Charleston Housing Market Still Active

Charleston housing market still active (from Post and Courier)

Recent figures from a California-based research firm place the Charleston area at the top statewide in home prices and close to it in permits.

Greater Charleston has the highest median home price by a wide margin among eight metro areas, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting’s “Local Building Market Intelligence” released this week.

The midpoint price in the Charleston area was $229,750. That compares with a $144,004 midpoint for Myrtle Beach, which is second highest. The least expensive area is Sumter with a median price of $95,933.

Also highest in the greater Charleston was housing costs as a share of income, with 31 percent of income devoted to home expenses. Myrtle Beach placed second at 28 percent and Spartanburg third at 24 percent. Anderson was most affordable with 19 percent of income going to home costs.

By building permits, the Charleston area ranked second at 2,945. It trailed Columbia, which had 3,026 total permits. The lowest numbers of permits were in Sumter at 354 and Florence at 375.

Greater Charleston and Columbia reported the lowest unemployment rates at 9.1 percent. Greenville was third with a 9.3 percent jobless rate. The highest rate was in Sumter at 12.2 percent.