Hot Properties

It may not sound glamorous, but it’s a simple truth: The hottest properties in the Charleston area right now are the ones that are well-priced and attractively staged. No particular area of the Lowcountry is drawing a slew of buyers.

New construction isn’t beating out existing homes and condominiums are plentiful and selling in drips and drabs (though it’s a great time to buy a condo, with some builders offering to pay a year or two of regime fees).

We’re basically in a buyer’s market (heavy on sellers, light on buyers).

However, according to Jim Bailey of Century 21, those sellers who are pricing competitively and offering homes in top shape are “consistently beating market averages.” Bailey says that while no particular neighborhood appears to be hotter than another, homes in the $160,000 to $230,000 range in existing neighborhoods (without a builder to compete with) and in “top-selling shape” have fared well.

West Ashley realtor Drake Herrin agrees. “If you price it right, it’s a hot property.”

“Pricing it right” sometimes means sellers aren’t making as much profit as they had hoped. Part of the reason is because Charleston, along with most of the United States, is coming out of an inflated market. “In 2005 housing prices shot through the roof,” explains Herrin. “If it kept going up, we couldn’t afford to live here. Now it’s getting back to a normal market. The market is in the process of righting itself.”

Competition brings prices down. And when there’s competition, those who succeed are the ones who rise above the crowd. In this case, that means offering a product that’s in “model” condition. “Price gets people in the door, but condition sells,” says Herrin.

Sellers who aren’t eager to put a lot of money into a home they intend to vacate will be happy to hear that preparing a home for sale may not cost a thing. “Sometimes it’s a matter of de-cluttering, and you don’t have to put any money into it,” says Raina Rubin of Prudential Carolina. “Take all the things off the counter and see what happens. It can make a huge difference. Take all your magnets off your refrigerator. You want it to be clean and as streamlined as possible.”

That said, the heyday of the fixer-upper is over. “Not long ago, a house would come on the market and buyers would run to it, thinking that they’d otherwise miss their chance of getting into that neighborhood,” says Rubin. “The house didn’t have to be so perfect then. But now the buyers have the time to come in and really look around. No one’s standing in the door, trying to buy it from under them.”

That means replacing horrible carpet and repainting faded, battered walls. Bailey says, “Sellers often say, ‘Well, we can just put a carpet allowance in.’ And my response is, ‘Well, yeah, but they want that $1,500 off for carpet and another $1,500 off for the inconvenience of having to do it, so it would be better to put it in.’ And that was when the market was hot. Now I think it’s imperative to do everything you can to get it into top shape before it even shows. There’s enough inventory out there that if it’s priced well, but if it doesn’t smell good or it’s not clean, the buyer is hitting the NEXT button.”

After you’re through tidying up inside, be sure to take a good look outside, Rubin says. “You only get one chance to make a first impression, and it takes just 11 seconds for a buyer to decide if they want the house.”

Kim Catanzarite is a freelance writer living in Charleston.