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New Homes Tour shows off Charleston builders
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
Potential home buyers got the chance to tour 44 new homes around the tri-county region during the recent Charleston New Homes Tour, held during the first three weekend of October.
The event, sponsored by the Charleston Trident Home Builders Association, was more than twice as large as last year’s tour.
This year’s tour accompanied a much slower real estate market than last year, but many builders and real estate professionals say they’ve noticed an uptick in home sales since summer.
“The market is more of a normal market than the hyper market we’ve had over the past few years,” said Phillip Ford, president of the Charleston Trident Home Builders Association. “In July and August, things were really flat, but everyone I’ve talked to said things are picking up.”
One thing that is hurting the Charleston market, Ford said, is that people haven’t been able to sell their homes in other markets.
“There are parts of the country that are really getting hit,” Ford said. “A lot of people are still looking to move to the Charleston area. What we’re hearing is that the housing market overall around the nation will probably pick back up in mid-to-late 2007. As people sell their homes in other markets, they can move here.”
Florida is one state with a lot of inventory, Ford said, and some homebuyers are choosing to relocate to South Carolina because it is less hurricane-prone.
“Interest rates are still great and the job market is pretty good,” Ford said. “If industry and business keep targeting this area, that’s going to help. I still think the outlook is pretty much positive.”
Area homes featured on the recent tour ranged in price from the upper $130,000s to nearly $2 million, with an average home price of more than $600,000. Nineteen builders were represented and more than 15,000 free tour guidebooks were picked up at area newsstands, said Melissa Reynolds, communications director for the Charleston Trident Home Builders Association.
A number of real estate professionals from other regional markets critiqued the Charleston area homes on the tour. When asked how they compared with new homes in other markets, price was the factor most often cited.
“The pricing seemed a little on the high side to me,” said Vicki Loughrey, construction manager for Savannah Quarters, a residential community in Savannah, Ga.
Chris Gordon, publisher of Housetrends Magazine in Charlotte, N.C., said he was impressed with the architecture of homes on the tour, particularly those on Daniel Island. Gordon said he found a tremendous difference architecturally between a $1 million house in Charleston and a $1 million house in Charlotte; the same money buys a bigger house and perhaps more land in Charlotte.
“You get more in the Charlotte market than you do in Charleston, just a little bit,” Gordon said. “You’re a little landlocked in the Charleston area, so prices tend to be a little higher.”
Barbara Evans, sales agent for Century 21 Bob Capes Realtors in Columbia, said she saw more detail in Charleston-area homes in the lower price ranges than she might have expected.
“I did see a lot of chair railing and crown molding in that price range, and some very open floor plans,” Evans said. “But (the market is) probably a little more expensive.”
Rick Mullin, vice president and area manager of Simonini Builders’ Charleston division, said his company had 12 homes on the tour and had two under contract before it was over.
“I regret not doing it last year,” Mullin said. “This year we jumped in with full force.”
Louise Try, chairwoman for the event and president of the Greater Charleston New Homes Guide, said about $50,000 was spent on marketing the Charleston New Homes Tour and she expects the event to keep growing.
“I would project 2007 to have at least 60 homes or more,” Try said.
Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.
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