Charleston SC Real Estate Blog

The effects of the media on real estate. How much impact is the media having on your home's value? The answer may be surprising: "A Lot!" With almost three times the number of homes closing in September of 2006 in the Charleston, Tri-County area verses 2000 and 2001, you'd think the bubble has burst if you listen to the mainstream media. The facts? Home values in the Tri-County are up almost 80% in every area since 2000-01 and sales are nearly tripled. Yes, they are down 12% from last year's record. But, the reality is that industry is moving to Charleston, Port Traffic is up, gas is down in price, retail is solid and consumer cofidence nationally is on the rise. There are 1821 homes for sale in Mount Pleasant as of this writing and 8610 Marketwide. However, there are 1,900 homes under contract. Is this bad? NO! People are buying. And, if you've ever thought of investing, now is the time. Call your agent (if you don't have an agent, call 744-6464). Ask them to run a search of homes between $150,000-250,000 in areas like James Island, Mount Pleasant and West Ashley. You want the following features: 3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 baths and no fewer than 1200 square feet (preferably with a garage). These make great rentals, short and long term. Now, here's where you're going to make some money and capitalize on the short-term bad press: Ask your agent to search the MLS for "must sell, pre-foreclosure, allowance, etc." Search for those words shows motivation. Then ask for a Price Trend Analysis on the property type (if you're using a Weichert agent) and offer 10% off the suggested price. Doing this on average on 2-5 properties should result in a deal YOU MAY NEVER FIND AGAIN. Buy now - or CRY LATER.