Grand Strand Real Estate News - February 2022

February 2022

Volume 2022 Issue 2

Dear Gene Carter Team,

Summary

Two months into the year and Teressa and I have already put 24 condos under contract. She has been doing a super job of finding suitable listings for her client’s needs and submitting winning offers. I would love the opportunity to help more owners cash in on the current seller’s market!

Best time to sell in 15 Years! Check out these prices. Here's a snapshot of the general price ranges at which a handful of categories of oceanfront condos are currently selling compared to a year ago (See table in newsletter). Focus on the “Price Range 1st Qtr” column to get an idea of your property’s current value. These are the prices at which we can sell your properties (or maybe more!). The year-over-year increases for the different categories I chose to include ranged from 30% to 60%. Most of these increases, particularly for the condotels, have occurred in the past 60 days. If you are an owner, please contact me for a more detailed market analysis of your particular property.

Continued low inventory. I’ve updated the graph of active condo listings I’ve been including each month. The numbers of oceanfront listings (121) and non oceanfront listings (184) have again reached new lows.,

2021 Oceanfront and Resort Condo Sales Analysis. Below is my annual comprehensive analysis (2021) – focused specifically on this hyper local segment of our market – complete with charts and reports on historical numbers of sales, average and median prices, sales per price range, sales per number of bedrooms, cash vs. financed sales, comparative numbers of sales in 100 popular developments, much more.

That’s all for now. Check out all our usual Grand Strand Market Reports, Sales and Listing Updates, my Best Buys, and new Beach Pro Team reviews.

Greetings from The Grand Strand!

Two months into the year and Teressa and I have already put 24 condos under contract. The red-hot market is a mixed blessing. There are lots of willing buyers for Teressa to work with but good listings sell quickly and often end up in multiple offer situations. She has been doing a super job of finding suitable listings for her client’s needs and submitting winning offers. And although I’ve been listing properties right and left and setting asking prices above recent sales, they are selling almost instantly so I’ve rarely had more than a couple of active listings at any one time. I would love the opportunity to help more owners cash in on the current seller’s market!

Best Time to Sell in 15 Years! Check Out These Prices

To give you an idea of how impressive the current prices are, below a snapshot of the general price ranges at which a handful of categories of oceanfront condos are currently selling compared to a year ago. Focus on the “Price Range 1st Qtr” column to get an idea of your property’s current value. These are the prices at which we can sell your properties (or maybe more!).

The year-over-year increases for the different categories I chose to include ranged from 30% to 60%. Most of these increases, particularly for the condotels, have occurred in the past 60 days. If you are an owner, please contact me for a more detailed market analysis of your particular property.

"These approximate price ranges are based on closed sales from January through March of 2021 and pending sales as of March 3, 2022. The listings were "typical" for these categories. 

"Shotgun" 1BR - Enter through the bedroom then through the galley kitchen into the oceanfront living room. No washer/dryer. AC is sometimes central air but often one or more window units instead. HSF ranges from 450 to 575.

"Deluxe" or "true" 1BR - Enter through a hallway rather than the bedroom. Central air, washer/dryer, a kitchen which faces the ocean. HSF ranges from 600 to 800.

North Myrtle Beach condos included in this table are in the newer buildings - built since 2000." 

Inventory remains extremely low, hovering in the same range it has for the past couple of months. Below is the updated graph of active condo listings I’ve been including each month. The numbers of oceanfront listings (121) and non oceanfront listings (184) have again reached new lows.

2021 Oceanfront and Resort Condo Sales Analysis

Here is my big annual condo sales analysis. Incidentally,  most resort condos (as opposed to condos purchased and occupied by primary residents) usually follow the same market trends as oceanfront condos. Stats on quite a few other resort condos (non-oceanfront) are also included. Let’s get started…

The first graph (below) shows the number of closed oceanfront condo sales in each year since 2003. This appeared in last month’s newsletter as well. 

The number of sales in 2021 increased by 65% (2806 in 2021 vs. 1698 in 2020). 

Also, the number of closed sales for condos not in oceanfront buildings increased by 11% (5966 in 2021 vs. 5361 in 2020). 

The next two graphs (below) show the average closed sale prices and the median closed sale prices for oceanfront condos for the same years. 

These also appeared in last month’s newsletter. Both increased slightly in 2021 but, as demonstrated by the current market values in the table above, these do not reflect most of the extremely rapid price increases we’ve seen in the past 60 days.

The average closed sale price increased from $227,455 to $244,347, an increase of 7.4%.

The median closed sale price increased from $185,000 to $190,000, an increase of 2.7%.

The graph below shows closed oceanfront condo sales since 2018 by price range.

As might be expected with a 65% increase in overall sales, the numbers were higher in every range. The biggest increases seemed to have been in the $100K to $150K range and the condos over $650K (mainly luxury condos which started increasing in price ahead of the rest of the market).

