Wow, what a lot of activity for the first 3 weeks of the year!

Current Inventory in Tri-County Area For Sale: 6,271 homes
Under Contract: 1,348 homes
Pending Sale: 435 homes
Sold since Jan. 1, 2012: 259 homes - 77 of which were Short Sales and Foreclosures (nearly 1 in 3 sales)

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of activity in the Isle of Palms, Wild Dunes, Sullivan's Island and Downtown Charleston markets - especially in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 range.  Many of the Clients I've been working with for the past few months to the past few years are starting to find the "value" associated with these areas to be attractive. Rental income has hardly subsides, yet prices have come down 30, 40, 50, ...

2011 saw it's share of ups and downs (up in transactions, down in prices and inventory) - will 2012 be more of the same? 

I believe we'll see our distressed shadow inventory still in some stage of foreclosure start to make it's way through the pipeline as Servicers and the state Attorneys General reach amicable terms for the "robo-signing" scandal we heard so much about this year.  If this happens, we may see the floodgates open and become saturated with a sizable inventory of foreclosures in 2012. 

Another concern is the recent talk of creating a lenient modification program for homeowners behind on payments or under water in their mortgage.  Such a government-imposed program could del...

125 homes sold at a median price of $176,000 during November in Dorchester County, which shows a healthy increase in sales volume and notable increase in price, compared to last November’s 112 sales at a median price of $152,136.

The most active area was Summerville/Ridgeville, where 68 homes sold at a median price of $186,400; also making it the most expensive area in November.  The most affordable homes sold in the St. George/Harleyville area, where 4 homes sold at a median price of $112,500.

For a full report of Dorchester County please contact me.

Brian Beatty
LowCountryHomeSales@gmail.com
(843) 345-1273

168 homes sold at a median price of $175,312 in Berkeley County in November—a considerable improvement from last November, when 138 sales resulted in a median price of $169,187. 

The most active area of the county was Goose Creek/Monck’s Corner from Highway 52 to the Cooper River, where 45 homes changed hands at a median price of $164,590.  The most expensive homes in the County can be found on Daniel Island, where the median home price last month was $387,000.  The most affordable homes in Berkeley County are in the area of St. Stephen/Bonneau, where the median home price was $57,900.

For a full report on Berkeley County please contact me.

Brian Beatty
LowCountryHomeSales@gmail.com
(843...

335 homes sold at a median price of $225,848 in November in Charleston County; compared to 318 sales at a median price of $236,175 last November. 

Outside of the county’s largest geographic area of Mount Pleasant, where 94 homes sold at a median price of $318,125, the most active area of the county was again, in West Ashley (outside I-526) where 51 homes sold at a significantly increased median price of $198,250.  The most expensive homes in the County sold in the resort community of Wild Dunes, where 9 sales resulted in a median price of $827,900.  The most affordable homes sold in North Charleston (inside I-526) where 16 homes changed hands at a median price of $55,000.

For a full repo...

In this Blog I am going to throw out some numbers from this month, this year and how they compare to the market for the past 4 years. Some of the key things to point out:

Sales for the past 12 months vs. the 12 months prior are about the same Price per square foot is still declining, which is consistent with the median price reductions you'll notice Months of Inventory has reduced (aka supply) BECAUSE prices continue to reduce to the point where Buyers find property values worthwhile The difference between the Sales Price and the Asking Price continues to grow as Sellers become more willing to negotiate

Please contact me if you'd like information on what's going on in your area, ...

Current Active Properties:  7,943
Under Contract:  2,038
Sold in Past 30 Days:  846

According to RealtyTrac, Default Notices, which is the first stage of Foreclosure, rose by 33% month-to-month.  This may be seen as a sign that the large backlog of Foreclosures we've had hanging over our head due to robo-signing and other documentation-related issues are starting to clear and Banks are back to pulling the trigger on foreclosing on home owners.  As a result, this will inevitably lead to an increase in REO properties in the coming 6-24 months.

The big news story as it relates to Foreclosures is the surge of Bank of America Foreclosures.  As a nation, we recorded 4.38 milliion delinquent loa...

It's been a while since my last market update and for that I apologize!  September 1 marks the beginning of my fiscal year so for the past few weeks I have been on vacation and focused on year-end activities. 

Here is the latest:

Active listings: 7.997
Pending Sales: 2,058
Sales in August: 910

These numbers are much better than they were a few months ago but we have to remember that they are starting to adjust with the seasonality of Real Estate sales. Here is a report from Centralized Showing Services that details the amount of showings logged from all Real Estate Agents.  Due to the nature of the website that provides the data I have included information on homes priced between $250,00...

The big news (if that's what you want to call it) is that we have reached a mutual agreement on the Debt Ceiling Crisis, which could have been a catastrophe if not properly addressed by Tuesday of this week.  Of course it needs to get passed both in the Senate and by the House but I don't think politicians on Capital Hill are dumb enough to get our credit rating reduced by Moody's; a scenario that would add several points to our historically low interest rates within a matter of 12 months.

Charleston's real estate market is "slow and steady" at the moment.  There are currently 7,651 residential properties for sale in the tri-county area.  1,530 properties are contingent, 538 properties a...

The market is difficult to judge right now.  On one hand, showings on my listings, offers, and general interest is good.  On the other hand, online traffic is beginning to slow down, which is usually a precursor to a market slowdown.  By this I mean new Buyers are entering the market at a decelerated pace, which will in effect mean a slower market 3-6 months from now. 

From the perspective of a Buyer and a Seller the properties that are selling right now (envision the average home in the average neighborhood with several homes for sale) are the ones that are priced in the bottom 30%.  Overpriced homes are simply "available;" that does not necessarily mean that they will sell.  If you're ...

