Posts in category 'Market Insights'

When we look at a month of real estate activity, it is tempting to ask one simple question: did prices go up or did they go down? After reviewing the residential homes that closed throughout August 2026, I do not think the Charleston-area market gives us such a simple answer. Prices moved up and down from one day to another, but much of that movement came from the types and locations of homes that happened to close that day. August did not appear to be a month when the market suddenly changed direction. Instead, it showed a market where buyers continued to purchase many of the same kinds of homes in many of the same places, while becoming increasingly dependent upon price, condition, location and overall value working together.

The first thing that became obvious when looking at August one day at a time was...

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Tall Pines has always been one of those neighborhoods that is easy to overlook if you are only looking at numbers on a real estate website. It is established, convenient, and different from many of the newer communities being built around Summerville and Goose Creek. Right now, the neighborhood is showing some real estate activity, but the activity is also reminding us that buyers are being selective.

As of August 25, there are six active homes in Tall Pines and three homes currently under contract. The active homes range from the upper $200,000s into the mid-$300,000s. Some homes have reduced their asking prices, while others have attracted buyers in a relatively short period of time. One home that recently went under contract has also returned to the market. That does not automatically mean there was a problem with the house, because contracts fall apart for many different reasons. It simply reminds us...

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If we want to understand what buyers are looking for right now, one useful place to start is with the homes they actually chose. From Friday, August 14 through Sunday, August 16, 2026, 151 homes went under contract in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties. Charleston County accounted for 66 of those contracts, Berkeley County had 55, and Dorchester County had 30. One weekend does not establish a long-term market trend, but it does give sellers a useful snapshot of the homes buyers were willing to act on.

Detached homes clearly led the market. Across the three counties, 125 of the 151 contracts, or about 83%, were detached homes. Charleston County had 56 detached and 10 attached contracts. Berkeley County had 42 detached and 13 attached, while Dorchester County had 27 detached and only three attached. This does not mean attached homes are not selling, but it does show that detached homes represented most of...

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If you own a home in Tall Pines Plantation and have found yourself wondering why some homes sell quickly while others sit on the market, the current activity gives us a few useful clues. July was especially quiet, with no new ratified contracts or closed sales between July 10 and July 20. Since then, however, we have seen movement. The important lesson is not that every home needs to be inexpensive or completely renovated. Instead, buyers appear to be responding when the price, condition, and overall value of a property make sense together.

One of the clearest examples is the home on Foxtail Pine Road that was listed for $275,000 and went under contract within just a few days. I personally went through that house. It was not completely updated, and I noticed some cracking around a few doorways that a buyer would reasonably want to investigate during due diligence. At the same time, the house had a lot going for i...

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When homeowners see a house go under contract almost immediately, it is easy to assume there must have been something unusually special about it. Maybe it was completely remodeled. Maybe it was priced too low. Maybe the market suddenly became hot again. But when I looked at 12 recent homes that received ratified contracts within their first one to three days on the market, the answer was more interesting.

These homes were not all alike. They ranged from a $230,000 Ladson home being sold as-is to a $739,000 coastal home near the beach. Some were almost 50 years old. Others were brand-new construction. Some had pools, some had small yards, one was a one-bedroom condo, and several were fairly ordinary homes in established neighborhoods. The average home was about 1,791 square feet and the average contract happ...

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