Isle of Palms 

Isle of Palms saw a jump in home sales in 2009.  The year ended with 63 sales on the island, better than twice the 31 sales in 2008 and an improvement from the 58 homes sold in 2007.  The median home price on the island was at $825,000 slightly down from the $855,000 figure of 2008.  Isle of Palms homes that sold were on the market an average of about a month longer in 2009 than they were in 2008.  Homes sold for an average of $373/square foot, a significant drop from the $450 per square foot average sold price in 2008.  The uptick in sales in 2009 corresponded with the significant adjustment in prices, indicating home sellers priced their homes to move and successfully moved them in 2009. Some good buys remain on the island, but the really good ones are going quickly.

Folly Beach

The median sales price of homes on Folly Beach from $480,000 in 2008 to $412,000 in 2009. The number of homes sold decreased from 61 in 2008 to 54 in 2009, with homes staying on the market an average of about ten months, up from 4.5 months in 2008. Folly Beach is in a strong buyer’s market ready for people to scoop up their summer vacation home or full-time island residence at the beach.

While statewide home sales in January increased 15% over sales in January 2009, Charleston area home sales increased 11.8%, according to numbers released by the S.C. Realtors Association Tuesday.

Sales in the Greater Columbia region dropped 3.7% to 362 homes sold in 2010 from 376 in 2009. Read More…

Charleston Peninsula
On the Charleston Peninsula, 150 homes sold in 2009, down from 168 sales in 2008. It took an average of 196 days for Charleston Peninsula homes to sell in 2009, continuing an upward trend. In 2008 the average days on market was about two months shorter at 139 days. The median home sales price dropped below $400,000 for the first time since before 2005, while the average sales price hovered at $800,000. Several luxury homes sold in 2009, pulling the average price slightly above 2008 levels. The average price per square foot of homes sold in 2009 was $282, slightly above the $273/square foot of sold homes in 2005. The Charleston Peninsula has some great buys ranging from historic homes to loft condos.

Seaside Farms

In Seaside Farms, 24 single family homes sold in 2009 as compared to 19 homes in 2008, 18 homes in 2007, and 25 homes in 2006.

The average days a home in Seaside Farms took to sell in 2009 was 281, up from 205 in 2008. This number was high due to a few homes that had been on the market several years finally selling in 2009.

Homes became more affordable in Seaside Farms in 2009. The average price per square foot of homes that sold was $160/sf as compared to $186/sf in 2008. Note that this figure includes both the tract built homes by Centex and the custom homes in the back of the neighborhood. There were a number of short sales and foreclosures in the neighborhood in 2009 that pulled values down.

The median sales price for single family homes in Seaside Farms dropped to from $446,000 to $391,000 in 2009. Homebuyers looking for homes priced under $400,000 can now afford to buy in this neighborhood. Eleven of the 24 homes that sold in Seaside in 2009 sold for under $400,000.

Rivertowne Country Club
In 2009, 49 single family homes sold in Rivertowne, down from 59 homes sold in 2008 and continuing a downward trend from 2005’s peak of 124 sold homes. The average days a Rivertowne home was on the market in 2009 was 251, up from 146 in 2008, a jump of 3.5 months. In addition, the average price per square foot dropped to $150/sf in 2009 as compared to $180/square foot in 2008. There were a number of unfinished new construction homes that sold as foreclosures or short sales in Rivertowne in 2009 that really pulled the values down. The average and median pricing in the neighborhood now rests in the low $400,000s, offering some very affordable values to homebuyers.

Old Village
Nineteen single family homes sold in the Old Village in 2009, down from 22 sales in 2008. The homes were on the market an average of 296 days, double the average days on market in 2008. The average sold price per square foot dropped to $293/sf from $334/sf in 2008 and a peak of $373/sf in 2007. The median sales price of the homes that sold jumped from $495,000 in 2008 to $875,000 in 2009.

The number of single family homes sold in Hamlin Plantation in 2009 was 30 as compared to 35 sold in 2008 and the market high of 73 homes sold in 2007. In mid-November 2009 there were 29 single family homes for sale in Hamlin Plantation. By January 3, 2010, there were 33 single family homes for sale although four homes sold from mid-November through the end of the year.

Hamlin Plantation single family homes spent an average of 225 days on the market in 2009, up from 148 days on the market in 2008, an increase of about 2.5 months.

The average price per square foot of single family homes sold in Hamlin Plantation in 2009 dropped to $152/sf as compared to $175/sf in 2008 and the peak of $194/sf in 2006. The median and average sales prices also have decreased year over year since 2007.

Dunes West

The number of homes sold in Dunes West in 2009 was 80 as compared to 87 sold in 2008.  There was a jump in closed sales in November 2009 as homebuyers took advantage of the tax credit that was to expire at the end of November (but was subsequently extended into 2010) and the very affordable prices in the neighborhood.

 The sold price per square foot of Dunes West homes continued a downward trend dropping to $155/square foot as compared to $175/square foot in 2008.  This figure reflects the duress sales in the neighborhood (short sales and foreclosures) that pulled home values downward. 

In 2009 a Dunes West home was on market an average of 191 as compared to 111 days in 2008, a jump of about 2.5 months.

In early November 2009, there were 107 single family homes for sale in Dunes West.  By January 3, 2010, that number had decreased to 87 homes.

The number of homes that sold in Darrell Creek in 2009 was 8 as compared to 9 in 2008 and 10 in 2007. The largest changes in the Darrell Creek market in 2009 were the days on market and the average price per square foot. The average number of days Darrell Creek homes were on the market went from about 100 in 2008 to 358 in 2009. As days on market shot up, the price per square foot of the sold homes decreased to $141/sf (compared to $200/sf in 2008). The decrease in price per square foot was due to a number of duress sales in the neighborhood in 2009.