On the Charleston Peninsula, there are about 950 homes for sale, close to the 972 homes that were on the market a year ago in February 2009. The number of homes sold has improved from 71 homes in the November 2008 to February 2009 period to 95 in November 2009 to February 2010. With so many available homes, the peninsula remains a solid buyer’s market.

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.

Daniel Island

 There are some great homes available on Daniel Island at super values.  In 2009, 83 homes sold on the island, a decrease from 110 homes sold in 2008.  Fewer homes sold and those that did sell take 171 days to close as compared to 150 days in 2008.  Homes sold for an average of $214/square foot in 2009, a significant decrease from the $246/square foot of the 2008 sales on the island. The median sales price on Daniel Island in 2009 was right at $500,000, the most affordable it has been in years.

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.

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.

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.

The number of homes sold in Charleston National in 2009 increased to 26 after a paltry 18 sales in 2008.  The average days a home was on the market in Charleston National in 2009 was 125, basically just one week longer than the 117 days on market for 2008. 

The average price per square foot of homes sold in Charleston National in 2009 was $135/sf down significantly from $149/sf in 2008 and $160/sf in 2007.  The drop reflects a number of short sales, foreclosure and REO sales in the neighborhood in 2009.

The median and average prices of homes sold in Charleston National have trended downward since their peak in 2006; however the actual rate of decline has slowed.

 The number of homes on the market in Charleston National at the beginning of 2010 was 22, a decrease from 30 homes on the market in early November.

Jobs a focus…

By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published Jan. 27, 2010

During a 30-minute “State of the City” address Tuesday night, Mayor Joe Riley recounted major city projects completed during 2009 and previewed several next steps, many of which relate to job creation.

“Our future is bright, and our economic recovery is well under way,” Riley said as he began the speech before City Council members and a TV audience.

During 2009, the city received $16 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has helped pay for affordable housing renovations, new police officers, a new community center and more, Riley said.

“These funds created jobs and added substantially to our community,” he said.

Riley said spurring economic development is always an important responsibility of city government. “But it’s never been more important than now,” he said. 

Riley pointed to the 2009 completion of the SCRA MUSC Innovation Center biotechnology incubator on Meeting Street as a huge step forward in economic development. The project, he said, “will prove to be a pivotal point in our community’s economic development history.”

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