The following graph shows the number of closed sales versus the number of bedrooms.

1BR units were the most popular with 2BRs not far behind.

This next chart shows average selling price per number of bedrooms.

Prices for all types increased but 4BRs went up the most. I suspect that this is because the majority of 4BR oceanfront condos are in North Myrtle Beach and/or in luxury buildings. These started increasing in value earlier than the condotels in Myrtle Beach (which make up the majority of the smaller condos). 

The next graph shows cash purchases versus financed purchases by year. 

As you can see, cash purchases still dominate, representing over 60% of all oceanfront condo sales, a slightly higher percentage than last year. I think a large percentage of the “cash” purchases are actually 1031 tax deferred exchanges. 

The next chart shows the ratio of cash purchases versus financed purchases per price range in 2021. 

As might be expected, the lower priced condos were predominantly purchased with cash but about half of the higher priced condos were also purchased with cash. In addition to the previously mentioned 1031 exchanges, many of the higher end purchases (at least in my team’s experience) were made by relatively wealthy individuals buying true second homes. Condos on the extreme high end were mainly purchased with cash, as has always been the case.

The next two tables show the respective numbers of closed sales in selected oceanfront and non-oceanfront developments for the past several years. Generally, the number of sales roughly corresponds to the number of units in a development (the bigger the development, the more transactions).

The big takeaway from this chart is the big increases in sales for many of the condotel developments - Avista (76), Bay Watch (89), Caravelle ( 57), Caribbean I and II (28 and 25), Compass Cove Pinnacle (57), Coral Beach (81), Dunes Village I and II (31 and 32), Grande Shores (36), Landmark (138), Monterey Bay (49), Ocean Reef North Tower ( 28), Paradise Resort (33), Prince Resort (31) and Sea Watch Resort (31). 

Several of the luxury developments also did well - Brighton (46), Maisons Sur Mer (37), North Beach Towers (52), Margate (30), and  Royale Palms (35), 

For resort condos off the ocean…

Among the non-oceanfront condo developments, the winners for 2021 were Edgewater at Barefoot (46), Magnolia North, Place and Pointe (47,80,100), Market Common (69) and Ocean Keyes (65).

OK, now for company performance. The following graphic shows the rankings for the top 10 real estate firms on the Grand Strand by sales volume. 

For the first time in 10 years, my very own RE/MAX Southern Shores (with $934,348,747 in total volume in our market), did not finish first. We were a close second but:

The company’s total volume, including the offices in Florence and Charleston, was well over $1 billion but this chart only includes sales on the Grand Strand. 

The firm which finally unseated RE/MAX Southern Shores did it by doubling their number of agents in a year. They have 435 agents vs. 174 for my company. Below is a “per agent” comparison (with the Beach Pro Team’s numbers included).

Agents for "Company 1" only averaged 6 transactions in 2021. Agents in RE/MAX Southern Shores averaged 21 transactions. The Beach Pro Team had 113 transactions (for an average for me and Teressa of 57 apiece)!

Well that’s the 2020 oceanfront condo sales report. Remember that each owner’s and each potential buyer’s situation is unique so please contact us if you’re thinking of buying or selling. Teressa or I will be glad to work with you to develop your personalized plan to sell or to buy.

That’s all for now. Check out all our usual Grand Strand Market Reports, Sales and Listing Updates, my Best Buys, and new Beach Pro Team reviews.

See you at the beach! 

Here are some new reviews published in Zillow. 

• Gene is extremely knowledgeable about the Grand Strand area and very attentive and prompt in returning phone calls. He was very easy to work with, and I would highly recommend him if you want someone who knows the ins and outs of the Myrtle Beach real estate market. Lisa. Horizon. Myrtle Beach.

• I just closed on my second transaction with Gene and his Beach Pro team. My unit sold within hours of listing for the full ask price. Gene is passionate about real estate, extremely knowledgeable of the area, and very easy to work with. His input during the entire process was priceless. I plan to use Gene and his Beach Pro Team for all future transactions in the myrtle beach area. Ken. Avista. North Myrtle Beach

We have chosen to utilize Zillow's review platform. This is not an endorsement of Zillow (Please ignore the ridiculous "Zestimates") but we think an online third-party review service provides more credibility than simply printing reviews ourselves. At this time, we have over 130 reviews with more coming in each month. To see all of the reviews at any time, you can visit Zillow Beach Pro Team reviews. 

Grand Strand Market Report - January 2021

OF/OV Homes Brochures:    Link to Listings 

OF/OV Homes Spreadsheet:   Link to Spreadsheet 

OF/OV Condo Brochures:    Link to Listings

OF/OV Condo Spreadsheet:   Link to Spreadsheet

Non-OF Condo Brochures:     Link to Listings 

Non-OF Condo Spreadsheet:  Link to Spreadsheet