Here are the latest news and notes from our Myrtle Beach market.
Another month in the books for 2020, another set of astonishing numbers to review! Single-family home sales for October were up 42% year over year from 471 to 669—a truly massive jump. I’ve been in real estate for 10 years and I can’t remember the last time we saw a 40%-plus increase in home sales. Additionally, the median sales price rose 13.9% month over month from $262,000 in September to over $300,000 in October.
For quite some time now, we’ve been tracking our market’s inventory crisis; whereas a healthy marketplace usually has around five to six months’ worth of inventory, we’re currently hovering around just 2.4 months’ worth, meaning that there are simply not enough available homes to meet buyer demand. There was a colossal year-over-year drop in inventory for October—52% to be exact. That means we’ll see intense upward pressure on price, which is always a lagging indicator. If you’re thinking about selling, now is definitely the right time.
To get a clearer idea of future business, we always track real-time showings; as of October, the number of showings per listing is up 58.7% across our entire MLS, which means we’ll see yet another increase in sales within the next 45 to 60 days when all those buyers pull the trigger. We’re still seeing a sizable migration of buyers from the northern cities down into our Myrtle Beach area, which has been fueled largely by our lower cost of living, our lower average sale price of real estate, and the greater ability of many to work remotely.
There was a colossal year-over-year drop in inventory for October—52% to be exact.
”Interest rates are also at an all-time low. Currently, we’re still scraping the floor with rates as a low as 2.98%. Last month, condo sales were up 36%, and prices were up 13% to $197,568. That’s amazing news, but there’s also a supply crisis in the condo market, as supply is down 25.5% at 3.8 months’ worth of inventory. As is the case for single-family homes, buyer traffic has only increased amid low inventory. Showings per listing are up 23.8% in the condo market.
At the moment, we have 59,287 active buyers cataloged in our system alone. To help match these buyers with the right home, we developed a technology that takes any new listing and uses data on its features to create a reverse search and find the most likely buyer based on a buyer’s previous search patterns. The reality is, I outspend the average agent 100 to one from a marketing standpoint, and as you read this, I’m marketing for buyers across the country.
If you want to know more about how we help buyers get into the homes they want, reach out to me by phone or email. If you’re thinking about selling and want to do so with as little hassle as possible while still fetching top dollar, it’s time to give me a call. We’re here and ready to help you achieve your real estate goals in this hot end-of-year market.
