Region’s home sales dip in Oct.
Homes also staying on market longer, but prices holding steady
BY KATY STECH
October homes sales in the Charleston region were down compared with the same month last year, another sign that the market is continuing to cool off after a long run-up.The latest figures from the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors show that 1,024 homes changed hands sold last month. That number, which only includes properties sold through the group’s widely used Multiple Listing Service, is down by 13.3 percent compared with October 2005.
Homes are also staying on the market longer than in previous years in Charleston. On average, those sold in October took 77 days to secure buyers. In the same month for 2004 and 2005, homes sat for 63 and 54 days respectively.
“The market is leveling itself out,” said C. J. Crankshaw, a real estate agent with Century 21 in Goose Creek.
Though fewer homes are selling, Crankshaw doesn’t expect prices to decline to match the market. Instead, he says they will likely hover around their current value.
Median home prices in October compare evenly to the prices from other months this year. In October, homes closed at the median price of $206,950. The median price so far this year is $207,593.
The steady prices show that the Charleston area’s housing market has been relatively sheltered from the impact of a temperamental national market, experts said.
During the past five years, home prices in the region didn’t double or triple like markets in Florida, California or the
Washington, D.C., area, said Lawrence Yun, an economist for the National Association of Realtors.
“The fall will be less, and they may not even experience a fall at all,” Yun said of prices in Charleston.
And so far, those looking to sell their homes haven’t been discouraged from joining in the fray. October saw 2,180 new homes up for sale. That’s 7.4 percent more than the same month last year and 30 percent more than October 2004.
For the entire state, 5,135 homes changes hands last month, down nearly 10 percent.
Charleston’s decline last month was not as steep as in other coastal markets’. Housing sales fell by about 21 percent since last October in the areas of Myrtle Beach, Conway and Georgetown. To the south, the Beaufort area also reported a decline of 22 percent.
Across the state, housing numbers have remained steady in the Columbia and Greenville markets.
The only places in state where housing sales have increased from last year are around Aiken (9 percent), Florence (24 percent) and Spartanburg (12 percent).
If you are looking for a home in Charleston, Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island, Wild Dunes visit my new MLS page www.dustinryan.com/charleston-mls.html I have upgraded the links for easy searches. Remember, when you find a home of interest let me know so we can get started on paperwork before its gone!
Dustin
