A house that used to sell in a matter of days or hours a little over a year ago on the Charleston Peninsula is now taking up to six to nine months.

Tue May 6 2008, 10:35

I believe that to understand current data, such as reported by Marcia, it needs to be placed into context with both historical data for that market neighborhood as well as contemporary data for other Charleston-area neighborhoods in similar price ranges.

How one defines the "Charleston Peninsula," is critical of course. There are many small neighborhoods in the two MLS areas defined as "inside" and "outside" the crosstown (a major artery dividing the peninsula). One respondent mentioned "South of Broad," certainly one of the most expensive areas (median asking price is about $2.2 million), especially on or near the battery, but there is a 1300+ sq ft 2br home listed at $849k. Beyond South of Broad there are "relatively" less expensive areas such as Ansonborough between George, Meeting, Pinckney and East Bay streets where houses are being listed in the $1.8 million range but there is one 1200 sq ft home currently listed for $797.9k. But, there are also places like the Eastside, where many dilapidated homes are being redone, but the neighborhood is less secure given its transitional status (current median asking price is $220k).

On the "outside" of the Crosstown, one can find generally better bargains, but historical and gentrified neighborhoods such as Wagener Terrace should not be overlooked. The current median price there for the 30 single family homes on the market is about $409k; 1Q 08 had the median sales price at 346k, with a LP/SP of 92.65%, and an average of 149 DOM. There is one 1230 sq ft home now listed at $249.9k and another 1182 sq ft at $317k.

Specific historical and contemporary data on both of these areas are available on my website along with descriptions of many of these neighborhoods. This includes info you requested in both quarterly and annual form as well as other data.

I should also point out that the appreciation seen "inside" and "outside" the Crosstown from 2000 thru 2007 has been quite good: 93.6% and 104.3%, respectively. Since 2004, the "run up" has been 18.3% "inside" but 55.6% "outside." And the change over the past year in the median single family home sold has been +4.8% and -3.8% (overall it was down 1.1% in all of Charleston County and the "run up" was 21.5%). Wagener Terrace increased 74.3% over this 8 year period but was down 12% from 2006, making this an attractive area for purchase. In contrast, South of Broad area increased 101% since 2000 and was up 3% this past year from 2006.

If you or your client is interested in the Charleston Penn area of South of Broad, for example, then there are other market areas, such as Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, and Kiawah that would be comparably priced neighborhoods. Slightly less pricey areas outside of the upscale Penn areas would be I'On and Wild Dunes in Mt. Pleasant as well as Daniel Island. Someone else mentioned Johns Island, here look in neighborhoods like Gift or Hope Plantations or Seabrook Island.

James Sears, PhD
Realtor and Real Estate Analyst

Tue Apr 22 2008, 05:58

Maxwell,
Not so sure about how far down the peninsula you want to be. The million dollar homes on the battery and down I am sure. I went to school and then lived in Charleston for years. If you want something that small and a yard look West Ashley. Once you cross the river there are plenty of nice older neighborhoods with smaller homes with yards. Of course then you could go to James Island or even Johns Island. Then cross the bridge and you have Mt. Pleasent. There are plenty of places near the peninsula that you could look at.

Larry Story
Coldwell Banker Triad

Mon Apr 21 2008, 18:58

The Charleston peninsula has such a wide diversity of homes both historic and newer that it is difficult to answer this question. A ball park figure for a 1200 sqft. single family home in an up and coming and descent area will run in the $500,000 range. A similar home in a not so good an area may be about $175,000.

Mon Apr 21 2008, 14:34

Charleston has done quite well, thank you ...

Like most of the Carolina's, most of it is due to not having a psychotic run-up .. 3% over there last year, a little 5% over here 4 years ago, a small 4% bump over in that area 2 years ago ..... you get the idea.


:^)

Mon Apr 21 2008, 14:29

Hi Maxwell,
Charleston has fared much better than the national average, but the market has been soft. As of today, there are 895 properties for sale on the peninsula of which 378 are single family. Average list price for sold listings (single family) was $1.174M and sold price average was $1.025M (87.36%). Of the sold comps, the DOM was 91.
Currently, there are 378 active listings (single family) with an average price of just over $1M. Average DOM is 175. For that size home South of Broad, prices would start around $500K. In an up and coming area around The Citadel you might be able to get into something in the $300K.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Mon Apr 21 2008, 14:13

Dear Maxwell,
SC and specially Charleston has faired better than a lot of the country and compared to FL, SC is carrying her own weight. We have a client looking right now and they are hoping to spend under 400K and they have many choices. The big key to Charleston and most of all coastal property is access to water. The closer to the ocean or inter/intra coastal, the more expensive.
The Schaffer Realty Group
marian@marianschaffer.com

Mon Apr 21 2008, 14:11