What's up in August - besides the Temperature

The dog days of August are here and that means Tax Free Weekend on Aug 4-6. Charleston is getting national attention for the total Solar Eclipse on Aug 21.  Solar Eclipse events include Eclipse Baseball Game at Joe Riley Park, an all day program at the Children’s Museum, Citadel Mall is an official NASA viewing location, Total Eclipse of the Art at the Gibbes Museum, a view party at MUSC Health Stadium on Daniel Island, and an eclipse party at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina. August also means that schools will be starting back and there are some events with free school supplies.  

Here is your August calendar of events:

2: Broken Flowers Film Screening, Music Hall

4-6: SC Tax Free Weekend

4: Reggae Concert Series, James Island County Park

9-13: Cirque du Soleil OVO, N Chas Coliseum

9: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Music Hall

10: David Feherty, Music Hall

11-12: Hootie and the Blowfish Homegrown Tour, Volvo Car Stadium

12: Berkeley Goes Back to School Festival, 418 Main St Moncks Corner

12: Shaggin’ on the Cooper, Mt Pleasant Pier

13: City of Charleston First Day Festival, Liberty Square

13: Sprint Triathlon, James Island County Park

18: Moonlight Mixer, Folly Pier

18: Summerville movie in the park -Rogue 1

20: Life Aquatic Film Screening, Music Hall

20: Summerville CommUNITY Back to School Bash 2-6:00

21: Solar Eclipse - GET YOUR GLASSES ON

22: Tony Bennett, Gaillard

26: 18th Annual Race for the ARK, Summerville

30: The Second City Cure for the Common Comedy, Music Hall

Sept 1-3: Low Country Jazz Festival, N Chas PAC

Travel and Leisure Magazine named Charleston as the best city in the US for the fifth consecutive year and they also named us the 2nd best city in the World.  Southern Living magazine named Charleston the #1 Best City in the South. Food and Wine magazine included Charleston in their list of the Top 10 Most Exciting Food Cities in the World.

In business news Volvo and Mercedes plants moving in have begun to have a ripple effect here. IFA, a German Automotive supplier, plans to expand by adding a new 234,000 square foot plant in Berkeley County(+120 jobs.) The company presently makes about 2 million drive shafts a year at its Ladson facility. Knapheide is building a 75,000 square foot facility (+63 jobs) in Charleston County to provide and install van interiors and bodies for the Mercedes plant located down the road.  T-Mobile will renovate the abandoned Rivers Ave Kmart store in N Chas to create the largest call center for the carrier adding 400 new jobs.

Of course, with all this going on, the real estate market continues to move forward nicely.  Year to date, transactions are up 7.7% over the same time period from 2016.  2017 will likely be the busiest year in Charleston history.  We may sell over 18k units.  Median sales price is up a modest and sustainable 3.9%.  Median sales price is at an all time high of $253k.   However, according to my regression analysis of prices back to 1991, we are still undervalued.  We should have a median price of about $270k right now. Mt Pleasant continues to be a very attractive area with median prices in the $225/sqft range.  However, Park Circle in N Charleston and Hanahan and Daniel Island have become hot spots for Boeing employees.  And now Summerville and Goose Creek are seeing a boom with the coming of Volvo.

Homes are still selling quickly and I'd love to sell yours. Call us today to find out how we DO REAL ESTATE DIFFERENTLY!

Jason

843.696.8627

Palmettodreamhomes.com

July Activities and Real Estate Update

Happy 4th of July from PDH and Jason Gregg

This events calendar and update is not all-inclusive but it'll give you a great start to this month.  It’s hard to imagine, but half the year is over and July is upon us.  July and August are our hottest months and a great time to enjoy the beach and air conditioning!  There will of course be firework displays all over town on July 4 and you can find these at http://counton2.com/2017/06/30/4th-of-july-events-around-the-lowcountry/. There is some good music coming to town this month as well.  Of course, the boys of summer are at it again at Joe Riley Stadium.  It’s anyone’s guess what Riverdogs owner Mike Veeck might come up with next.  Especially if his partner in crime, Bill Murray, is in town.

