Charleston Info and Real Estate: April 2017

I apologize for the lateness of this post but it's been a busy April so far.

April is here and the azaleas are in bloom! The Masters is in Augusta and the Volvo WTA tennis tournament is here in Charleston the first week in April. The Tennis Channel is having full coverage all week and they are making a big deal out of this. It’s come to be a very respected tournament and the start of the clay season. Of course, the Cooper River Bridge Run is also April 1 and the Summerville Flowertown Festival is also the first weekend. What a great month to be in Charleston. Here is your April calendar of events:

1: 40th Cooper River Bridge Run

1: Harlem Globetrotters, N Chas Coliseum

1: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Music Hall

1,2: Flowertown Festival, Summerville

2: Earth, Wind, & Fire, N Chas PAC

3-9: Volvo WTA Tennis Tournament, Daniel Island

4: Buddy Guy, Gaillard

6: Pippen Gaillard

7-9: World Grits Festival, St George

8: Marion Square Farmers Market Re-Opens

7,8: Charleston Bluegrass Festival, Middleton

8: 27th Folly Beach Sea and Sand Festival

8: Loretta Lynn, Gaillard

8: Keller Williams and Leo Kottke, Music Hall

8: Steeplechase of Charleston, Stono Ferry

9: Bruce Hornsby, Music Hall

9: Blues by the Sea, FreshFields

13: Hops and Vines, MacLeod Plantation

18: Chicago Musical, Gaillard

20-23: Lowcountry Strawberry Festival, Boone Hall

20: Jonny Lang, Music Hall

20: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, N Chas Coliseum

21: R Kelly, N Chas Coliseum

21-23: Outdoor Festival at James Island County Park

24,25: Big Brothers and Big Sisters Golf Tournament, Bulls Bay

26: Blink-182, N Chas Coliseum

26,27: Mama Mia!, N Chas PAC

29: Cirque de la Symphonie, N Chas PAC

30: 30th Annual Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival, Mt Pleasant Waterfront Park

Real estate in Charleston had its 2nd busiest year ever in 2016 and it looks like 2017 is setting up to be the even better. Buying activity has been the strongest ever during the first 3 months of the year. Though February, we are up 12.4% in transactions over the same time from 2016. And we are up about 4% in median sales price to $244k. We are getting a ton of good publicity. Top Chef just finished airing the season that was filmed here. The Tennis Channel is making a huge deal out of their first ever full week coverage of the WTA tournament here next week on Daniel Island. They are calling it the premier clay tournament in America. Of course, Volvo is the sponsor and they are busy getting their new plant built in the Summerville/Goose Creek area. Apartments are being built all over town to house all the new people moving here. Housing inventory is low and prices are starting to ratchet upward. We are seeing a boom in the 2nd home market here as well. We have many more homes each week going under contract for over $1M than we have ever seen in the past. What a tremendous time for Charleston.

Did I become one with the river during our 2 day adventure down the small slice of heaven known as the Edisto River? I like to think so! The Edisto can brag about being one of the longest, free-flowing blackwater rivers in the country but don't be fooled - it's not really dirty water. At a length of 250 miles the Edisto is important for our ecosystem but also is one of, if not, my favorite places to paddle. It's known as blackwater because the water leaches tannin's from the decaying vegetation so it appears black but honestly it's a very clean river. We even drank it!

My friends and I decided to venture up to the small town of St. George where Carolina Heritage Outfitters (http://www.canoesc.com/) is headquartered (it's actually in Canadys, SC). Now, you may not have heard of them but I'm sure you have heard about their trips. CHO has been reviewed many times online (sources all over the country) and the owners, Scott and Anne, even said Oprah's photographers showed up one day to photograph the 23 miles kayak and tree-house trip. The owners were very accommodating, were well organized and seemed to know and understand the Edisto better than the river itself. They offer canoes with all the gear but my friends and I decided to take our own kayaks which they were more than happy to drive up to our drop-in spot. For our trip all we took was our kayaks, food, and beverages (I'd recommend taking more water than you think to wash dishes and for coffee). We actually boiled water out of the river for our morning coffee and we are still alive today to write this (we coined the term "Edisto Coffee").

Day 1: Scott drove us all up in a van to our arrival spot where we would embark upon our journey. Upon arriving at our destination, 23 miles up the river, we unloaded our gear and set off down-river, with the current, which made this trip easy and relaxing. The only challenge (which really would only apply to new paddlers) would be all the fallen trees you must paddle around but it was easy. Our group had two 12' kayaks and one 14' kayak and we had no issues at all. It took us about 5 hours to go the first 13 miles but we took our time, stopped to eat lunch and stopped a few other times just to stretch and enjoy the sandy edges of the river. There are a ton of spots on the Edisto that resemble small beaches which was fun to get out and play around on. On our trip we spotted turtles (even a baby one), fish and a lot of birds (no gators). Upon our arrival to the large tree-house (there is also a small and medium size) we unloaded and relaxed. The tree-house comes fully furnished, including a grill, inside propane cook-top, plates/cups/silverware, pillows and futons. There is no water or electricity but just a short walk away is an outhouse. For dinner we brought corn on the cob and shish-ka-bobs that we grilled and for dessert we made peach cobbler using a dutch oven we brought. It tasted great! After dinner we hung around the fire and enjoyed the starry night. The weather was perfect and cool enough for us to sleep comfortably but I think this trip in July/August would be very warm and make it more challenging. After a long day on the water and cooking/eating dinner we crashed about 11:00 and rose with the sun around 7:30.

Day 2: Upon arising we cooked a gourmet breakfast using the propane cook-top inside. Breakfast consisted of eggs, sausage, potatoes and peppers which we mixed all together for a delicious breakfast casserole. We hung around for a bit drinking our "edisto coffee" as we now call it and started to clean up. We had to be out of the tree-house by 11:00. We loaded up our gear and headed back out on the water around 10:30. Paddling was easier this day due to our understanding of the river, how it bends around the outside curve and how to play the current so it takes us right into our next turn. Day 2 was only a 10 mile paddle back to the car. Carolina Heritage provided us with a map which had mileage markers on it that told us how far we had gone each day and was quite helpful. We arrived to the car around 2:00, backed the cars right up to the river and unloaded very easily. After we got our kayaks tied down we headed home and made a stop at Boxcar Betty's in Summerville for a chicken sandwich.

Yes, I would absolutely do this again. The cost was a bit steep for a night "roughing" it in a tree-house but it makes sense. We were right around $200/night for the large house. The owners own about 160 acres, built 3 great tree-stands in a forest, constructed an outhouse and provided us the essentials for a night in the woods. I give this trip a 5-star experience and hope to make it an annual tradition. Check out of some of our pics below

As always - I'm here to help you buy, sell or invest in Real Estate. If you, or someone you know, is looking to move please have them reach out to me. All my clients are like family!

-Jason