Residential Real Estate Sales Volume Down; Median Price Increases 6%

Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® Local Market Update - June 2011According to preliminary figures released today by the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR), 902 homes sold at a median price of $195,955 in June—the highest recorded sales volume and peak for pricing so far this year. Last June, as the homebuyer tax credit drew to a close, more than 1,000 homes changed hands at a median price of $185,612. This June’s sales volume is 12% lower, while median price increased 6%.

Both sales and prices made significant month-over-month gains. Sales volume is up 12% and median price increased 9% from May.

The jump in median price is likely attributable to increased activity among repeat or move-up buyers. “It is challenging to draw meaningful comparisons between these drastically different markets, however, the majority of activity last year was first-time buyers” said Rob Woodul, 2011 CTAR President. “Repeat, move-up and second home buyers generally purchase in a higher price range, which could explain the increase in median price” he said.

The exclusive resort—and largely second-home—community of Wild Dunes showed significant year over year increases, as sales volume more than doubled and June’s median price shot into the $800,000 range.
“We continue to see healthy levels of buyer interest and showings, which are important indicators of where our market could be headed, but we still have a significant amount of distressed inventory. In the next few months, prices will likely settle back into the $170-180,000 range, which is a more typical price range for this year” said Woodul.

There were 8,795 homes listed as actively for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service as of June 30, 2011.

Charleston Area Real Estate Market Makes Month Over

CHARLESTON AREA REAL ESTATE MARKET MAKES MONTH-OVER-MONTH IMPROVEMENTS

Year-over-year data continues to show the difference of a non-incentivized market

CHARLESTON, SC—(June 10, 2011) According to preliminary data released by the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR) 804 homes sold at a median price of $179,945 in May, which reflects 8% less buying activity and a 4% reduction in median price when compared to May 2010, when 878 homes sold at a median price of $186,497, as buyers were responding to the appeal of the homebuyer tax credit.

Sales volume grew by 4% and median price increased by 3% from April to May.

"We anticipate declines in year-over-year sales volume through the third quarter of this year. The data we’re analyzing thus far in 2011 reflects activity in a non-incentivized market, so it’s difficult to draw meaningful comparisons over last year’s figures” said 2011 CTAR President Rob Woodul.

The tax credit required a ratified contract to be in place by April 30, with an initial closing deadline of June 30. Legislation enacted in July 2010 extended the deadline to September 30.

“Most of the transactions encouraged by the appeal of the tax credit closed in May, June and July of last year—we saw huge gains in sales volume during those months” said Woodul. “It’s unlikely that we’ll reach those levels this year and we won’t really be able to determine how well our market is adjusting until later this year” he added.

There were 8,895 homes listed as actively for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service as of May 31, 2011.

April Adjustment
Preliminary numbers reported for April 2011 indicated 776 homes sold at a median price of $175,000. Adjusted numbers now show 801 sales at a median price of $177,000.

BERKELEY COUNTY
192 homes sold at a median price of $147,815 in May. This data reflects a decrease in both sales and prices when compared to May 2010’s 202 sales at a median price of $165,517.

The area with the highest sales volume is bordered by Goose Creek-Monck’s Corner and Highway 52, where 42 homes changed hands. Daniel Island logged the County’s highest median sale price at $310,000, while the County’s most affordable area is Cross and Bonneau, where the median price was recorded at $55,000.

CHARLESTON COUNTY
421 homes sold at a median price of $226,000 in Charleston County in May. This reflects a decrease in sales and stability in pricing when compared to May 2010’s 475 sales at a median price of $228,000.

The most active area of Charleston County was Mount Pleasant, where 118 homes sold. The highest median price of $1,335,000 was on Sullivan’s Island while the most affordable area of the County is again in North Charleston (inside of I-526).

DORCHESTER COUNTY
165 homes sold at a median price of $164,900 in Dorchester County. This reflects stability in both sales and prices when compared to May 2010’s 170 sales at a median price of $165,000.

The highest sales volume in occurred in the Summerville/Ridgeville area of Dorchester County, where 21 homes changed hands. The area of North Charleston bordered by Summerville and Ladson recorded the County’s highest median price at $171,257. The most affordable area of Dorchester County in May was Saint George and Harleyville, with a median price of $58,000.

With approximately 3,500 members, CTAR’s mission is to promote the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, education and technology, and to ensure that its members are the primary source for real estate services in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Only those who are members of the Association of REALTORS® and its parent organizations are called REALTORS®. To learn more, visit www.CharlestonRealtors.com.

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATES SALES VOLUME INCREASES, MEDIAN PRICE DECLINES IN JANUARY

CHARLESTON, SC—(February 10, 2011) According to preliminary data released by the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® 484 homes sold at a median price of $174,495 in January. Revised data for January 2010 shows that 450 homes sold at a median price of $193,000.

Homes are selling an average of 11 days faster than they were a year ago, with average days on market settling at 117 for January 2011.

“We anticipated the decline in prices and expect to see prices trend downward somewhat in the first part of this year—our foreclosure-heavy inventory isn’t going to support upward movement of prices, but it is encouraging to see another uptick in sales volume” said 2011 CTAR President Rob Woodul.