Based on YTD sales figures  from CTARMLS I am currently ranked as the #1 Buyer's Agent in Charleston County for Single Family Homes!  If anyone is continuously reading my Blog and wants to learn more about Foreclosures, Short Sales, the market, financing, etc. please don't hesitate to call or email me.  I look forward to helping many more in what is sure to be a great 2nd half of 2011!

Brian Beatty
(843) 345-1273
LowCountryHomeSales@gmail.com

Here are the current numbers for the Charleston, SC tri-county area real estate market:

Active Listings:  8680
Pending Sale:  2269
Sold in Past 30 Days:  834

Looking at the numbers I've provided below it would seem all is well in our Real Estate market and we are generating enough sales to bridge the gap between "actual value" and what Buyers are "willing to pay" due to uncertainty in the market and economy as a whole.  What is difficult to help people understand, especially because we don't have exact figures, is the effect the back-log of Foreclosures will have on the sub-markets listed below. 

Many of you likely feel like you live in a neighborhood that is a ticking time bomb as you k...

Latest MLS Data for Charleston Trident MLS system:

8751 active listings
2259 Pending contracts

The market data for our area is presently very stable.  We are selling a decent amount of homes monthly compared to inventory levels and if you were none the wiser you'd think we are about to reach a point where you might conclude we are starting to "normalize."  What we must keep in mind, however, is that this data does not take into account thousands of distressed properties that will be listed for sale in the next 6-12 months as Banks release their Foreclosures.  It is estimated that each of the four major banks have 400-800 units per bank to process (Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo and Ci...

If you're reading this email and own a home under $350,000 in value in Mt. Pleasant, then you may be at the bottom.  Otherwise, there simply are not numbers to support a bottom in any other segment of our market.

Charleston County has 36-48 months of Foreclosures to process (at current consumption levels), Berkeley and Dorchester are at 50-60 months.  This is due to the SC Supreme Court Freeze on Foreclosures.  By contrast, Miami is 25 months, Phoenix is just shy of 30 and Las Vegas stands at just 7 months.  That is where we are right now and property values in Charleston, SC don't look good - again.

Inventory is moving upward (slightly) and now stands at 8701 units for sale.

Our pe...

Charleston Area MLS Statistical review:

8687 - Total Active Listings
2238 - Total Pending Contracts
793 - Total Sales in May
 
The moving average for value in our market is down 4% since last year.  The actual decline in prices, may in fact be double that on the average to upper-end single family home.  Condos have fallen by as much as 12-20% in some areas, in the past 12 months. 

Sales closed are down 18% this May verses last May.  But, remember, last May was a big "tax credit closing" month, therefore, if you factor out those numbers, we are about "flat."

Here is a breakdown of what is actually selling (as you can see, the major bulk of transactions are under $450,000):

MLS Ye...

The best way to describe the current environment and statistics is to say we are in a "sales window of opportunity."  We expect for about 90 days to see an impressive sales market, with stable numbers.  However, the more recent surveys point to two troubling issues we have yet to put behind us.  First, Home buyer sentiment (see below market stats for recent quotes), and the "log-jam" of pending foreclosures.  It is estimated that the price of real estate stands to fall another 5-11% Nationally in 2011 (most of which will be in the last two quarters) as a result of the foreclosure "log jam."  While Charleston's numbers, overall, may perform slightly better, I think it's fair, and ...

Latest MLS Data:

8749 - homes and condos presently for sale
2239 - Homes presently under contract
786 - the unofficial tally of homes sold in our MLS area in April

The big news last week in real estate for our area is that The Supreme Court put another set of roadblocks in front of the banks on the foreclosure process.  It requires banks to jump through more hurdles and prove they have attempted modification efforts before finalizing foreclosure proceedings.  What does this mean?  About six more weeks worth of delays.  Or in terms of our sellers, six more weeks of reduced foreclosure inventory in order to sell more favorably. 

It is unlikely we'll see a big change in foreclosure num...

CTARMLS - MARKETWIDE:

8825 - Active Listings
907 - Sold in the past/completed 30 day measurement period.
2209 listings under contract.

The above are some of the most interesting numbers seen in the past four years.  The numbers tell a very mixed story.  On one level, there were 907 homes sold in the past 30 days, which I'd say is wonderful.  However, that is only enough to consume the number of new listings hitting the market, but not enough to reduce the inventory (not wonderful).  There are 2209 listings under contract (pretty good), and we have no government tax credit this Spring; this shows a nice resilience in our market. 

In order to make sense of the great sales closed numbe...

Last week two of my colleagues attended the REOMAC convention in California.  This convention assembles top Real Estate Brokers, Economists, banking professionals and industry experts to discuss market trends and foreclosure information.

Based on the information that was shared here is the general consensus:

1.  The economy will gradually improve as it is doing now.
2.  Inflation is a real concern going into 2012.
3.  The government is going to reduce it's impact on the mortgage market which will dampen our recovery.
4.  Elevated foreclosure inventory is likely to last for 5-6 more years due to the backlog of foreclosures.  Default rates are simply too high to think this will all end ne...

In the last completed 30 day reporting period, MLS shows 696 homes sold/closed. 
We (MLS) have 2099 pending properties in MLS which means we have peaked based on the last three week's reporting.
Activity is still over 5,000 showings per week in MLS right now.  That is strong. 
Active listings are approaching 9000 again at 8829.  I suspect we will cross the 9000 threshold again in the next 30-45 days, which represents the brink of "tremendous oversupply."   

We anticipate a generally stable market through June 15, followed by more economic, political and housing supply-driven instability which will lower prices for the last time in this bust period (2007-2011).  Next year will offer ...