Real Talk Real Estate: CSRA Real Estate Market Update

It has been a couple of months since I shared the market numbers with you, and after experiencing several contracts with multiple offers this week, I thought now would be a great time to see how we are faring. Are our sales prices seeing any effects from over 7% interest rates?

Just as a reminder, I have used the following counties to provide the content of this update,

Columbia, Richmond, Aiken, Burke, McCormick, Edgefield, Lincoln, and McDuffie. This is based on residential sales only, recorded in the Realtors of Augusta multiple listing service, land is not being included.

As you may know, most of our buyers and sellers who do not have to move are waiting on the fence. According to the news, values have been severely impacted by the interest rates and the underlying hope for most is that the interest rates and property values will soon come down to something more affordable.

Here are some overall stats between last year JAN- SEP 2022 vs. JAN- SEP 2023:

The most noticeable change is in the price per square foot! I just wasn’t expecting to see that. So, I checked my numbers again to find out why, fully expecting that the volume of higher-end homes would be the reason, nope.

When I search homes sold for 700K or less in 2023, which accounts for 98% of the sold homes, the average square footage comes in at $322 per square foot. If you look at the homes that sold for over 700K, the average drops down to $243 per square foot. In 2022, the opposite was the case. Under 700K came in at $155 per square foot and over 700K average per square foot was $231, the higher ratio.

Great, right!? What can we expect moving forward?

Let’s remember back to August 2022, the average interest rate on a mortgage was 5.5%, while August 2023 ticked in at 7.6%.

It is clear that while the overall volume is down, thanks to all our fence riders and the overall cost to borrow money, sales prices are still increasing overall. Homes sitting longer on the market and not selling for over the asking price have become the norm. But there is a caveat: if you are buying a home priced at or below the average of $303,820, you can expect to see some situations where there are multiple offers and paying over the asking price will be required to get the home.

This trend of competitive buying in the average price point has just started creeping back in here for the month of September. I can’t help but believe, based on these statistics, that even with all the interest rate increases, our area will continue to appreciate.

Here’s to the inevitable future. If you need or want to buy a home, it is time to settle into the idea that this is the new market, and it is safe to go ahead and jump back in. By the way, there is still time for you to move before the holidays hit and I can help you get into one!