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Home prices rose last year in Charleston more than anywhere else
in the nation, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
The median sales price of an existing home in the Charleston
metropolitan area rose 16.7 percent, from $94,700 in the fourth
quarter of 1996 to $110,500 in the fourth quarter of 1997, the association
said. Median means half sold for more and half for less.
The second highest increase in the nation was 15.5 percent in
Des Moines, Iowa.
Nationally, the median price for existing homes rose 6.2 percent,
from $117,600 in the fourth quarter of 1996 to $124,800 a year later.
Prices rose as demand for houses was fueled by a strong economy
and low interest rates. The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate
mortgage was 7.2 percent at the end of 1997, compared with 7.71 percent
a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac.
"Rates haven't been this low since the winter of 1995," said
association economist John A. Tuccillo. "But then we didn't have
the same factors - stronger consumer confidence, lower unemployment
- that we do now. Add those with the volatile activity of Asian markets,
and real estate makes a strong attraction for all investors."
In the Charleston area, demand for houses has been especially
strong in the Mount Pleasant area, said Grange Cuthbert, chief
executive officer of the coastal offices of The Prudential Carolinas
Realty.
"Inventory is down significantly, so prices will go up," Cuthbert said. "It's just a case of supply and demand."
Some agents have reported being able to sell houses in Mount
Pleasant without bothering to list them, said Charleston Trident
Multiple Listing Service president Malaina Pate, who owns Pate
Properties of Charleston. "Everybody tells me that demand is high and
inventory is low," she said.
Prices of historic homes in peninsular Charleston have risen
sharply as the demand has increased and the inventory of available
homes has dropped.
Even with the increases, house prices in Charleston are a bargain
compared with many other regions of the country, said Cuthbert,
who also works with the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce to
attract new businesses.
"Charleston is still a very affordable place to live," he said.
Elsewhere in South Carolina, existing home prices rose 6.5
percent in Columbia and 5.1 percent in Greenville, according to
the association.
Regionally, existing home prices increased 7.4 percent in
the West, 7 percent in the Midwest, 6.9 percent in the South and 4.
percent in the Southeast.
The Charleston MLS does not separate new sales and resales in
its database.
So the national association uses various formulas and figures
on new-home sales from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to isolate existing
home sales.
TOP 10 MARKETS
Here are the top markets for increases in the median price of an
existing home last year. The prices and percentage increases are for the
fourth quarter of 1997 compared to the same quarter in 1996:
| 1 | Charleston, SC | $110,000 | 16.7% |
| 2 | Des Moines, IA | $103,000 | 15.5% |
| 3 | San Francisco, CA | $304,000 | 14.1% |
| 4 | Ft. Meyers, FL | $88,000 | 13.5% |
| 5 | Lexington, KY | $106,000 | 11.9% |
| 6 | Sarasota, FL | $117,000 | 11.8% |
| 7 | Champaign, IL | $85,000 | 11.7% |
| 8 | Memphis, TN | $105,000 | 11.5% |
| 9 | Dallas, TX (Tie) | $114,000 | 11.2% |
| 9 | Canton, OH (Tie) | $98,000 | 11.2% |
Source: National Association of Realtors
ED: Dave Munday can be reached at 937-5720 or at DMunday@PostandCourier.Com.
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