Staff Report
Published Feb. 11, 2010

Initial data on the residential real estate market in January show the glut of houses in the market is starting to be absorbed.

The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors shows there were 9,171 homes listed for sale through the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service at the end of January, a 13% decrease from January 2009.

“2010 looks to be off to a great start. It’s clear that in terms of median home prices, we’re heading in the right direction. While we don’t expect median prices will make huge gains this year, they should remain relatively stable as we work our way through an inventory that is still larger than usual,” said Jeremy Willits, 2010 president of the association.

In January 2010, the Realtors association reports that 416 homes were sold at a median price of $194,000.

Charleston County showed the highest increase in home sales and median price. Last month’s preliminary data show 231 closed sales at a median price of $245,000. This is an increase from last January, which saw 210 sales at a median price of $234,950.

Berkeley County saw a slowing in home sales compared to last January. There were 82 sales, down from the 117 sales. The median price remained mostly stable, dropping to $161,000 from the median of $161,996 in January 2008.

Dorchester County also saw a decline in volume of sales and median price. The county had 81 property sales, compared to 91 properties in January 2009. The median price also fell, from $160,000 in January last year to $150,000 this year.