Grand Strand Real Estate Market Update – The Grand Strand

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One of the best measures of how our market is performing is to compare sales and home price values from one year to the next.  For this market update, we have pulled information pertinent to the first five plus months of the year (in a period from January 1 through May 15), to evaluate how we are doing.  Looking at the number of single-family homes, condominiums and land purchases – we have been able to get a snapshot of our real estate outlook in the coming months.

When good news happens, sharing it is the first thing I want to do.  However, sometimes keeping reality in check is important – and today is one of those times.  The reality of our market is that though sales are occurring and doing so at a relatively steady pace, home prices are still declining, albeit slightly.  The number of distressed sales that make up our closed contracts has gone down a bit in both single-family homes and condos but nothing incredibly significant.   Regarding land for sale, we have seen a jump in the number of sales but that is owing to the dip in prices.

Single-Family Homes
2012: 1472 homes closed
2011: 1449 closed

Units unchanged, sales were up about 1% this year
Average sales price dropped 5.5% in 2012

Condominiums
2012: 1274 closed
2011: 1370 closed

Units down 7% in 2012 from last year
Average sales price down 4% in 2012

Land Lots

Purchases of land went up 33% in 2012
Average sales price down 23% from the previous year
Half the land inventory that closed was bank owned or short sale property.

Given the amazing deals available on land, we are seeing a lot of building and new development going on.  Many new construction homes are being built since the cost of land has dipped significantly over the past year.

Distressed Sales

Single-family homes: the number of homes sold was down to 30% of all sales in 2012 versus 35% in 2011.

Condos: Of the total number of condos sold in 2012, 30% were distressed sales as opposed to 38% of sales comprising of distressed sales in 2011.
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All in all, our market is doing fairly well considering the economy and other factors.  Interest rates are still at historic lows.  There are great opportunities to buy and/or invest in land right now.  Existing homeowners can tap into some great government programs out there designed to help them extricate out of difficult financial situations.

As owed to you, I will continue bringing you the latest news and updates of the happenings in our marketplace.  If you are considering selling, buying or investing – contact us today.  Our success of course lies in the success of our clients and we look forward to serving you soon!