Home sales hit high for '11: Still, June figures show 12% drop from 2010; market has abundance of foreclosed properties

Home sales in the Charleston region last month hit a peak for 2011, but the local residential market is still suffering from an overabundance of foreclosed properties.

The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors said Monday that 902 homes sold last month at a median price of $195,955.

The number of transactions was down about 12 percent from June a year ago, when buyers could still take advantage of a federal tax credit that has since expired.

The median price for the region was up 5 percent from a year ago and 9 percent higher than in May, though the gains may be short-lived.

Rob Woodul, 2011 president of the association, said the higher figure was likely fueled by an increase in demand from buyers "who generally purchase in a higher price range," including second-homes buyers or homeowners who are trading up to more expensive homes.

For example, the association said that one hot pocket for sales last month was within Wild Dunes Resort, a gated, high-end development on the Isle of Palms.

"It is challenging to draw meaningful comparisons between these drastically different markets, however, the majority of activity last year was first-time buyers" Woodul said in statement.

June marked the end of the spring buying season, which typically is the busiest period for residential sales.

There were 8,795 homes listed as actively for sale with the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service as of June 30. That number remains high based on the amount of demand.

"We continue to see healthy levels of buyer interest and showings, which are important indicators of where our market could be headed, but we still have a significant amount of distressed inventory," Woodul said.

Foreclosures affect the broader market because the owners of those homes, typically banks and other lenders, often cut their prices significantly to attract buyers, forcing other sellers to follow suit.

The association also revised its May numbers, reporting 823 sales for the month at a median price of $179,990.

All June figures are preliminary.

Charleston County

497 homes sold at a median price of $239,900. Mount Pleasant put up strong numbers, with 88 sales at a median price of $332,500 in the north end of town and 73 sales at a median price of $334,000 at the south end. Rural West Ashley also performed well, with 55 sales closed at a median of $194,000. The most affordable areas: North Charleston and Summerville, outside of I-526, where median prices were $85,000 and $95,700, respectively.

Berkeley County

186 homes sold at a median price of $169,212 in June. The area bordered by U.S. Highway 17-A and College Park Road recorded the highest sales volume, with 47 homes sold at a median price of $155,000. The highest-priced homes can be found on Daniel Island, where 30 sales resulted in a median price of $473,525. The most affordable area: Cross and Bonneau, where the median price was $50,000 based on 11 sales.

Dorchester County

184 homes sold at a median price of $160,771. The Summerville/Ridgeville area was the most active, recording the county's highest sales volume and median price with 87 sales at a median price of $170,000. The most affordable area was St. George and Harleyville, with a median price of $104,750.

Contact John McDermott at 937-5572.