Foreclosures continue to drag median home price down in Charleston, SC, but sales are up!
Local home sales in Charleston, SC volume showed an 8% gain in January, however foreclosed properties that were marked down by eager sellers continued to pull prices lower for the region.
Preliminary numbers released Thursday by the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors show 484 residences changed hands to start the new year, compared to 450 transactions for January 2010.
Over the same period, the median sale price went in the opposite direction, skidding almost 10% to about $174,495.
The Charleston, SC residential market has been slowly regaining its footing after a long slide that began several years ago. Inventories are down from their peak but still high at 8,428 listings as of Jan. 31. And homes last month took an average of 117 days to sell, down 11 days from a year ago.
The big unknown for the industry as it heads into 2011 and as the critical spring sale season approaches is how much longer bank-owned properties will hurt prices and affect buying decisions.
The foreclosure issue is less severe in South Carolina compared to the national average, though the coastal markets are seeing higher levels than the Upstate and other areas.
RealtyTrac reported this week that statewide foreclosures edged down about 3.6% between December and January. Year over year, the figure for South Carolina was 6.3% lower last month than in the first month of 2010.
Repossessed real estate tends to drive values down because the sellers, typically mortgage lenders, resort to deep discounts to attract buyers, forcing all other sellers to follow suit.
