Although it is sunny and almost 70 degrees outside, November is behind us and we gear up for the last month of 2014! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week and share my excitement for Christmas which is right around the corner…
Local market real estate activity held relatively in balance during November as the volume of new listings introduced into our local markets continued on a similar path as last year, and was essentially offset by the number of closed sales and pending sales reported during the past 30 days. As November 2014 closes out, the overall absorption rate on Hilton Head Island is 79.17 home sales per month with an 8.37 month supply of housing inventory. On the mainland there have been 179.58 sales per month which equates to a 5.39 month supply of housing inventory. Combined, our markets are now hovering at a 6.30 month supply of housing inventory. At this current inventory level local home prices should hold firm as we head into 2015, as we consider a “balanced market” to generally be a 5-7 month supply of inventory.
During November, two premium oceanfront homes in Sea Pines sold at $5,225,000and $6,375,000 respectively. Sales such as these have the potential to stimulate similar activity, which will hopefully result in higher end movement as we head into the New Year. On a broader spectrum, home prices between $250,000 and $500,000 continued to fetch the most activity, while villas priced between $300,000 and $400,000 represented the most activity in that market. Additionally we have seen more cash buyers at the closing table in November 2014 compared to November of last year, and the percentage of cash buyers remains at about a third of all home sales and half of all villa sales.
As a final thought…our investment clients looking to be positioned for the next rental season should really keep an eye on the calendar as we near the end of 2014. Now is indeed the time to take advantage of low rates and sellers looking to move inventory before the year end. Based on last year’s rental numbers, we are expecting a fantastic season again this year, with a few million visitors expected to head our way! Summer rental bookings are already filling up. Therefore consider finalizing your purchase decisions during the next month to allow time to have an investment purchase ready to accommodate our valued friends heading this way from global locations in 2015.