New Statistics for the Mount Pleasant Real Estate Market

We've started to see the real estate market pick up here in Charleston, SC over the past 3 or 4 months.  Almost 700 of the 9,300 or so homes listed on the MLS closed in the month of March alone.  That is 7.5 percent of the total homes listed on the MLS closing in one month, which is a pretty staggering percentage.  This clearing out of inventory at such a fast rate is strong evidence that the overall Charleston real estate market is picking up.

If you hone in on just the Mount Pleasant real estate market, you will see that this area has performed much better than the general Charleston area.  A total of 265 properties in Mount Pleasant closed in the first three months of 2010.  Since there was a total of 1,391 active listings for sale during this period of time, this means that about 19 percent of the total homes listed in Mt. Pleasant closed during these three months.  The average days on market (DOM) were 136.  The median price for these homes that sold was $325,000.  (This sales price is considerably higher than the median price of $188,200 for the entire Charleston MLS.)  The sales price to list price ratio is .94 (meaning that sellers were able to get 94% of their asking price).

Comparing the year to date stats to 2009, you will see that the Mount Pleasant market has strengthened tremendously in just one year.  During these same months (January through March) last year, only 15 percent of the total homes actually closed.  Although the average days on market was lower (with 122 being the average), the median price of those homes that sold was $301,500.  So, what do these numbers tell us?  This past quarter, we’ve seen a 5% increase in homes closing in Mt. Pleasant compared to the same time frame last year.  Also, during the first three months of 2009, it took less time to sell a home, but the average seller also got considerably less money for his or her home.

If you are currently trying to sell your home in Mount Pleasant, know that it may take about four months to sell your home, since the average DOM is 136.  Also, with a median sales price of $325K, know that this is the hot price range for home buyers right now. 

If your home is in the upper price bracket of Mt. Pleasant ($400K or more), ask your agent for statistics that pertain to your specific neighborhood and price range.  Although it has been difficult to sell these higher priced homes this past year, know that in the past few months we have finally started to see a lot of these move their way through the market as more higher priced buyers are now actively looking.  (You’ll often see a trickling up effect in the median price of closed homes with this market as buyers move up - because they usually have to sell their lower-priced home in order to purchase a more expensive one.)  So, know that it is becoming easier to sell these higher priced properties.  Be sure to talk with your Realtor to see what homes in your neighborhood are currently selling for.  If you can get your individual home’s statistics to be competitive with those homes that are selling, you should be able to get your home sold.