JULY RESIDENTIAL SALES INCREASE 4% FROM ONE YEAR AGO

JULY RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES INCREASE 4% FROM ONE YEAR AGO

CHARLESTON, SC—(August 10, 2009) Preliminary data from the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® shows 796 residential properties changed hands in July, with a median sale price of $181,889. July’s activity resulted in the third consecutive month of increases in sales, and a more than 4% increase over sales in July 2008.

Inventory dropped slightly, with 10,852 homes currently listed for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service.

BERKELEY COUNTY
Berkeley County beat June’s year-to-date high of closed sales by 18% in July, with 190 homes sold. The median sales price was $147,950. The area around Highway 17-A showed the highest number of sales for the second month in a row. The Sangaree subdivision had the highest number of closed transactions in the county.

CHARLESTON COUNTY
Sales in Charleston County reached their highest level in 2009 during the month of July. 404 homes sold, at a median price of $228,500. The most active areas of the county were in West Ashley (outside of I-526 to Rantowles) and the area of Mount Pleasant south of Highway 41, where 69 homes sold in each area.

DORCHESTER COUNTY
170 homes sold in Dorchester County in July, with a median sale price of $166,837. The majority of market activity took place in the Summerville/Ridgeville area, with 65 sales. Legend Oaks and White Gables were the subdivisions with the most activity.

90-DAY ADJUSTMENT

CTMLS is now makes available adjusted sales reports 90 days following preliminary reports. The MLS is a user-driven system, with a number of factors that could delay entry of transactions beyond the preliminary reporting day on the 10th of each month. The adjusted figures reflect all transactions entered into the system up to 100 days after the close of the month.

Preliminary data from April 2009 showed 518 sales at a median price of $181,303. Adjusted numbers show 572 sales at the same median price.

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON HOME VALUE INDEXSM
The College of Charleston Monthly Home Value IndexSM indicates that the value of a typical home in the Charleston Tri-County Area increased by 1.87% in July 2009. In comparison, the change in the index value was +2.51% in June, 2009, and +8.61 in May, 2009. The index tracks the value of a “typical” home in each defined geographic area (tri-county and smaller areas) over time. The index should not be interpreted relative to the value of all homes, but to the value of a “typical” home with the contributions to value from that home’s features evaluated at the average estimated prices of those individual features. To view details of the College of Charleston’s Home Value IndexSM, please click here.