CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Real Estate experts say the hot housing market is starting to slow even with many still looking to buy and sell. Experts say the biggest reason for the drop-off is due to a lack of available houses to meet the need.
Some experts predict the drop-off may not last long.
Realtors say what was once one of the busiest summers for real estate across the country and area has since cooled off. The problem, having fewer houses available for people to buy. They say even though things have slowed some, local experts predict the market cool down won’t last long.
Maybe you’ve seen fewer “For Sale” signs around your neighborhood lately. Real Estate agents say you’re most likely right.
“The only thing holding the market back is a lack of inventory,” says Stan Huff, a local Real Estate Agent with AgentOwned Realty in Mount Pleasant. “We still have a lack of inventory.”
After months of a booming housing market, realtors say Charleston is left with a heightened demand but little supply to meet the need.
“Our normal market is five, six thousand units – right now we have nineteen hundred,” says Huff.
Huff has been a real estate agent since the early 2000s. He says some areas like Downtown Charleston have slowed more than others but places like Mount Pleasant and high-end property on the beaches remain in high demand.
“Every section of the neighborhood or not neighborhood but the area, we’re seeing a hot market,” says Huff.
A boosted real estate summer market in part fueled by COVID-19, more people transitioning to working from home, and an urge to make a change. Huff believes real estate would’ve had a strong year even before lockdowns lingered.
“I think the pandemic in the short run heightened and made it move faster absolutely yes,” says Huff. “Do I think that we would’ve had a great market anyway, absolutely, yes.”
As the real estate market is slowing, for now, Huff predicts it could be short-lived.
“There are people who want to move that are within the Charleston area,” says Huff. “We will see a little bit of an increase coming up I believe.”
Huff says buyers and sellers should check in with realtors often and have an idea of where they’d like to live if you plan to move to accelerate the process until a dream home hits the market.