Charleston SC Metro Real Estate: April 2009

Crowfield Plantation is a large community located in Goose Creek SC, a suburb of Charleston.  Like most of the country, the homes in the Charleston SC Metro have seen a significant decline in sales.  Crowfield Plantation has not been immune to such market conditions.  As you can see in the graph below, homes sales have dropped off significantly in the last year.  There was a slight rebound last month but with two days left in April it does not appear that March's numbers will be duplicated in April. 

Currently there are 111 homes on the market in Crowfield Plantation with a wide range in prices. 

If you are interested in buying a home in Crowfield Plantation, please feel free to contact me for more information.  I can provide the right tools to help you make a great real estate purchase.

Michael J. Johnson

843-817-5299 (Cell)

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Homes sales in Goose Creek SC feel sharply from the final quarter of 2008, which saw sales totaling 140 homes.  The 112 homes sold in the 1st quarter of 2009 is a 25% decrease in home sales from 4th quarter 2008 and a 82% decrease from homes sales from this time last year.  There are currently 412 homes on the market in Goose Creek which include Single Family Detached homes as well as Condos and Townhomes.  Below are the market stats for the first Quarter 2009 for Goose Creek as well as a graph comparison from last year.

Month   Year      Montly Sales     Monthly Vol.   Avg. Sale Price   Avg Days on Market

Jan         2009           35                  $5,347,636         $152,789                  81

Feb         2009          32                  $4,647,070         $145,220                 100

Mar         2009          45                  $6,969,364         $154,874                 108  

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Total                        112                $16,964,070        $150,961                  96 

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Goose Creek, please give me a call.  I'd be happy to set up a no cost/no pressure consultation to help you determine your next course of action.

Michael Johnson, Realtor

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com  (My Blog)

Recent/Related Blogs

Things to Do in Charleston

Real Estate Gumbo

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Crowfield Plantation Info

"Getting a burp out of your little thing is probably the greatest satisfaction I've come across. It's truly one of life's most satisfying moments."
-Brad Pitt

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."
-Author Unknown

"The kind of man who thinks that helping with the dishes is beneath him will also think that helping with the baby is beneath him, and then he certainly is not going to be a very successful father."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Charleston SC is an amazing city.  It is consistently voted in the Top 5 in tourists locations in the U.S. and nearly always voted as the nation's friendliest city.  That which makes up Charleston is not just the downtown area that many are familiar with, but also the surrounding towns and city that make up the metropolitan.  I've compiled a list of things to do that may be helpful if you should have the fortune of visiting our beautiful city.

10.  Carriage Tours - One of the best ways to see and hear the sights and sounds  of downtown Charleston is to take a Carriage Tour.  There is something about riding in a horse drawn carriage down a cobblestone road that makes learning that much more enjoyable.  

9.  Beaches - being a coastal city, Charleston is surrounded by barrier islands with beaches.  These barrier islands each have distinct characteristics.  The islands include  Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island,  Folly Beach, Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island, & Edisto Beach.   

8.  Charles Towne Landing - this is a park to commemorate the first permanent settlement in Charleston in 1670.  The park is a living testament of life in that settlement.

7.  Ft. Sumter - On April 12, 1861 Confederate artillery fired from Charleston onto the federal stronghold of Ft. Sumter.  Those shots fired were the beginning of the American Civil War.  Take a short boat ride and explore this historical island fort. 

6.  Cypress Gardens - Located in Moncks Corner, about 45 minutes from downtown, the garden is centered around a blackwater swamp.  Much of the movie The Patriot was filmed here. 

5.  Charleston Harbour Boat Tours & Dinner Tours - A great way to spend an evening in Charleston is to book a boat dinner tour.  Spend two or three hours touring the harbor while have a delicious meal.

4.  Fishing Tours - see Charleston from a different perspective.  Charter a fishing tour company to show your where the "big ones" are located in either fresh water  along the various rivers, or in the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

3.  Charleston County Waterparks - Charleston County Parks have many features that one would enjoy but perhaps what most people like the best are the waterparks.  Nothing beats a hot summers day like splashing in the water and sliding down the water slides.

2.  Middleton Place - located on historic Hwy 61, Middleton Place is one of the many historic plantations (National Historic Landmark).  Step back in time and see what life was like in 18th century America.  Visit the gardens, house museum, and plantation stable yards for an experience you'll never forget.

1.  Boone Hall Plantation -  Visit the place that NBC daytime television has called "a must see stop on any trip to Charleston SC."  The Oaks planted over 250 years ago greet you and paint a picturesque scene.  You can tour the plantation house located on the property and also take various seasonal tours.