Here is your July calendar of events:

1: 5th Annual History Fair, Magnolia Plantation

2: Mountain Music Festival, Fresh Fields Kiawah

4: Fireworks displays from Yorktown, N Chas Riverfront Park, Folly Beach, etc

4: Uncle Sam Jam Party, Mt Pleasant Waterfront Park

4: Reading of Dec of Independence at Old Exchange at 10:30am followed by March to St Phillips Church by the Washington Light Infantry, followed by Charleston Wind Symphony 4th of July Spectacular at St Phillips Church

6-8: MegaDock Billfishing Tournament Governor’s Cup, City Marina

8: Gromfest Surf Contest, Folly Beach

12: Cody Jinks, Music Hall

13: Steve Earle, Music Hall

14: Surf in the City, Music Hall

15,16: Longboard Surfing Invitational, Folly Beach

15: Shaggin’ on the Cooper, Mt Pleasant Pier

21: Reggae Nights, James Island County Park

22: Hank Williams Jr, Volvo Car Stadium

23: Jason Isbell, N Chas PAC

26: Lost in Translation, Music Hall

29: Palmetto Paddle, Brittlebank Park

30: Patty Griffin and Lee Ann Womack, Music Hall

The real estate market here is booming and 2017 will likely be the busiest year we’ve ever had.  2016 was the 2nd busiest year ever by only a few transactions, and 2017 year to date is up 8.9% over 2016.  Median sales price is also up 4.4% to an all time high of $250k.  The economy is roaring along with only about 3.1% unemployment.  Boeing is doing quite well here and that has led to Volvo building a new plant west of Goose Creek.  Of course, BMW in Greenville has meant a lot to our port here in Charleston.  The Chas Business Journal recently described the BMW/Port experience. Riding over the Ravenel Bridge the rows of shiny new autos are amazing. 700-1000 cars are unloaded each day from trains to the parking area, freeing the train to return to Greer to re-up. 5 BMW cars are loaded per hour onto a waiting cargo ship by 16 drivers each shift, six days a week. When Volvo’s Berkeley plant is up and running, they expect to ship out 30,000 vehicles of the 65,000 manufactured in 2018 through the port.  Charleston has also become a favorite for tech startups.  We have incubators all over town where these young people are working on the next hot technology.  Charleston is now known internationally as Silicon Harbor!  Getting voted #1 city in the World about 4 times in a row drew a lot of attention our way and we are no longer a hidden gem.  The world has found us and they are coming.

I'm here to help you with any of your real estate needs. Please call us at 843.696.8627 or email at Jason.Gregg@ERA.com.  My site is www.Palmettodreamhomes.com and you can easily search for homes there anytime. 

Sincerely,
Jason and the Palmetto Team

What does "the market is hot" really mean?

Good Morning from Myrtle Beach.  I'm sitting on a balcony admiring the ocean and hearing the waves and what better way to soak in this beauty than by reviewing real estate stats.  Yup - exciting stuff.  You know in school I really hated stats and said I'll never use this crap.  Yet, here I am writing about stats and they are an integral part of my business.  Honestly, if you ever talk to a real estate agent that cannot give you a few up to date, relevant statistics it's time to move on. Agents that don't know, or understand, the market honestly are dangerous and do you want to put your biggest investment in the hands of someone that is dangerous? Me neither. Check out our local stats from last week and let me know what you think.  Also, I just listed a house yesterday in Sangaree and we had at least a dozen showings in the first day. If you're home is for sale and you have not had at least 5 showings in the first day then reconsider your marketing efforts. Of course, just call me and I'm here to help you sell and buy.

www.Palmettodreamhomes.com

Jason Gregg, Realtor

ERA Wilder Realty

Jason.Gregg@era.com

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Real Estate during the week of 5/5/17-5/11/17

