It is finally fall in Charleston y’all! The Charleston Farmers Market continues each Saturday morning through November at Marion Square. There are Fall Garden Strolls and wine tastings at Middleton Place all month long. The Preservation Society will be holding its Fall Tours of Architecture, History, and Gardens from Oct 11th through Nov 4th. Here is your October calendar of events:
1: Choose Your Own Operadventure, Turtle Point Clubhouse Kiawah
1: Gov’t Mule, Firefly Distillery
1: Lewis Hatch Chile Roast, Rancho Lewis
1: Trey Kennedy, N Chas PAC
3: Switchfoot, Chas Music Hall
4: Drive by Truckers, Chas Music Hall
5: Yelawolf, Chas Music Hall
6: Milky Way Expedition, Bulls Island
6: Gary Gulman, Riviera Theater
6: Yes, Chas Music Hall
7: 26th Annual Awendaw Blue Crab Festival, Awendaw Municipal Park
7: Community Day at the Dill Sanctuary, James Island
7: Sip and Stroll, Drayton Hall
8: 2nd Sunday on King Street
8: Sunday Funday Brunch, Firefly Distillery
13: Sun Room, Chas Music Hall
14: Cars at Kiawah River
14: Darren Knight, N Chas PAC
14: Park Circle Art Walk
14: St Paul and the Broken Bones, Chas Music Hall
15: Patti Lupone, Gaillard
15: Steve Martin and Martin Short, N Chas PAC
19: Willie Nelson and Family, Firefly Distillery
21: Stingrays, N Chas Coliseum
21: Cars and Coffee, Kiawah Freshfields
21: Melissa Aldana and the Chas Jazz Orchestra, Chas Music Hall
23: Pink Martini featuring China Forbes, Gaillard
24: Dracula Ballet Chas Music Hall
25: George Thorogood, Chas Music Hall
26: Steve Hackett, Chas Music Hall
28: Luke Bryan, Credit One Stadium
29: India Fest, Marion Square
29: Lake Street Dive, Gaillard
Real estate sales in Charleston continue to be slightly tepid, mostly due to the rise in mortgage rates. Rates are now over 7.25% for a national average. It looks like these higher mortgage rates may be around for a while. The Fed is trying to navigate a soft landing in its goal to lower inflation to 2%. They are trying to cause as little pain as possible, but ultimately this will just make all this last longer. Year to date, we are down 19% in transactions versus last year. The median sales prices in the Charleston area continue to be strong and are over $400k. We are still in a sellers’ market due to the low inventory. Before the pandemic, a good week saw less than 10 Charleston homes go under contract for over $1M. Recently, 20-25 has been the standard and last week it was 38!
Meanwhile, the Charleston area economy has been doing great. Air Canada has selected Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner as part of an ongoing effort to modernize and grow its fleet. This consists of an order for 18 new jets and an option to purchase 12 more. Australia’s Qantas Group has selected Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner to modernize its wide-body fleet with an order for four 787-9 and eight 787-10 airplanes. Spirit Airlines has launched service between Charleston and Las Vegas. The new Las Vegas route will be the only nonstop flight connecting Charleston area travelers to Las Vegas. Los Angeles based sustainable fashion brand Reformation recently opened its first South Carolina store on King Street in Charleston in early September. GBT Realty will build the latest housing development in Goose Creek in Summerville. The Tennessee-based commercial developer and investment company has secured financing for an $88M project in Summerville. GBT’s “The Village at Carnes Crossroads” brings 306 multifamily homes and over 11k sq ft of retail to the heart of the Lowcountry. Elliot Remington Auto Studio has opened a new 27k sq ft state-of-the-art auto preservation, restoration, and storage facility near downtown Charleston. The auto studio will serve as home for luxury, classic, vintage and exotic vehicles to be stored, preserved and cared for.
