What a year! I don’t know about you, but I’m sure glad 2009 is behind us. Even though ‘09 was another very productive year for the Mulligan Team - the sagging economy has taken a toll on a lot of our friends and neighbors. Unemployment in South Carolina is one of the highest in the nation, the local real estate market has taken a beating, and the number of homes in foreclosures or offered for short sales continues to grow. But there may be some good news – the housing market and our local economy may have bottomed out in ’09 and hopefully will begin to rebound in 2010 – with the help of some new employers coming to town!
Good news. By now everyone has heard Boeing selected North Charleston for their new 787 Dreamliner production plant. The project is expected to have a major impact on our local economy to the tune of 3800 jobs and a $750 million initial investment which could reach $2 billion by 2017.
It gets better. According to the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy Report published in April 2009, Boeing has a “jobs multiplier” of 3.96, which means each of the company’s jobs will support nearly three additional jobs in the state. Once the Boeing plant is finished and the 3800 employees are in place, the state of South Carolina could see over 11,000 additional jobs - mostly in the Charleston area. The impact: in the next 2-5 years over 15,000 new jobs could be coming to the area.
More good news. In November the U.S. Energy Department announced that North Charleston would become a test-bed for the world's largest offshore wind turbines. The facility, which will be located on the old Navy Base in North Charleston, could bring 10,000 – 20,000 jobs to South Carolina over the next 20 years. Economists predict the $98 million project could overshadow the economic impact of the Boeing plant.
The effect on the housing market. It’s estimated that Boeing and the wind turbine facility could generate nearly 20,000 new jobs in the next 5 years – approximately 4000 per year. What we don’t know; how many jobs will be filled with local hires vs. out of town workers? Either way, we should see a significant bump in home sales.
It’s anticipated the starting income of new Boeing employees will be around $40K - $50K a year, and they will have a combined family income of around $100,000. Given these numbers, new employees will qualify for homes up to about $350K. Like other homebuyers, we expect value, schools, location and proximity to their place of employment will be key considerations in their housing selection. Given this criteria, the Dorchester Rd corridor (Ashley Phosphate to Trolley Rd), particularly Whitehall, Wescott Plantation and Bridges of Summerville should be prime candidates for Boeing employees. Activity above Trolley Road may be limited by traffic congestion until the Dorchester Road widening project is completed.
How soon will we see an affect on the housing market? A question that seems to be on everyone’s mind, “How soon will the Boeing and wind turbine project affect our local housing market?”
As of January 1, 2010 there were 107 homes for sale in MLS area 61, which encompasses the Dorchester Road corridor, Ladson and part of Summerville – which translates to about 6 ½ months of inventory. As a rule of thumb, when inventory levels are about 7-months it’s considered a buyers market. Below 5-months of inventory is a sellers market, and between 5-7 is considered a balanced market. Currently we are at the upper end of a balanced market, but that will likely change as
we approach spring and the number of homes for sale increase. So, rather then an abrupt turn around in the market, we expect to see a gradual improvement in the market through the Spring an Summer, and then a more marked improvement in 2011 for homes priced between $200K - $350K. Upper end homes – home priced above $350K could continue to be a tough.
What to watch for in 2010.
- Rising interest rates.
- First time home buyer incentives.
- Road construction and /infrastructure development.
Marketing your home to out of town buyers. To capture the attention of out of town buyers it’s extremely important sellers understand on-line marketing. The days of searching the classifieds of local newspaper, driving around neighborhoods looking for “For Sale” signs and Open Houses are gone. Outdated Real Estate Guides at the local supermarkets are worthless to a buyer in Seattle searching for a home in Charleston.
Today’s buyers are on-line. According to a survey of buyers and sellers by the National Association of Realtors, 80% of the people across the country who purchased a new home last year used the Internet while researching their purchase. This is especially important considering many of the Boeing employees relocating to Charleston may come from Seattle, Washington – one of the worlds most “wired’ cities in the world.
Today’s buyers are shopping for their new home on-line from hundreds of miles away - in the comfort of their home. They narrow their choices based on what they see on-line. And when they arrive in Charleston they’ll have a short list of properties they want to see. If your home didn’t capture their attention on-line, it’s unlikely it’s going to get shown.
A quick search on Realtor.com for homes for sale in Summerville returned 1369 listings, North Charleston returned 884 homes for sale, and in the 29420 zip code there were 344 listings. Does the phrase “small fish in a big pond” come to mind? So how do you make your home stand out on-line?
Buyers rated photographs as the single most useful tool in their search. The photos buyers see online are often the first, and sometimes the only, chance you may have to make a good impression. If the photos look shoddy or unprofessional, buyers are going to click to the next home.
The Mulligan Team Advantage: Homes listed by the Mulligan Team are all optimized to be displayed on-line to stand out from the rest: We provide
- Skillfully written descriptions to highlight the unique features of your home.
- Professional photographs inside and out using professional digital cameras, wide angle lens and additional lighting to bring out the beauty of you home.
- Distribution to over 700 websites, accessible worldwide. Listings enhanced as a “Featured Homes” on Realtor.com with 5 to 6 million unique visits monthly.
- Hi-res, full screen Virtual Tours to highlight the unique features of your home to make it stand out from the rest
- Premium website, mulliganteam.com, optimize specifically using the latest web technology for search engines
- Over 23,700 page views per year
Final thoughts. We hope this information is useful to you as you make plans for 2010. If your plans include a move, let us know. It is our privilege to help you with all your real estate needs.