Market Trends
South Carolina Statewide Real Estate Summary
As expected, buyers in South Carolina took advantage of the federal first-time home buyer tax credit last month, which officially came to a close on April 30. Pending Sales were up 16.3 percent versus last year at this time, with 4,802 contracts written. That is the highest number of pending sales since April 2008. Closed Sales were also up 25.0 percent to 4,196.
To capitalize on buyer activity, sellers added 10,863 new listings to the market in April, an increase of 22.3 percent compared to last year. They may have also been encouraged by the Median Sales Price which was up 4.4 percent to $144,000. This influx of listings has pushed the Months Supply of Inventory up 3.7 percent to 14.9, and inventory itself was also up 3.2 percent to 56,844. This is also a high mark. In fact, it's the most properties available in South Carolina since modern methods of data tracking began in 2007.
The month of May will be the first statistical test of the post-tax credit era. Will there be a big drop-off in activity? Business as usual? We'll see. We're also watching mortgage rates more closely. They may spike sooner than later since the government has stopped buying mortgage-backed securities.
Nick E. Kremydas, Esq. is the Chief Executive Officer of the South Carolina REALTORS® association. He served as the association's general counsel and chief lobbyist for twelve years until he became CEO in 2006. Nick grew up in Florence, South Carolina and graduated from Francis Marion College in 1989 and studied law at the University of South Carolina.
Nick has served on the Advisory Board of the South Carolina Transportation Policy and Research Council, the Legislative Counsel and Technology Committee of the South Carolina Bar Association. He chaired the Governor's Blue Ribbon Tax Committee. In 2004, he earned the RCE designation, the only professional designation designed specifically for REALTOR® association executives.
Nick is proud to be a "Defender of the American Dream."
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