My Charleston South Carolina Real Estate Blog

It's slightly overcast, a touch of chill in the air, blue sky and sunshine struggling to break it's way through the grey blanket that lingers overhead. It all adds to persona that makes up Charleston really. A place that is known for it's humid, hazy days; it's hot, muggy evenings that give no relief to that heat of the day. It's Sunday and I am still slightly recovering from a cold I had caught earlier in the week. I haven't felt myself all week long and have been cooped up in the house for several days now. A lazy Sunday, as all Sundays should be if you ask me! I slept in today and relaxed in front of the TV till this afternoon. I guess being stuck inside most of the week had finally caught up with me because I had a massive urge to get outside; to just be in the open air; to simply smell the wonderful smells that are unique to Charleston.

Close to five in the evening now; I have gathered myself together and decided that Downtown Charleston is the place for me this day. I make my way over the James Island Connector, get off onto Lockwood Blvd. and follow it until I come upon Colonial Lakes. Easy to find a parking place today, especially this time as well; yet there are a surprising number of people out this evening. I guess I wasn't the only person with the idea of a walk this evening? Walking up Ashley Ave.; making my way towards the Battery now. There is no better way to truly appreciate the Fall sky of Charleston unless you see it gliding over the Charleston Harbor as it into the Ashley River. Absolutely beautiful; a vision that both inspires and awakens the soul. I love walking along the Harbor, gazing at the magnificent houses that align themselves along the water; Their quite majestic really, all the different types of architectural designs that have found their way here along this waterway. I catch myself staring while I walk, almost tripping over my own feet because I'm lost in the beauty of it all.

I continued down the Battery, right alongside the water. At time I slip across both of the One Way streets that make up Murray Blvd. in order to get a better view of a particular house that has caught my eye or has a for sale sign in front of it. As I made my way up to the Fort Sumter House, a woman was walking her dogs. Not one, but Three beautiful (black & white) Springer Spaniels bouncing along with their master in tow. Being a dog lover, I had to strike up a conversation. Beth was her name, she had kind eyes. The type of eyes you expect to see in a person who truly loves animals. I asked about the dogs and if my memory severs me right, all but one were "rescued" Springer's.  Dogs that were either abandoned or just in need of a good home. They were so cute, three different ages, one old, one middle aged and a youngster. Man, I tell you what; I was extremely tempted to take the young Springer home with me that evening. So, full of energy and affection. I had such a wonderful conversation with Beth. She was sharing with me how much Charleston had changed over the years, especially since Hugo hit. She told me that she could remember, before Hugo, that you could be out there on the Battery walking along the water and not a single car would have passed by for what seemed like forever. Just for comparisons, at least half a dozen cars happen to pass by us as we stood there and talked.

                I can't express how pleasing it is to live in a city where people are so friendly and open, where you can simply strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and before it's all over, you just might have made a new friend. God I love it here! Well Beth and I continued on for while longer and before I knew it the sky had become dark and the street lights glowed so warm and inviting. We broke off our chat and got back to where ever we were heading before. As I made to the tip of the Battery where Battery Park curls around and helps connect Murray Ave with East Bay Street, I remember how much I enjoy this spot at night. Not to take away from its beauty during the day, but at night with the hue of the Street Lights resplendent throughout the park and along the water way it makes for a whole different atmosphere. You just have to experience for yourself some time, it doesn't matter what time of the year, you will get the gist of what I'm trying to say here!

MLS Statistics Results
Sales and Inventory History
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Month	Year	Monthly Sales	Avg ListPrice	Avg Sale Price	% Diff Sell/list	Avg DOM	Curr Inventory	Months Inventory
January	2007	40	$438,090	$426,033	97.25%	102	292	7.3
February	2007	45	$334,557	$325,208	97.21%	81	310	6.89
March	2007	61	$329,134	$313,868	95.36%	75	359	5.89
April	2007	54	$400,578	$385,334	96.19%	113	361	6.69
May	2007	56	$347,957	$334,084	96.01%	91	361	6.45
June	2007	50	$339,900	$328,930	96.77%	104	365	7.3
July	2007	48	$345,062	$332,702	96.42%	90	364	7.58
August	2007	47	$329,159	$316,334	96.10%	97	363	7.72
September	2007	28	$405,068	$390,203	96.33%	125	376	13.43
October	2007	33	$315,171	$302,717	96.05%	106	371	11.24
November	2007	22	$303,556	$287,910	94.85%	116	358	16.27
December	2007	30	$375,308	$351,061	93.54%	103	339	11.3
Total		514	$355,295	$341,199	96.03%	100.3	352	9.01
Total	2007-2008	514	$177,648	$170,599	96.03%	50	176	4.5

(DOM) =  Days on Market " Length of time a house has been listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service"

So, What does it all mean?? 

To break it down simply; as the year progressed Single Family Homes being listed for sale on the Charleston Trident MLS slowly increased our inventory. As this inventory continued to increase, so did the days those listings stayed on the market. ( meaning homes were not selling ) You can also see that the number of homes sold per month decreased throughout the year while the actual months those same homes stayed in inventory steadily increased, meaning that what few buyers were out there looking to purchase were not willing to pay what Sellers were listing homes for.

To put it in a nutshell, sellers were not willing to market their listings' prices accordingly! Some blame can be brought upon the backs of Real Estate agents who are not willing or capable to strongly advise their "seller" clients that a proper price correction is completely necessary in order to sell the property. The other part of the blame falls solely on the Sellers themselves as they have refused to accept the fact that the market was shifting towards a Buyers Market and prices needed to adjust appropriately. This sort of "denial" caused property prices to stay elevated  all the while property values started to eroded underneath them. Before long, you start to see a somewhat "panic" begin with some sellers as they have pushed themselves into a corner where they are only left with the option of making a huge price cut  in order to get out of the situation that waiting too long has put them in to begin with!