next year. A growing demand for homes combined with the decrease in today’s inventory has resulted in significantly higher prices for these new construction homes – not to mention the recent cost increases for lumber

Most areas within the Charleston real estate market have undergone significant changes over the past month. In the most popular areas, we’re now commonly seeing listings get multiple offers within just a few days of coming onto the market. The inventory of homes for sale has been slowly diminishing over the past year, but only recently has the number of MLS listings reached the 4,000 mark. Some areas are seeing less than a 2 months’ supply of homes, which shows a strong sellers’ market.

If your time frame is more than 2 months, know that most of the homes we’re sending you will not be available when it comes time for you to purchase. However, these homes can certainly help you to keep an eye on the Charleston real estate market, learn what you can

When looking at the MLS statistics for the Charleston SC real estate market as a whole, we’re seeing positive trends when we compare 2012 to 2011. This past year saw a 14% increase in the number of homes closed (from 8,992 to 10,215), a 5% increase in the median sales price (from $183,000 to $192,970), and also a 6% increase in the average price per square foot (from $117/sq ft to $124/ sq ft).

If we focus on specific markets for Charleston’s real estate, we see that Charleston County has had a 20% increase in the number of homes closed (from 4,982 to 5,985) and a 4% increase in the median sales price (from $219,900 to $228,000). Now let’s look at some of the specific MLS areas for Charleston County:

• West Ashley inside 526: 33% increase in homes

Here is the second installment of our Charleston SC real estate market update for the last quarter of 2012. Let’s now look at absorption rates by area and price range. When you look at these numbers, keep in mind that while parts of Charleston have reverted back to a strong sellers’ market, others have seen very few closings in the past several months. So when we’re asked, “How is Charleston’s real estate market?” the answer is that it completely depends on what area and price you will be considering.

The MLS statistics show a sellers’ market in these areas and price ranges:

• Under $250K: West Ashley, James Island, Johns Island, Folly Beach, Wadmalaw, Mt. Pleasant, Downtown Charleston (inside the Crosstown), Summerville, Hanahan, Goose Creek (the