Home Value Factors for the Summerville, SC Real Estate Market

Summerville, SC has seen some of the highest growth rates in Charleston in regards to its real estate market in the past five years.  Its affordability and small town appeal account for a seemingly endless demand from home buyers.  So far this year, there have been almost 1,600 properties in Summerville that are currently under contract or have already sold!

If you’re considering buying a home in Summerville, be sure to keep in mind resale value down the road.  With the steadily increasing demand from home buyers, the house you purchase may very well be one of the most important investments you’ll ever make.  As this increasing demand pushes increasing property values, your home may yield a higher return than any of your other investments – if you choose a home that matches the trends seen in Summerville’s real estate market.

Most buyers in Summerville want a single family home.  Most buyers choose Summerville because they can get more for their money.  In other words, they don’t want to have to live in a cramped condo or townhouse in their price range.  If they can afford to buy a house, they will.  You’ll find that there aren’t many condo and townhouse communities in Summerville, and there is a reason for this.  This supple reflects the demand:  more buyers in the Summerville area want single family homes.  So, unless you’re looking in the under $75K price range, buy a house.

Next, be sure to buy a house with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.  You may think that you only really need one or one and a half baths.  But, again, think about what buyers are going to want when it comes time for you to sell your home in the future – even if you plan on living in this home until you grow old.  The 3/2 combination is, without a doubt, the most common in buyers’ home searches.  So, if you only have one or one and a half baths, your home won’t even show up in their search results.  This means that your home won’t show up in the listings they receive from their Realtor, which in turn means that they won’t be coming to view your home for a showing.

The most important factor to keep in mind for resale is that you want your home to fit as many buyers’ search criteria as possible.  The more buyers your home matches, the larger the pool that makes up your demand.  On the other hand, if you buy a very specific type of home – let’s say a very modern glass-walled home – it’s going to require a very specific type of buyer in the future.  The pool of buyers for such a home is reduced greatly as a result.  So, although such a home may be very “cool” to live in, it’s simply not the kind of home that buyers want – especially in a small town like Summerville where traditional home designs are the most sought after.  If you want to live in a very specific or tailored house, that’s great – just know that the resale value is going to be lower than if you had spent the same amount of money and bought a more adaptable home.

There are several other trends that are specific to Summerville that will be important to keep in mind for future buyers.  First, most of the buyers who choose Summerville want newer homes.  Although I personally love the older homes, from an investment standpoint, the property value would be better for a newer home.

Also, if you can get more than 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, it will certainly help with resale value.  In a lot of older homes, you’ll see only 1 or 2 bathrooms because families shared more space.  As families want more privacy and more convenience, there is a strong trend (not just in Summerville, but all over the country) to have more bedrooms, and especially baths.

Last, Summerville is a huge draw because of its public schools.  When buyers consider the areas of Charleston that are further inland, they often choose Summerville over Goose Creek or North Charleston because Summerville has some of the best public schools in all of Charleston.  So, be sure to choose a home that is zoned for this good school district because such schools are always in demand from home buyers.