Charleston South Carolina market report, March 2008

April 29, 2008

The Charleston real estate market seems to defy gravity when it comes to home prices. While the median price declined by about 5% from March 2007 to March 2008 for all sales in the Charleston area, when you analyze the most recent 12 month period and compare it to the previous 12 month period and when you break the housing market into classifications by price and type of property, the picture is not as gloomy as the media might make you think.

Don’t misunderstand for a moment that the Charleston South Carolina real estate market is soaring and doesn’t have a problem in the world because obviously, that just isn’t the case. Inventory started to increase over a year ago and sales started to decline at about the same time. While inventory has stabilized with the possible exception of Charleston luxury real estate, unit sales continue to decline from previously lower levels.

It’s probably a combination of fear of buying because of the doom and gloom reported by the media, a fear of paying too much because you think your home might be worth less tomorrow and certainly, the unavailability of previously available mortgage products to those who can no longer qualify for a loan.

Anecdotal evidence seems to point to sellers finally understanding that their home is no longer worth what it might have been at the peak of the market in 2005. Some have decided to take their home off the market and stay put, others are renting their home rather than sell for less than they think it might be worth. There are some foreclosures available at good prices, although the condition is generally poor at best. There are some homeowners in trouble and there are a bunch of “short sales” in the MLS, unfortunately, the sale can’t be negotiated without the approval of the lender or lenders and they have been generally unresponsive. And there are some motivated sellers who simply have to sell and good deals are available.

The most important thing is to analyze and understand the real value of the property and make an offer that will not be spurned as insulting yet not pay the asking price. If the property is well priced, while you shouldn’t have to pay list price, you are not going to be able to get it at a big discount. Actually, if a property is very overpriced, you more than likely won’t bother to view it.

Statistics compiled by Howard Arnoff using the Charleston MLS as the source of data, information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Single family homes

Under 600k
Dates	Sales	Avg Sale	Median Sale	DOM
4/1/2006-3/31/2007	10,651	$231,543	$205,798	57
4/1/2007-3/31/2008	8,069	$230,954	$205,000	77
Change	-24.24%	-0.25%	-0.39%	35.09%
Over 600k
Dates	Sales	Avg Sale	Median Sale	DOM
4/1/2006-3/31/2007	1,092	$1,112,033	$869,500	106
4/1/2007-3/31/2008	778	$1,156,888	$850,000	149
Change	-28.75%	4.03%	-2.24%	40.57%

Condos and townhomes

Under 600k
Dates	Sales	Avg Sale	Median Sale	DOM
4/1/2006-3/31/2007	3,223	$191,337	$174,900	49
4/1/2007-3/31/2008	2,386	$211,198	$180,000	88
Change	-25.97%	10.38%	2.92%	79.59%
Over 600k
Dates	Sales	Avg Sale	Median Sale	DOM
4/1/2006-3/31/2007	186	$967,539	$801,775	94
4/1/2007-3/31/2008	186	$967,683	$872,500	102
Change	0.00%	0.01%	8.82%	8.51%