Housing Market Improving in York, Lancaster, and Chester Counties
Harsh winter weather may have slowed housing construction, but it barely put a dent in sales as 2014 continues to show promise, according to many local real estate agents.
For March, and data comparing 2013 to 2014, sales improved in York, Chester and Lancaster counties, according to the S.C. Realtors Association and the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. Another great sign, while single-family home sales went up, construction on multi-family projects rose as well.
On Tuesday, Charter Properties announced the purchase of 35 acres at Standard Pacific’s master planned community Brayden, west of Fort Mill’s Baxter Village on S.C. 160. Charter Properties plans to build 350 apartments on the site. This exciting announcement comes as work continues on the Enclave at Bailes Ridge on the east side of S.C. 160 near U.S. 521. The Enclave at Bailes Ridge is a $31.4 million luxury apartment development.
In Fort Mill, construction continues on The Greens apartments just off Main Street.
2014 is showing the potential to be a good year as the number of units sold, the number of housing starts and prices are all showing improvement over 2013.
According to data from the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association, York County saw improvement from 2013 to 2014. The median sales price for York County homes was $188,990 in 2014 compared to $181,500 in 2013. The month-to-month comparison shows a $76,000 gain in the median price, from $118,000 in March 2013 to $194,000 in March 2014.
The average days on the market in York County dropped from 117 to 110 for year-to-year data. New listings showed a year-to-year increase in York County from 1,147 to 1,205.
In Lancaster County, the year-to-year median price rose from $212,000 to $219,000 while it rose from $57,000 to $61,000 in Chester County.
For South Carolina, the median price rose from $149,000 to $154,500, almost a 4 percent increase. Additional good news for sellers was sales prices were 95.6 percent of the listed prices for South Carolina, the highest percentage since the spring of 2010. Before the housing market collapsed in 2008, South Carolina sellers were getting 97 percent of their asking price.
The price range that tended to sell the quickest statewide was between $200,000 and $300,000, selling in about 111 days while home prices above $300,000 were the slowest to sell at 131 days on the market.
New residential listings showed mixed results. The number of listings in Lancaster County fell from 399 to 322 year to year, while it increased in York County from 1,147 to 1,205. Statewide new listings remained static year to year with 28,413 in 2013 and 28,446 so far in 2014.