While it may not always seem as such in my emails/updates, I am typically an optimist when it comes to Real Estate.  And, long term, I have no doubt that real estate from today forward is a wise and wonderful investment.  The issue that I face is that most of my sellers didn't buy in "today's" market, therefore the questions becomes, "Is it worth while to hold onto a property that is upside down, depreciating or otherwise no longer desired?'  For some people the answer is yes, but as needs change both personally and financially, the time to sell becomes "now" for many. 

Thus, in looking at the next three years, I always maintain a very strong sense of caution in my advisement (otherwise seen as sometimes depressing).  It is regretful that the facts are frequently not favorable.  It has also come to my attention that many of our clients are reviewing other companies and organizations information in addition to mine (a wise decision to hear market details from multiple sources).  But always consider the source.  For instance, Carolina One and the Local association of Realtors is always (in my opinion) more optimistic than reality.  Also, some news outlets are more pessimistic than reality.  My views and opinions are driven from several sources, but mainly from unemotional market facts.  The news media sells advertising (and bad news sells).  But why do the larger companies and organizations paint a more optimistic picture than some?  Simple.....I serve a few clients each year which means that my opinion is tailored to 100 or so personal relationships.  Larger organizations are trying to make the market look better than it is (or total optimistic while discounting some obvious facts) to serve thousands of people.   In other words, I don't focus on the good or the bad - I focus on everything and how it weighs in reality - no broad market propaganda.  My radio show nor my weekly updates have no agenda behind them other than to keep you informed. 

As such, I provide you a very quick update, this week:

Total listings - have climbed to 10,100 (an unsustainable number - we have added 1200 more listings than we've sold in our market since January 1) - This tells me that depreciation is still happening.

2111 pending sales as of today - while supply is going up rather quickly, so are sales - this is good which helps offset 75% of the damage all this new inventory could cause.

Roughly 50,000 housing units are upside down in our Tri-County area - this means short-sales are part of the norm for the next 3-5 years at least. 

We've had 703 sales in the MLS in the last 30 days - a nice improvement from the trend.  We have some optimism prevailing driving up sales - this is good.

Inflation will hamper our markets again in 3-5 years.

Interest rates will rise to approximately 5.75-6% by year's end.

Some markets in our nation are already double-dipping which is a leading indicator of further problems in the mid-term.  Due to Economics of things like Boeing and the Windmill plant, etc, Charleston will not likely double-dip; however, it will continue to decline at a snails pace, presenting continued challenges and foreclosures for at least two more years.

In other words, this is going to be a rough ride for many more months, but Charleston's outlook is very strong and rosy in the 5-10 year term.

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