Not many new listings (Charleston, Mount Pleasant: bank owned, for sale, real estate market)

[moneill]

We've been watching the Mount Pleasant market for about a year and a half. We do have a house for sale here in ATlanta (it has been on the market almost 10 months). There haven't been many new listings in Mount Pleasant and there doesn't seem to be much selling. We are looking in the high 300's to high 400's.

So all you experts has it slowed down?

[USCJoe]

The market has certainly slowed down in the higher price ranges in Mt. Pleasant as well as other areas of Charleston. Single family home sales in Mt. Pleasant in the under $300,000 range are relatively good. Home sales in the $375,000 to $500,000 less so with 97 single family home sales in Mt. Pleasant since 6/1/2008 and 30 sales since 9/1/2008. The last few months of the year have been traditionally slower in the area than in the beginning of the year. As you have pointed out, there have also been fewer listings coming on the market recently compared to the beginning of the year, but again this might be attributed to a large part to the time of year. I have a number of out of town clients who will purchase a home in the Charleston area as soon as their current home sells or they begin to have a little confidence in the economy turning around, particularly their investment portfolios. I am cautiously optimistic that we will begin to see a slow return to a "normal" real estate market this coming Spring as long as interest rates remain low and the stock market begins to rebound to some degree. Would I "bet my life on it", certainly not as there are too many variables affecting not only the local real estate market but the market throughout the US and that is where many potential buyers have a home to sell.

[moneill]

Yeah I am hoping that we will see some activity in the spring. It will have been a year!!!!! Nobody here in is having showings.

I have narrowed our search to a very specific area and that may be my problem. I've left out probably some of the most active areas in my price range.

[USCJoe]

You are not alone in the lack of showings. With the limited number of buyers in any given price range, particularly in a "non-starter" price range, even aggressive pricing may not necessarily result in an increase in showings and an offer. You mentioned narrowing your search to a particular area and by doing so you may be limiting your home options in that area. If you can identify which area you are considering, I am sure that I and other Realtors on this forum may be able to give you a better insight into the apparent lack of new home listings in the area/neighborhood under consideration as well as our evaluation of the appreciation potential, reasonableness of current list pricing and desirability of the community.

[beachme]

I agree it is still slow.. My team has over 20 listings and we haven't had many showings lately. Not sure what area your concentrating on... but hope something happens for you soon in Atlanta as well as Charleston.

[moneill]

Thanks for the info. everyone. When it becomes more real I may need some more info...for now I play and dabble and research.

[charlottePA]

Originally Posted by USCJoe

You are not alone in the lack of showings. With the limited number of buyers in any given price range, particularly in a "non-starter" price range, even aggressive pricing may not necessarily result in an increase in showings and an offer. You mentioned narrowing your search to a particular area and by doing so you may be limiting your home options in that area. If you can identify which area you are considering, I am sure that I and other Realtors on this forum may be able to give you a better insight into the apparent lack of new home listings in the area/neighborhood under consideration as well as our evaluation of the appreciation potential, reasonableness of current list pricing and desirability of the community.

Though I'm not inthe market, I am curious, and I do have a question USCJoe...

I always casually look around at homes and prices when I come back to Mt. pleasant to visit family. I was surprised that the home prices in some of the high-end neighborhoods like Ion and Belle Hall haven't fallen as much as I was expecting. I remember the real "bubble" days when these homes were selling upwards of the high 200s/sq.ft. I would have bet my life that these would have fallen hard--but on my last check no. I've a cousin who fancies herself a real-estate "expert" who tells me "you can get an Ion house for a 30% discount now". Somehow I just don't see the current numbers showing that...

Do you have any opinions as to why this is--in this specific area/market???

[USCJoe]

I will try to address your question as best I can from my experience in representing clients considering luxury homes in the Charleston area in communities such as I'On. I'On is a unique community from the standpoint of the quality of homes, architectural detail, convenient location, amenities and probable financial profile of the average resident/home owner. As you can see from the "Sales and Inventory" Report I have set forth below, the sales in I'On, % sold/list price, average sales price and medium sold price have held up relatively well in the past three years. The number of monthly sales have dropped over time, but there are still a number of sales each month in this high priced neighborhood. The price per square foot has dropped, but not substantially. I think that I'On has been immune to some degree from the pressure on home prices as compared to some other neighborhood due to the fact that most of the residents in I'On probably have the financial reserves to be able to resist substantial reductions in their list price even when their homes remain vacant for many months, ie. they are able to carry two mortgages. Many of the current home owners purchased their homes for a relatively reasonable price prior to the recent "bubble" and with a reasonable downpayment and with a mortgage they can handle. Although there may have been some early "speculative" purchasers when I'On was first developed, I think that most of the buyers, even during the "bubble days" purchased their homes for traditional reasons rather than for pure speculation and a quick "flip." From reading a number of posts on this forum, I suspect that your cousin is not alone in feeling that "you can get an Ion home for a 30% discount now." This may be true if the home was listed for a substantial inflated price without price reductions, but as the figures seem to support in the chart below, the average discount from list during the past 12 months has been about 6%.

[emilybh]

With all due respect. It would be much more helpful to see statistics like that for the last 2 months. The market has changed CONSIDERABLY since 2005. It's even changed since 4 months ago and it gets worse and worse. With few buyers out there they can name their price if they find a motivated enough seller. I've seen the number of short sale listings and bank owned properties and properties being auctioned off increasing week to week.

[USCJoe]

The statistics go through November 2008. I am not quite sure why the % sold/list for each month in the charts seem to be incorrect, but I suspect that the annual 2008 percentage discount figure of about 8% is correct. In looking in our system month per month, the following figures are noted: August 2008 - 96.5% of list; September 2008- 94.3% list; October 2008- 91% of list; November 2008 - 93.1% list and so far during the month of December with one home sold at 92.6% of list price.