There were 8,428 homes listed as actively for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service as of January 31, 2011.

BERKELEY COUNTY
Preliminary figures show that 104 homes sold in Berkeley County at a median price of $151,775 in January.

89 Single-Family Detached homes sold at a median price of $160,000, while 14 Townhomes/Condos sold at a median price of $90,505.

The most active part of Berkeley County was the area bordered by Jedburg Road/Highway 17A/College Park.

Click here for a full report on Berkeley County.

CHARLESTON COUNTY
Preliminary figures show that 278 properties changed hands in Charleston County in January, at a median price of $219,949.

204 Single-Family Detached homes sold at a median price of $259,750 and 74 Townhomes/Condos changed hands at a median price of $135,000.

The area north of the Isle of Palms connector in Mount Pleasant had the most activity in the County, closely followed by the area of West Ashley outside I-526 and Mount Pleasant south of the Isle of Palms connector.

Click here for a full report on Charleston County.

DORCHESTER COUNTY
Preliminary figures show that 87 homes sold at a median price of $137,500 in Dorchester County in January.

76 Single-Family Detached homes sold at a median price of $144,000, while 11 Townhouses/Condos sold at a median price of $104,335.

The Summerville/Ridgeville area of Dorchester County was the most active in January.

Click here for a full report on Dorchester County.

With 3,000 members, CTAR’s mission is to promote the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, education and technology, and to ensure that its members are the primary source for real estate services in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Only those who are members of the Association of REALTORS® and its parent organizations are called REALTORS®. To learn more, visit www.CharlestonRealtors.com.

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES POST GAINS IN DECEMBER

According to preliminary data released by the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS®, 657 homes sold at a median price of $182,000 in the tri-county in December. Those figures represent a 6% increase in sales volume and a 7% decline in prices when compared to December 2009 when 618 homes sold at a median price of $195,534.

“It is encouraging that sales have shown consistent and steady growth—the number of closed transactions increased about 5% over last year. We may see some price softening in the coming year as we continue to work through the surplus of foreclosures that make up a significant part of our local inventory” said 2011 CTAR President Rob Woodul.

There were 8,233 homes actively listed for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service as of December 31, 2010.

A complete recap of 2010 market activity, with specific reports for Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties and reviews of individual MLS areas will be released January 21.

Berkeley County
155 homes sold at a median price of $160,000 in December 2010. Last year, 141 homes sold at a median price of $170,112.

Charleston County
In Charleston County, 353 residential properties changed hands at a median price of $225,000. Last December, 313 properties sold at a median price of $250,000.

Dorchester County
128 homes sold at a median price of $163,250 in December. In December 2009, 146 homes sold at a median price of $167,830.

November 2010 Adjustment
Preliminary numbers reported for November 2010 indicated 588 homes sold at a median price of $189,700. Adjusted numbers now show 611 sales at a median price of $192,000.

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES VOLUME DECREASES, MEDIAN PRICE REMAINS STABLE IN NOVEMBER

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SALES VOLUME DECREASES, MEDIAN PRICE REMAINS STABLE IN NOVEMBER

CHARLESTON, SC—(December 10, 2010) According to preliminary data from the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS® (CTAR) 588 homes sold at a median price of $189,700 during the month of November.

Sales volume is 25% lower than in November 2009, when the original tax credit deadline of November 30 spurred an unprecedented number of sales (783).

Median price remained stable at $189,700—a slight variation (3%) from October’s median price of $194,785 and a healthy 10% higher than November 2009’s median price of $173,000, when buyer activity was heavily concentrated in the typically lower first-time buyer price range.

“We expected to see sales volume down in this quarter compared to last year. Sales are no longer being supported by the appeal of the tax credit, so it’s not surprising that sales decreased. Looking at the big picture, year-to-date sales are higher this year than last, and prices have shown stability over the last several months, which is encouraging for the market’s continued recovery,” said Rob Woodul, 2011 President of the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS®.

Year-to-date, sales are 6% ahead of this point last year and median prices have fluctuated very little over the last 11 months—from a peak of $199,055 in August to a low of $179,900 in February. The year-to-date median price is 4% higher than it was at the end of November 2009.

At the end of November, the number of homes listed as actively for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was 8,802.

BERKELEY COUNTY
138 homes sold at a median price of $169,187 in November in Berkeley County. The median home price for 196 sales in November 2009 was $154,700.

CHARLESTON COUNTY
In Charleston County, median price jumped to $236,175 for the 318 homes that sold in November. Last year, 361 homes changed hands at a median price of $225,000 in November.

DORCHESTER COUNTY
Dorchester County data showed a median price of $152,136 from 112 sales. Last November, 199 properties sold at a median price of $150,000.

OCTOBER 2010 ADJUSTMENT
Preliminary numbers reported for October 2010 indicated 630 homes sold at a median price of $194,887. Adjusted numbers now show 657 sales at a median price of $194,785.

With nearly 4,000 members, CTAR’s mission is to promote the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, education and technology, and to ensure that its members are the primary source for real estate services in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Only those who are members of the Association of REALTORS® and its parent organizations are called REALTORS®. To learn more, visit www.CharlestonRealtors.com. ###