The New Year is upon us! The Stingrays are on the ice this month and the Dock Street Theatre will be performing Chicken and Biscuits from Jan 26-Feb 11. We will see the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in February. Here is your January calendar:
1: Polar Plunge, Blu Folly Beach
1: Charleston Emancipation Proclamation Association Parade, Downtown
2-7: Hadestown Musical, N Chas PAC
4: The Commodores, Chas Music Hall
9: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Gaillard
12: Liquid Pleasure, West Beach Conference Center Kiawah
12: CSO Masterworks Brahms, Gaillard
12: Nighttime at the Museum 21+, Charleston Museum
13: Kansas, N Chas PAC
17: Greensky Bluegrass, Chas Music Hall
18: John Crist, N Chas PAC
21: Oyster Roast, Firefly Distillery
21: Hannah Berner, Chas Music Hall
21: Quentin Baxter Jazz w/CC and the Adelitas, Seabrook Island Club
23: Thirsty Fox Cocktail Class, Frannie and the Fox
24: The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chas Music Hall
25: Jim Breuer, N Chas PAC
25: Rory Scovel, Riviera Theatre
26-27: The Mavericks, Chas Music Hall
26: Brett Young, N Chas PAC
27: Charlie Post 15k/5k Run, Sullivan’s Island
27: Jupiter Coyote, Music Farm
Real estate sales continue to be slightly tepid mostly due to the rise in mortgage rates and the holiday season. Rates have been coming down a bit though. They are now about 6.5%. That’s a lot better than 7.5-8%. The Federal Reserve announced that their plans for 2024 was to keep this trend going. They feel like they are seeing signs for a soft landing where they have been able to reduce inflation without sending the economy into a recession. Year to date, Charleston is down 16% in transactions versus the same period last year. November though January are typically slow months for sales in the Low Country. Our median sales prices continue to be strong throughout the entire area and the median sales price is over $410k. To give a little perspective, at the end of 2019, our median sales price in Charleston was $280k. That’s more than a 45% increase in four years!
Meanwhile, the Charleston area economy has been doing great. Air Canada is boosting its North American network capacity with the addition of Charleston as a nonstop destination. The daily international service between Charleston International Airport (CHS) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) begins March 28, 2024. This will be the state’s only daily nonstop international flight. The North Charleston City Council recently approved contract agreements for the 50-acre riverfront development known as Battery Park. A partnership consisting of Jamestown, Weaver Capital Partners, and WECCO Development will assist the city in transforming the former Charleston Naval Complex into a vibrant, mixed-use district and regional destination. The development, which is aligned to the City’s “Battery Park Master Plan,” will include over 1,400 residential units and a mix of commercial uses that support local and regional economic growth. It is designed to improve the quality of life of area residents, foster more equitable and sustainable economic development, advance community health and wellness, encourage social cohesion, and build community. Woodhaven Pizza is set to open its doors next month, bringing New York style pies to Mount Pleasant. E4H Environments for Health Architecture, the largest architecture firm solely dedicated to health care and health science and technology facility design, has added a new office in Charleston. NOVA Infrastructure has added A&R Bulk-Pak, a South Carolina-based provider of contract packaging, transloading, warehousing and other critical supply chain services for the petrochemical industry, to its lineup. Charleston-area health systems are anticipating more competitors coming to the area to build ambulatory and urgent care centers now that the state legislature has lifted a “Certificate of Need” regulatory process required to build most health care facilities in the past. AESC, a global electric vehicle battery technology company is expanding its state-of-the-art battery cell facility in Florence County. The $810 million investment will create 450 new jobs.
We wish you and your family a healthy and happy 2024! We are committed to providing our clients with an unparalleled level of service. We strive to have you feel and experience our commitment to you all while helping accomplish your real estate goals. That is truly what it is all about! Please reach out to us if you have any questions or if you are thinking of buying, investing, or selling a home!
