The real estate market is dynamic (ever-changing). In addition, real estate is "hyper-local", meaning that while the metro area may be behaving in a certain way (as a whole), sub-market areas may be behaving differently. The conventional wisdom says that 6 Months of Inventory (or a range from 5 to 7) corresponds to a "balanced" or "neutral" market, where the same numbers of homes come on the market than are sold in a given month, therefore the inventory is steady, there are no price fluctuations, and both buyers and sellers have the same amount of leverage. Above 7 months is a "buyer's market" as there are many available listings and not enough buyers (home prices tend to fall). Below 5 m...

Millenial?

Still Renting?

Download our free Guide to Millenials' Home Ownership to get started!

Visit www.BuyHomesInCharleston.com to start looking at homes for sale... #millenials #rent #homeownership #firsttimehomebuyers #dontwastemoney #buildwealth

Here is the analysis of residential properties going under contract (Active Contingent) during the week of 11/9/18-11/15/18 in the Charleston, SC MLS:

All MLS
300 residential properties under contract past week, which makes it a good week for this time of year.

• 68 condo/townhomes went under contract last week
• 232 single family homes went under contract this past week:

• Median LIST price $287,000
• Median price per square foot $145/sqft.
• 9 under $100,000, 12 over $1M (2 of those over $2M)
• Median days on market 37
• Median Year Built 1997
• 3(1%) of 232 single family homes under contract past week were BANK OWNED FORECLOSURES or SHORT SALES
• 11% were new construction
• NO short ...

As more and more baby boomers enter retirement age, the question of whether or not to sell their homes and move will become a hot topic. In today’s housing market climate, with low available inventory in the starter and trade-up home categories, it makes sense to evaluate your home’s ability to adapt to your needs in retirement.

According to the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents (NAEBA), there are 7 factors that you should consider when choosing your retirement home.

1. Affordability
“It may be easy enough to purchase your home today but think long-term about your monthly costs. Account for property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, utilities – all the things that will be due whe...

CHARLESTON IN THE NEWS

CHARLESTON CONTINUES TO RANK HIGH AMONG TRAVELERS

Charleston's historic charm, hospitality, food and entertainment scene, and area beaches continue to attract visitors! Each year, Travel + Leisure magazine asks its readers to share their opinions on the top cities, islands, resorts, hotels and more in its World's Best Awards survey. In 2018, Charleston retained its #1 position among US cities for the 6th year in a row and was the only US city (ranked 10th) included among the World's Top 15 Cities. Conde Nast Traveler magazine also polls its readers for its Readers' Choice Awards and they rated Charleston as the best small US city this year for the 8th consecut...

NOVEMBER 2018 NEWSLETTER - EVENTS CALENDAR

Clocks turn back an hour this Sunday, November 4th and Thanksgiving will be celebrated on November 22nd! The weather continues to be mild so try to get out and enjoy some of the many events scheduled for the Charleston area this month:

1: Toto: 40 Trips Around The Sun, Charleston Music Hall, Charleston

1-4: Of Mice and Men, Dock Street Theatre, Charleston

1-4: Coastal Carolina Fair, Exchange Club Park, Ladson

1-4: Disney on Ice Presents Worlds of Enchantment, North Charleston Coliseum

1-11/25: Charleston Art Festival's "Down Into Folds”: Paul Christina Solo Show, Beresford Studios, Charleston

2: TobyMac & DiverseCity Band: The Thea...

Holiday Season 2018: To Sell or Not To Sell...?

Is it a good idea to list your home for sale during the holidays?

Traditionally, people take their home off the market during the holidays, thinking that this is a "dead" period in the market and that it is not a good idea to leave their home on the market to prevent it from appearing "stale" at the beginning of the year. And many folks who are eager to sell wait until the spring to list their home, thinking it is a better time to sell. 

First of all, perception is different to reality: There are still a significant amount of sales during the end of the year holidays: In 2017 1,553 homes changed hands in November, 1,120 changed in Decembe...

There are many questions about where home prices will be next year as well as where they may be headed over the next several years to come. We have gathered the most reliable sources to help answer these questions:

The Home Price Expectation Survey – A survey of over 100 market analysts, real estate experts, and economists conducted by Pulsenomics each quarter.

Zelman & Associates – The firm leverages unparalleled housing market expertise, extensive surveys of industry executives, and rigorous financial analysis to deliver proprietary research and advice to leading global institutional investors and senior-level company executives.

Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) – As the leading ad...

Charleston, SC typically receives national recognition for its historic charm and tourism appeal, but increasingly, attention is being given to its recent and anticipated growth (and how to help manage it) as exemplified by the following news items:

CHARLESTON RANKED 4TH BIGGEST "BOOMTOWN" AMONG TOP 100 U.S. METROS
Magnify Money
August 6, 2018

Magnify Money has ranked Charleston 4th - among top 100 metros and just behind Austin TX, Provo UT, and Raleigh NC - for having experienced the biggest business growth, work opportunity expansion and influx of talent over the 2011-2016 period, based on the most recently available information from US Census American Community Survey and County Busi...

We are beginning to see reports that more housing inventory is coming to the market and that buyer demand may not be increasing at the same pace it did earlier this year. The result will be many headlines written to address the impact that these two situations will have on home values.

