A Fantastic Start for Our Market in 2021

Myrtle Beach Real Estate Podcast with Blake Sloan

Here are the latest numbers from our fast-moving real estate market. I have a brand-new market update for you with last month’s numbers, and they’re absolutely insane. The market is pure chaos as more and more buyers come to town from all over the country. They’re making offers sight unseen, buying virtually, and we have a new record low for inventory. The number of homes for sale in January was up 14.6% from 411 to 471, which is great news. Prices are also up 19% to $275,000 for single-family resale homes on the Grand Strand. The average sale price is up 13.6% to $347,243. These are all awesome numbers. The biggest news of all is that inventory is down a whopping 65% from where it was last year. Right now, we have just 1.5 months of available inventory. A healthy market has about six months. Once inventory gets below one month, it could create a stalemate, especially as we see more buyers come into our market from other states. The biggest influx of buyers to our market has come from North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. They’re escaping metropolitan areas and working remotely; this has become one of the hottest markets in the country. “The market is pure chaos as more and more buyers come to town from all over the country.” In terms of buyer traffic, we were up 80% from November to December and 39.2% in January. The amount of showings per listing in the entire Grand Strand is seeing a bit of a pullback as interest rates shot up slightly to an average of 2.87%. As rates go up, we may see things slow down a little. Condo sales are up 22.4% from last year as they experience an inventory constraint as well. With such a low inventory of homes, buyers are having to look more toward condos both inland and on the ocean. We had 488 condo sales last month versus 366 in January 2020. The average sale price was up 19.5% to $200,594, and the median price is up 13.9% to $159,500. Condo supply is down 40.8% to 2.9 months. Here’s the bottom line: There are thousands of fewer homes on the market now than there were last year. On top of that, there is a huge influx of buyers coming from Northeast cities which is driving prices up. We’re waiting to see what will happen in the next few months, but the usual spring market is now happening this winter due to a multitude of factors. If you want to take advantage of current conditions as a home seller or buyer, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.