Mount Pleasant Homes Below $500K – Prices are Increasing

Overall, the market for Mount Pleasant single family homes priced below $500,000 is quite strong as we currently have only 3.7 months of inventory in that price segment.  As we move into the 2012 real estate market, the lower inventory levels in this price segment should provide us with some price appreciation.  While the price appreciation will probably be rather small (the days of 15-20% per year are over!!), it is good news for Mount Pleasant home sellers.  The chart below shows a further breakdown for months of available inventory by price range…

As you climb the price scale, it becomes much more challenging for sellers.  As you can see from the chart, the months of inventory for homes above $500,000 is significantly higher.  It is not likely that we will see any price appreciation in these segments until we see a significant increase in demand and lower inventory levels.

Mount Pleasant Condo Market – Improving, but Lags Single Family Market

In contrast, the Mount Pleasant condo market is not rebounding quite as quickly as the single family home market.  For example, there are 7.7 months of available inventory for condos, 2 months more than we have for single family homes.  In addition, the luxury condo market is really struggling as there are 29.3 months of inventory for condos priced above $500K versus only 7.1 months for condos priced below $500K.  The chart below shows a comparison between the single family and condo inventory levels…..

What’s Ahead in 2012 for the Mount Pleasant Real Estate Market?

As we move into the spring selling season, we will likely continue to see reasonably strong demand for homes priced below $500,000 in Mount Pleasant.  However, asking price and condition of the home will still be very important in order to obtain offers.  For homes priced above $500,000, sellers will continue to feel some price pressure until the inventory levels fall back in line with historical “sellers market” levels (usually less than 6 months of inventory).  Many of the more expensive homes will sell this year, but buyers can still afford to be very choosy when making their purchase decisions as inventory far outweighs demand right now.

If you have any questions about the Mount Pleasant real estate market or if you have any other real estate needs, please feel free to contact myself or Paige.  We are a full service real estate group that has been focused on helping Mount Pleasant buyers and sellers for more than 10 years.  Also, please feel free to visit our Mount Pleasant Real Estate website to view homes for sale in our community.  In the meantime, have a great month and stay tuned for another update in February.

Mt. Pleasant Home Sales in the $500K – $750K Range are up 42%

It is encouraging to note that the highest year-over-year growth rate was for homes sold in the $500K to $750K price range.  Home sales in this price range were up 42% over 2009. This could be a sign that more high-end buyers are re-entering the market.  However, Mt. Pleasant home sales above $1M were flat during the first two months of the year.  This is the price range that is feeling the most impact from this buyer’s market.  In fact, since my last report on January 20th, the months of available inventory for homes priced above $1M has risen to 66 months from 63 months.

What Was the Impact on Mt. Pleasant Home Prices in the First 2 Months?

The pressure on Mt. Pleasant home sellers to reduce prices continued in the first two months. This is supported by the fact that MLS price reductions outnumbered price increases by about 12 to 1 during the period.  However, there was some positive news for sellers.  The median selling price obtained for the 147 homes sold in the first two months was up 8.3% to $325,000.  No matter how you look at the numbers, this is a good sign for sellers that the trend may be starting to change.  As we get more sales data during the next few months, we will be able to determine if this is a real trend or just a “blip”.

If you have any questions about this post or if you have any real estate needs such as buying or selling your home, please contact us.  All of us at The Chuck Avera Team will be happy to help you in any we can.

Mount Pleasant Condos – Price Trends

Pricing also showed a rebound in the 4th quarter as the median price for Mount Pleasant condos sold was $205,900.  This is also the highest median price obtained since the 3rd quarter of 2008.  One positive quarter does not necessarily define a trend, but it is positive news as we head into the spring selling season.  We will be watching this metric very closely over the next few months and report back to you on further developments.

It’s Still a Buyer’s Market for Mount Pleasant Condos

While the recent “uptick” in sales and pricing is very positive news, it is likely that we will remain in a buyer’s market through 2010. Let me explain…..Typically, a balanced real estate market is 6 months of available inventory.  Anything higher than 6 months of inventory represents a buyer’s market and anything less than 6 months represents a seller’s market. Based on recent sales activity and an active inventory above 400 units, we currently have a 13 month supply of inventory in Mt. Pleasant.  So, this condo market is still very much favoring the buyer.  It is highly unlikely that the current inventory can be absorbed quickly enough at the current rate of sales to achieve a balanced market this year.  This will continue to put pressure on sellers to be very competitive with their pricing in order to have a good chance of selling in 2010.

Please stay tuned to this blog for additional updates on the Mt. Pleasant condo market throughout the year.  In the meantime, if you are considering buying or selling real estate in the near future, or if you would just like to ask a few questions about the local market, please contact us.  Our real estate team has a full suite of resources to help you.