October ushered in Hurricane Matthew and a massive evacuation of South Carolina’s low-country. However, October’s home sales stayed steady and strong. Our region saw a higher number of homes sold, and a higher median sales price compared to October 2015. Sales volume is expected to quiet some heading into the holiday season, but price growth is expected to remain steady due to the limited inventory of homes, according to CTAR President Michael Sall.

Inventory has declined by 19% over the last 12-month period, with 5,285 homes listed as “active” for sale in the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service (CTMLS) as of October 31.  We expect that inventory will remain low, as it traditionally does, through the winter.

According to data released by CTAR, 1,272 homes sold in October in the Charleston region at a median price of $240,000. Sales volume and median price declined slightly, as expected, heading into the Fall. In October 2015, 1,264 homes sold at a median price of $225,000.

Year-to-date figures show 14,963 homes sold at a median price of $240,000 in our area. Comparing year-to-date figures from 2015, sales volume has increased 9% and buyers are paying 6% more for homes in the region than they did last year.

This year, my team and I will once again build a new house with Habitat for Humanity. We already have our quota of volunteers, but there are other ways you can help.

Grab your oyster knives and celebrate, Charleston!

Hurricane Matthew did considerable damage to a lot of homes in the Charleston area. Luckily, we know many contractors who are ready to work to fix them.

Since demand is high and inventory is low, fall is the perfect time to sell your home in Charleston.

For the past few years, we have taken a day out of our busy schedule of buying and selling homes to build one. We have loved working with Habitat for Humanity in the past and are excited to work with them again. On Friday, November 4th, we will be building another home and we want you to join us. To get more information about the event and to find out how you can help, read our post.

Realtors can provide many insights into neighborhoods, economic trends, and home pricing – all while taking your family’s well-being into consideration. The line of questions typically begins with: What are you looking for in a home? Are you approved for a loan? Are there any specific locations you are considering? How much are you looking to spend?

The answers to these questions will give the Realtor a baseline to make recommendations of homes to their clients and advice based on the dollar amount a buyer would like to spend.

When this happens, the question “What can you afford?” has taken the place of “What do you actually need?” as the starting point for most home buyers. This line of thinking has resulted in a deep over-housing problem. Over-housing is the concept of paying too much money for housings, in relation to one’s income.

For that reason – you should always start your home search focusing on one critical question that many Realtors may ever tell you:

Buy only the home you need, not the house you can afford.

Don’t let yourself fall into the mindset of “buy as much and as big as possible”. Too often, the dollar amount that a lender has approved for the home buyer becomes the starting price range that the buyer begins searching for.

For example, if a buyer is pre-approved for a $500,000 loan, many buyers begin searching for the biggest house they can afford for exactly $500,000. Often times, this is encouraged by the lender and/or Realtor. This is because the larger the sale, the greater their profit.

Buyers too often create a list of “wants” for their new home while “actual need” is disregarded completely.

Bigger and more is so frequently interpreted to mean better. This ideology has resulted in the average American home tripling in size in the last 50 years. With little regard for the negative consequences, buyers too often purchase bigger and bigger homes, whatever size their income allows.

This thinking has detrimental effects on our well-being. We typically use on 40% of our living space on a regular basis. Meanwhile, the increased debt can contribute to mental and emotional distress. All of this excess space carries additional financial cost – whether the square footage is being used or not.

More is not always better. There are benefits to living in a smaller home. It is easier to maintain, less expensive, assumes less financial risk, results in less environmental impact, and frees up our resources to pursue life’s other passions.

Buying a home is a personal decision that should never be taken lightly. Only you know all the variables that will come into play when making your decision. But too often, the most important piece of home buying advice is what you hear least: Buy only the home you need, not the house you can afford.

In our ongoing efforts to give back to our community, this year Matt O’Neill Real Estate is honored to sponsor 20 youth sports teams through the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department (MPRD). These teams will range across football, baseball, basketball, cross-country, kickball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, t-ball, track, volleyball and wrestling.

Our team member, Hamilton Horne, is currently coaching the Matt O’Neill Real Estate Red Devils this year in the 10 - 11 year old Mite League. Congratulations to Coach Horne and the Red Devils on their first victory over the 49’ers, 22 – 0! We look forward to continuing to give back to the community this football season and seeing our other teams compete throughout the year.

MPRD offers exceptional, comprehensive, sustainable and affordable recreation and leisure opportunities through a professional staff that is dedicated to providing the residents of Mount Pleasant with superior customer service, quality facilities and dynamic programming. MPRD engages over 11,000 participants each year through more than 500 programs, classes and camps across 14 sports and 26 facilities across town. Participants range in age from 1 – 90 and encompass the entire spectrum of race, gender and socio-economic backgrounds.

The financial support through sponsorship helps MPRD continue to provide the variety of sports and activities to our residents at an affordable rate. For more information on sponsorship opportunities please contact the Sponsorship Coordinator at 843-884-2528, RecSponsorship@tompsc.com.

Mount Pleasant Recreation Department