Area real estate market improving | The Post and Courier ...

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Real Estate

The number of homes for sale across the region dipped to a five-year low in September, while sales volume increased by double-digits for the third straight month, the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors said Monday.

While the inventory of homes for sale locally is still roughly double what it was before the housing market overheated -- nearly 8,000 are on the market now versus around 4,000 in 2004 -- the report shows steady improvement in market conditions.

When there is a glut of homes for sale and the supply far outstrips demand, it takes longer to sell those homes and it's harder for home-sellers to get the price they are asking. As the housing bubble peaked there were 11,879 homes for sale in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties, in the spring of 2008.

Demand fell sharply in the following years, along with prices, as the nation plunged into recession and homes sat on the market for months awaiting buyers.

Breakdown

Charleston County

399 homes sold at a median price of $215,000, representing a 14% increase in sales and a 4% decline in the median price when compared to September 2010.

Berkeley County

190 homes sold at a median price of $175,237. That marked a 10% increase in sales and a 4% gain in median price from a year ago.

Dorchester County

163 homes sold at a median price of $162,500, for a 36% increase in sales volume and an 8% decline in prices from September 2010.

Last month the number of homes for sale dropped below 8,000 for the first time since 2006, the association reported. During the month, 774 homes were sold though the local Multiple Listing Service, at a median price of $183,822.

"This is an incredibly positive sign for the Charleston real estate market" said Rob Woodul, president of the Realtors group.

Pricing remains soft -- good news for buyers, who are shopping at a time of record-low interest rates, with 30-year mortgages available at around 4 percent interest.

The median price of a home sold in the tri-county area last month was about $5,000 lower than a year earlier, and sellers this year have been accepting, on average, about 90 percent of their original asking price.

"Our local market is still weighted in the buyer's favor, but a consistently shrinking inventory may indicate a more balanced buyer/seller ratio," Woodul said. "We expect to see the volume of sales gradually slow, as it typically does heading into the end of the year, but buying activity continues to outperform 2010 levels."

Reach David Slade at 937-5552.

Source: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/oct/11/area-real-estate-market-improving/

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