If you fall in love with the city and decide, like many others, that you would like to call this your beautiful city your home, please contact me for free home buying services and information:

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

On April 18th 2009 Carolina One Real Estate will host the first annual Crowfield Appreciation Day.  This is an event open to the public and designed for those that both live in Crowfield Plantation or those that are interested in living in Crowfield Plantation.  The event will me held at the Carolina One Real Estate Campus located in Goose Creek SC on 567 Crowfield Blvd.

We encourage all to bring their entire family for food, fun, and local vendors.  There will be a free moon bounce, face painting, and various games, music, as well as giveaways and drawings.  We will have Popcorn, Hot Dogs, and Cold Drinks for sale with all proceeds going to the charities of "Helping Hands of Goose Creek," and "The Lord's Ladle."  There will also be an abundance of information on Foreclosures, Short sales, and the new $8000 first time home buyer tax credit. 

In addition to all of this, there will be a vast array of local vendors which will provide valuable information and prizes.  These include homes stagers, moving services, cleaning services, landscaping, software classes and much more. Radio station 105.5, The Bridge, will be broadcasting live on location.

And if this wasn't enough, we are also partnering with "Shred-It" to provide FREE shredding for the Crowfield community during the event.  All we ask is that you bring a non-perishable food donation for Helping Hands of Goose Creek.   

We appreciate the special relationship and trust we have with Crowfield Plantation.  This is our way of saying thanks to our neighbors.  Come out and enjoy the party from 11am to 2pm on April 18th.

Michael J. Johnson

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

"How in the world did we get in this mess?"  This is a question that many people ask me when speaking about the current state of the housing market.  As with most complex problems there is no single answer to this question.  It is sort of like a good gumbo.  There is no single ingredient that makes a good gumbo but rather the combination of many. 

In my mind a big ingredient for the housing problem can be seen when you look at the increase in the median home prices over the last 18 years in the U.S.  According to the Census Bureau median home prices jumped by 24% from 1990-1995, and 17% from 1995 to 2000.  A healthy increase is from 20%-25%.

Then from 2000-2005 the median home price in the U.S. increased by an astronomical 55%.  But, that number is only the average across the U.S.  In the Northeast home prices jumped 118% from 2000 to 2005 and homes in the West escalated 113%.  It is no coincidence that these are two of the biggest areas hit by the decline. The South saw an increase by 50% and the Midwest by 41%, which is still high but substantially lower than the Northeast and the West.

Since 2005 housing inflation has returned to near a healthy state at 28% nationally.  But each region has had a much different results.  From 2005-2008 the Northeast dropped to 14% increase while the West fell to 3% increase.  The South has held steady at 38% increase (still unhealthy).  But the those hardest hit are our friends in the Midwest who have seen a -3% decrease since 2005.

The bottom line is that this.  A free market will always adjust itself if left alone to do so.  That is what we are going through right now...an necessary adjustment.  Pain is an unfortunate side affect but we must adjust our expectations as the market adjust.

This information leads to a different question:  Why did prices increase so much?  Was it because we made that much more money?  The short answer is no.  Lending practices and law changes contributed as another set of ingredients in our Real Estate Gumbo which appears to have been too spicy for us to handle.

Median Asking Sales Price for the U.S. and Regions: 1988 to Present

(Information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau)

Michael J. Johnson, Realtor

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Last Five Blogs

Summerville SC Road Extension

Crowfield Plantation Homes Sold Report

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Summerville SC Real Estate Stats

Goose Creek SC Real Estate News

The Berlin G Meyers Parkway in Summerville, SC was recently approved for federal funds to complete the extension of the highly trafficked road.  The project initially began in 2001 and was designed to relieve the congestion from Summerville's Main St, Hwy 17A.  The extension will add 2.5 miles to the parkway and hook back with U.S. Highway 17A southwest of Orangburg Rd.

The federal money for the project's completion comes as 14.6 million dollar federal stimulus windfall into Dorchester County.  This will be combined with the one cent sales tax passed by county citizens in 2004.  The total cost will be 52 million dollars for the extension.

County Councilmen Larry Haggart stated that right of way issues have been resolved and now is only waiting for the Army Corp of Engineers to sign off on the wetland permit.  Haggart stated that he does not foresee any problems getting the permit and also stated that he expects construction to begin in the next ninety days.

(source: Charleston Business Journal)

Michael J. Johnson. Realtor

843-817-5299

www.providingthelight.com

www.metrocharlestonhomes.com

Summerville Blogs:

Summerville Real Estate Stats

The Ponds in Summerville