Charleston South Carolina Real Estate

If you have an interest in the Charleston real estate market and want to search for homes for sale in Charleston and the surrounding area, you should find my search engine below the best one available on the internet.

      The Charleston South Carolina real estate market, like most areas of the country has slowed drastically the past two years. Home sellers continue to be a good bit  negotiable from their list prices and a buyer fortunate to not have a home to sell is often in "the drivers seat" unless a home is fairly and competatively priced. Homes that would have sold in days a few years ago may be on the market for many months this year. Home sales are off somewhat from last year, but the inventory of homes in any given subdivision may be double or more from what they were a year ago.

       In my opinion there are a number of reasons why the market has continued to be slow in the Charleston area. Part of the reason stems from out of town buyers being unable to sell their current homes or at a price they were expecting when "times were good."The "doom and gloom" one reads in the newspaper every day certainly does nothing to foster confidence in the minds of individuals considering purchasing a primary or second home in the Charleston area or anywhere else. Many of the investors who purchased homes the past few years with the expectation of making "a quick buck" have dropped out of the market, at least for the forseeable future. Many home owners and investors who have owned their home for the length of time necessary to gain favored tax treatment, have added to the inventory of homes on the market. Even with these negative factors, home sales in the Charleston area have held up better than in many other areas of the US.

     Out of town buyers are attracted to the weather, activities, friendliness of the residents and relatively low cost of living they find in the Charleston tri-county area. They are quickly made to feel comfortable by their neighbors who have also relocated to the Charleston area in the past few years from all over the country. The many housing options and prices found throughout the Charleston area give most families the ability to find a home to their liking in a great neighborhood without "breaking the bank."

   Real estate taxes declined by 1/3 to 1/2 in 2007 due to a recently passed South Carolina tax reform act.

     If you are considering relocating to the Charleston South Carolina area, you should find the many pages in my Charleston real estate web site of help in narrowing down your neighborhood and community options. Feel free, without any obligation,to give me a call or send me an e-mail with any questions you may have or to request a Charleston relocation package.