More slowing occurred in East Coast real estate markets in October, as sales in South Carolina and Massachusetts continued to dwindle amid falling prices, according to Realtor associations in both states.
Home sales in South Carolina fell for the fifth straight month in October, and the overall median home price dropped from both its September and year-ago levels, according to statistics provided by the South Carolina Association of Realtors.
According to SCAR statistics, there were 5,135 home sales last month, down 9.8 percent from a year ago when 5,694 sales were recorded. Sales encompass single-family homes, condos and villas.
Among the state’s larger markets, the Coastal Carolinas region — which includes Myrtle Beach, N. Myrtle Beach, Conway and Georgetown — saw a 20.6 percent decline in sales last month from its year-ago level, followed by the Charleston Trident region where sales tumbled 13.4 percent during the period.
The overall median price for single-family, condo and villa homes in October was $155,900, down from $161,600 in September, and down 2.6 percent from $160,200 a year ago.
The most dramatic drop in median price statewide occurred in the Hilton Head area where the median fell from $475,000 in October 2005 to $300,000 last month — a 36.8 decrease.
In Massachusetts, sales of single-family homes and condominiums continued to decline for a seventh consecutive month in October, bringing median sales prices down as well, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported.
In the detached single-family home market, sales slid 16.5 percent, from 3,880 homes sold last October to 3,239 in October 2006. Last month’s sales total is the lowest October sales volume since October 1994 when 2,923 homes were sold, according to MAR.
The statewide median selling price for detached single-family homes last month was $341,000 — unchanged from September — but down 2 percent from last October’s median price of $347,950.
Condo sales fell 17.6 percent in the past year, declining from an October record of 1,777 units last year to 1,464 this October. The median selling price for condos sank 3.7 percent in the last year, falling from $271,350 in October 2005 to $261,250 this October.
