July Home Prices in James/Johns Island Buck Trend
In what tends to be the beginning of a seasonally weaker period, home prices in James and Johns Island continued to march higher in July according to the Trident Association of Charleston Realtors. As the spring buying season comes to an end, prices typically retreat in the mid-summer and fall period. This trend bore fruit in the greater Charleston region as median prices eased less than 1% from June to July. However, the normal weakness was nowhere in sight in James and Johns Islands as median prices for single family homes surged 2.8% and 4% respectively month over month, as consumers continued to look to the islands to meet their residential needs. Year over year, year to date median prices moved at a 12.6% rate in James Island and a 7.3% clip in Johns Island. This compared favorably to the 4.6% increase across the greater Charleston region. The inventory of homes on the market fell 16% year over year to a 3.4 month inventory; a normal market sees about a 6 month supply of homes on the market. The shortage of inventory appears to be one of the factors fueling increased home values.