• 377 residential properties under contract past wk. Excellent week.
• 301 single family homes under contract past wk. Median LIST price $263k, $140/sqft.  
• Only 2% are short sales
• 47 island single family homes under contract past wk.
• 17 James Island single family homes under contract past week
• 16 Johns Island single family homes under contract past week
• 43 West Ashley single family homes under contract past week
• 25 North Chas single family homes under contract past wk LISTED from $29k-$283k.
• 50 Mt Pleasant single family homes under contract past wk LISTED from $244k-$1.9M. 5 Park West. Median $480k, $207/sqft.
• 5 Peninsula Charleston single family homes under contract past wk LISTED from $255k-$575k.(Low this week)
• 65 Summerville/Ladson single family homes under contract past wk LISTED from $84k-$550k. 6 Wescott, 6 Ashborough. Median $220k, $122/sqft.
• 63 Hanahan/Gs Creek/Moncks Cnr single family homes under contract past week LISTED from $75k-$389k. 6 Crowfield.  Median $190k,$111/sqft.
• 65 condo/townhomes under contract past wk. 4 LISTED under $100k. 38 from $100k-$199k. 13 from $200k-$299k. 7 from $300k-$425k. 3 from $500k-$1.5M. 15 Mt P.

May 2017 Newsletter

May is upon us and that brings flowers and Spoleto.  The Spoleto Festival USA is Charleston’s greatest cultural event of the year. 17 days of non-stop world class entertainment.  And the local talent shows off at the same time at Piccolo Spoleto.  This all starts on May 26.  Choose at least 5 events and make some memories. Below is your May calendar of events:

1,3: Stingrays playoff Hockey, N Chas Coliseum

1-7: Tall Ships, Charleston Harbor Marina

2: Christopher Cross, Chas Music Hall

3: Marty Stuart, Chas Music Hall

3-8: N Charleston Arts Festival

4: Gibbes Museum Street Party

5: Cinco de Mayo Royale Happy Hour Party, Royal American

6: 10th Annual Dragon Boat Festival, Brittlebank Park

6: 41st Annual Lowcountry Shrimp Festival and Blessing of the Fleet, McClellanville

6: Seersucker Saturday Kentucky Derby, Rooftop at Vendue

6: A Day at the Races(Kentucky Derby viewing), Belmond Charleston Place

11: Jimmy Buffet, Volvo Stadium

11: Rick Springfield, Chas Music Hall

12-14: 47th Annual Greek Festival, Greek Orthodox Church 30 Race St

13: David Crosby, Chas Music Hall

20: Charleston Beer Garden, The Grove at Patriots Point

21: 3rd Annual Bands, Burger, and Beer Throwdown, The Grove at Patriots Point

21: An Evening of Jazz Under the Stars, Magnolia Gardens

23: Bela Fleck and Chris Thile, Chas Music Hall

24: Jamey Johnson, Chas Music Hall

26-June 11: Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto

For an online list view check out  http://www.journalscene.com/events/#!/

The economy in Charleston is terrific and is driving the real estate market.  Let’s just look at a couple of recent news items other than Boeing and Volvo and Silicon Harbor.  NCGS, a company that conducts clinical trials, will build their corporate headquarters here, investing $10M and adding 80 jobs.  The Port had its busiest month ever in March, up 13% from last year. Summerville based boat manufacturer, Scout Boats, announced an $11M, 120,000sqft expansion and the creation of 370 jobs.  Elsewhere in SC, BMW is reporting the best March ever and that sales of the Spartanburg-produced X5 have jumped 20.7%.  The NCAA has announced that SC will host 7 championships between 2019 and 2022.

So, as for real estate, through the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2016, sales were up 13.6% and median sales price was up to $245k, up 4.5%.  It’s becoming very difficult to find a single-family home in Mt Pleasant or James Island for under $300k. Mt Pleasant median sales price is now over $200/sqft.  James Island is around $185/sqft.  West Ashley is over $150/sqft. The Summerville/Goose Creek areas are the least expensive, but are now over $100/sqft.  New construction is rampant all over.  They are building a new exit on I-26 to accommodate all the new growth in that area because of the new Volvo plant being built there.  This past week saw almost 100 condo/townhome sales.  Around 50-60 is more customary.   And the rental market is just as good as the sales market.  It’s a great time for Charleston.

Who do you know looking to buy or sell? Allow us to represent you, friends or colleagues in the buying or selling process and we'll get you a win-win.  We accept nothing less than a 10+ experience so let us show you how we achieve that. Call us today or go to www.Palmettodreamhomes.com

 

Jason

ERA Wilder Realty

843.696.8627

Jason.Gregg@ERA.com

Charleston in May is gorgeous