May is upon us and that brings more flowers and Spoleto!
The Spoleto Festival USA is Charleston’s greatest cultural event of the year. 17 days of non-stop world class entertainment. And the local talent shows off at the same time at Piccolo Spoleto. This all starts on May 26. Choose at least 5 events and make some memories!
May Calendar of Events in Charleston:
- 1,3: Stingrays playoff Hockey, N Chas Coliseum
- 1-7: Tall Ships, Charleston Harbor Marina
- 2: Christopher Cross, Chas Music Hall
- 3: Marty Stuart, Chas Music Hall
- 3-8: N Charleston Arts Festival
- 4: Gibbes Museum Street Party
- 5: Cinco de Mayo Royale Happy Hour Party, Royal American
- 6: 10th Annual Dragon Boat Festival, Brittlebank Park
- 6: 41st Annual Lowcountry Shrimp Festival and Blessing of the Fleet, McClellanville
- 6: Seersucker Saturday Kentucky Derby, Rooftop at Vendue
- 6: A Day at the Races(Kentucky Derby viewing), Belmond Charleston Place
- 11: Jimmy Buffet, Volvo Stadium
- 11: Rick Springfield, Chas Music Hall
- 12-14: 47th Annual Greek Festival, Greek Orthodox Church 30 Race St
- 13: David Crosby, Chas Music Hall
- 20: Charleston Beer Garden, The Grove at Patriots Point
- 21: 3rd Annual Bands, Burger, and Beer Throwdown, The Grove at Patriots Point
- 21: An Evening of Jazz Under the Stars, Magnolia Gardens
- 23: Bela Fleck and Chris Thile, Chas Music Hall
- 24: Jamey Johnson, Chas Music Hall
- 26-June 11: Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto
The economy in Charleston is terrific and is driving the real estate market. Let’s just look at a couple of recent news items other than Boeing and Volvo and Silicon Harbor. NCGS, a company that conducts clinical trials, will build their corporate headquarters here, investing $10M and adding 80 jobs. The Port had its busiest month ever in March, up 13% from last year. Summerville based boat manufacturer, Scout Boats, announced an $11M, 120,000 sqft expansion and the creation of 370 jobs. Elsewhere in SC, BMW is reporting the best March ever and that sales of the Spartanburg-produced X5 have jumped 20.7%. The NCAA has announced that SC will host 7 championships between 2019 and 2022.
So, as for real estate, through the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2016, sales were up 13.6% and median sales price was up to $245k, up 4.5%. It’s becoming very difficult to find a single-family home in Mount Pleasant or James Island for under $300k.
Mount Pleasant median sales price is now over $200/sqft. James Island is around $185/sqft. West Ashley is over $150/sqft. The Summerville/Goose Creek areas are the least expensive, but are now over $100/sqft.
New construction is rampant all over. They are building a new exit on I-26 to accommodate all the new growth in that area because of the new Volvo plant being built there. Another great new construction project is the neighborhood Stonoview on Johns Island. Being directly on the Stono River, this community has an abundance of amenities.
Start your search for you dream home in Stonoview
This past week saw almost 100 condo/townhome sales. Around 50-60 is more customary. The rental market is just as good as the sales market as well.
