Selling Your Home Charleston SC: Favorable Market Conditions For Charleston Sellers
If you are thinking about selling your home Charleston SC, then you need to be aware of what the future holds for the real estate market. Is it a good time to sell?
Today I am going to look at information in the latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This survey looks at many different numbers to get an idea of how the real estate market has been, and where it is projected to go in the next few months.
2013 was a very good year for real estate, both nationally and locally. Many areas of Charleston saw a double digit percentage increase in the number of Closed Sales and Average Sold Price (home values). 2014 also saw increases in both numbers, although not at the same rate as 2013.
Below is a comparison of home sales for 2013 and 2014:
The first thing you notice is the drop in sales starting in August of 2013. Keep in mind that 2013 was a very good year, but home sales trended down over the end of 2013 and into 2014.
During the same time frame in 2014, home sales are well above 2013. In fact, this Winter is looking to be the best in over a decade.
Another important factor is Pending Sales–these are homes under contract that will close in the next 30-60 days. It is important because Pending Sales usually predict future Closed Sales–not all homes will close, but generally the Pending Numbers will closely resemble the Existing Sales.
The above graphs reflect the same valley from August 2013 and increase in 2014 over the same period in 2013.
Typically, national real estate sales see a decline heading into the winter months. However, that is not the case with 2014. Here is another look at Pending Sales, comparing 2013 numbers to 2014 numbers:
An index level of 100 is considered a normal real estate market (this index formulation is better explained here).
It is interesting to note that despite interest rates being at their lowest point in 2014, Pending Sales dropped in December by their largest monthly margin since December of 2013.
It was still the largest year-over-year gain since June of 2013.
This is still good news as it shows we are not experiencing the large drop off in homes sales heading into 2015 that we saw this time last year.
So, what do the experts expect for home sales in 2015? So far, Pending Sales and Closed Sales are outpacing the numbers from a year ago. Here is a look at projections for home sales in 2015 compared to sales from 2014:
So, home sales are continuing at a pretty good pace, what about home values?
This is important if you are thinking about selling your home Charleston SC. You are probably wanting to know if 2015 is a good time to sell.
Here is a look at the Case Shiller Report that looks at year-over-year comparisons of home values, broken down by each month:
At first glance this graph might give you a negative impression. Home values are down, right?
That is totally incorrect. In 2014, the rate at which homes appreciated declined.
However, this was not a case of depreciation. Rather, home values continued to increase, just not at the levels we saw in 2013 into early 2014.
This is actually good news in the sense that appreciation has slowed down to a more normal, sustainable rate.
You might mistakenly think by looking at this graph that you missed out on the best time to sell your house. But that too is a misconception.
You enjoyed double digit appreciation for most of the last 2 years, and in 2014 your home continued to increase in value. You can still benefit from the appreciation.
Will home values continue to rise? Here is a look at projections for home values in 2015 from the Home Price Expectation Survey, which polls over 100 of the leading economists and market analysts. This is the mean projection, or exactly the halfway point of all projections:
While this is not the double digit appreciation we saw in 2013 and into 2014, this is still good news for home sellers.
Homes will continue to appreciate over the next 2 years, and will do so at a more “normal” rate.
This is a healthier, more sustainable rate of appreciation and is in line with historical averages.
Double digit appreciation cannot be maintained over an extended period of time without a correction. This is what happened a few years back with the real estate bubble and subsequent crash.
This too is good news for home sellers. The market is growing at a healthy rate, and home values should continue to increase. The final piece of the puzzle is the Months Supply Of Inventory. This shows the supply versus the demand for housing:
The Months Supply has dropped over the course of 2014. Right now, we are at a 5.1 Month Supply of homes nationally.
This puts us in a sellers market, in which the supply is not keeping up with demand.
In a sellers market home sales rise, as do home values, which you can clearly see in the graphs.
Under 6 months is what is considered a sellers market:
And this illustrates a problem we saw in early 2014. Home sales numbers declined in part because there simply wasn’t enough inventory.
This same scenario is playing out right now, the demand exceeds the supply.
And, true to Economics 101, when demand exceeds supply, prices go up.
Another other factor working in home sellers favor are the the continuing rise in rents.
Many would be buyers realize that they can pay the same or less for a mortgage than rent.
The younger generation, The Millenials, are becoming a force in the home buying market.
This is the next big wave of first time home buyers, and a force to be reckoned with.
In fact, the first time home buyer is already a big part of the market. Last year, 46% of home buyers were first time buyers.
This is another good sign for home sellers. The demand is there, especially first time buyers.
They need houses. This is a great time to sell your house and become a move up buyer.
Overall, if you are thinking of selling your home Charleston SC, 2015 is a good time to list.
The numbers are in the favor of sellers, and it isn’t unusual to see multiple offer situations.
The local Charleston numbers are similar to the national trends. Many parts of the Charleston market have been in a Sellers Market for much of the last 2 years.
The key components to a successful sale are still true, even in a sellers market: price your home right from the start and good, effective marketing.
For Charleston home sellers, there are free resources you can use to help you choose the right agent to get your home sold.
First, visit my Pam Marshall Realtor seller page–you can download my “Home Sellers Marketing Pack” which includes a custom Neighborhood Value Report that lets you know what your home is worth in today’s market.
There is also some Home Seller’s Guides with selling tips, as well as my 21 Point Home Marketing Checklist.
You can also check out my videos that explain a little more about my marketing.
You can download a free copy of my “Winter 2014/15 Home Seller’s Guide” by completing the form below.
If you are thinking of selling your home Charleston SC, now is a great time to list and get your home sold.
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