Many of these headline writers will confuse “softening home prices” with “falling home prices,” but there is a major difference between the two.

The data will begin to show that home values are not appreciating at the same rates as they had over the last several years (softening prices). This does NOT mean that prices are depreciating (falling prices).

[In Charleston, SC, for example, the median home pri...

October has arrived and, after a close call with Hurricane Florence last month, the fall weather is looking very nice for all kinds of activities in the Charleston area. Here is our October calendar of events:

1-7: 35th Annual MOJA Arts Festival, multiple Charleston area venues

1-31: Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch & 103.5 WEZL Corn Maze, Highway 17N, Mount Pleasant

3: Garden Concert Series: Amythyst Kiah and the Marshgrass Mamas, The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston

3-7: 35th Annual Alan Fleming Senior Open Clay State Championship Tennis Tournament, Seabrook Island

4-28: Preservation Society of Charleston's The Fall Tours: Homes, History & Architecture, multiple Charleston area venue...

Downtown Charleston (Area 51)
Edisto (Areas 26, 27 & 28)
Folly Beach (Area 22)
Isle of Palms (Areas 44 & 45)
James Island (Area 21) 
Johns Island (Area 23)
Kiawah Island (Area 25)
Lower Mount Pleasant (Area 42)
Meggett/Hollywood/Ravenel (Area 13) 
North Charleston (Areas 31 & 32)
Seabrook Island (Area 30)
Sullivans Island (Area 43)
Upper Charleston Peninsula (Area 52)
Upper Mount Pleasant (Area 41)
West Ashley (Areas 11 & 12)

By Warren L. Wise | [email protected]
More options for home shoppers in the suburbs
Prospective home buyers will have a few more choices in one of the Charleston region's large developing, mixed-use communities.

Nexton, near Summerville, has added three new home builders to its mix. They include Ashton Woods, David Weekley Homes and Homes by Dickerson.

They join Pulte, Del Webb, Saussy Burbank and TrueHomes, who are already on the ground in the 5,000-acre Berkeley County subdivision where about 6,500 homes are slated to be built over the next decade or so.

Nexton selected the home builders based on their integrity, quality of work and forward-thinking design philosophy, which para...

Johns Island Stats (August 2018)

View ALL Active Listings on Johns Island

Top 15 Things to Avoid When You List Your Home for Sale

As full-service Realtors, we come across all kinds of scenarios and situations. Many times we show a house and our buyer clients comment on things that "turn them off" right off the bat or lower their perceived value for the home.

Here is a list of the top 15 "tips" of things you should avoid as a seller, in order to have the best chance of attracting contracts and selling your home for top market price.

Specifically, 

1. DO NOT stay at home for Showings & Open Houses. It does not matter if you want to highlight all those improvements you made or describe how nice the neighbors are. Your mere presence will make buyers uneasy as t...

Here are some of the news items that appeared in different media about Charleston, SC:

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS PRAISE COUNTY, REGION FOR EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY
The Summerville Journal Scene
Jenna-Ley Harrison
August 30, 2018

Foreign companies are flocking to South Carolina, specifically the Charleston Metro region—and Dorchester County is one place reaping the benefits.
But the Palmetto State has roots in foreign trade relationships dating back to the 17th century so it’s really no surprise...

Read More...

GOOGLE INVESTING AN ADDITIONAL $600 MILLION IN ITS BERKELEY COUNTY OPERATIONS
South Carolina Department of Commerce
August 29, 2018

Google today confirmed plans to f...

September is going to be an eventful month! There is certainly something to entertain everyone. Not only do Charleston Restaurant Week and Charleston Beer Week overlap but top performers will be in town as part of festivals, such as the Lowcountry Jazz Festival this Labor Day weekend, and in solo acts, such as comedian Aziz Ansari, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah McLachlan and Jay Leno, to name a few.

Take a look at our September Calendar of Events - please feel free to forward to your friends, family and colleagues!

1-2: The Lowcountry Jazz Festival, Gaillard Center

1: CRAZY about Patsy Cline, Johns Island Regional Library

1-23: “Mamma Mia!”, Dock Street Theatre

4-5: Aziz Ansari W...

Mount Pleasant Real Estate Market Update

As part of our job as Realtors, we regularly review the "state of the market" for Mount Pleasant real estate to be able to provide sound advice to our clients.

This chart shows the percent of sold/original price that homes are selling for in Mount Pleasant. It is interesting to observe that in the last three years, this percentage has flattened at around 97%, and it never reached the heights achieved back in 2006.

Mount Pleasant acts as the "weathervane" for the rest of the Charleston, SC metro area. All the trends seem to start here and they "filter down" to the rest of the areas, usually with a lag of 1-2 years. 

Most major metro markets in ...

When people are considering a move from another state or country to South Carolina, one of the questions they ask is what the tax rates are in the state.

Sales tax (called VAT or value-added tax in some places) is charged on consumption of goods (and only SOME services). 

In South Carolina, the basic sales tax rate is 6%. In addition municipalities have the right to add local municipal taxes, so the total sales tax varies by city, and will range from 6% to 9%.

Here are the total sales tax for the main cities in SC (source: https://www.avalara.com/taxrates/en/state-rates/south-carolina.html)

What is Taxable?

Services in South Carolina are gene...