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By admin, January 20, 2011 12:32 am

Myrtle Beach real estate maintained a strong pace of home and condo sales over the last several months, just as the entire Palmetto State showed an upswing in properties sold. According to a January 15, 2011 article from The State, the number of home sales throughout South Carolina in 2010 increased relative to 2009. In the aftermath of the most recent nationwide recession, this past year marked the first time since 2006 when the number of property sales increased year-over-year. Numerically, the rise was almost negligible, edging up by about one-fifth of one percent, while the average sales price increased by less than one percent. Despite state-wide cumulative strength, there were some pockets of weakness in South Carolina, especially in the Midlands area. Coastal areas such as Myrtle Beach had a stronger showing year-over-year, although even the Grand Strand region saw a year-over-year decline in the quantity of properties sold. In Myrtle Beach, the average sales price of a single family home was $172,625 in 2010, marking a decrease of about one percent compared to 2009. The same region saw a decline in the median condominium price, which fell about six percent to $119,990. In December 2010, homes and condominiums sold for about nine percent less than they did in December 2009, which can be at least partially attributed to the influence of distressed properties and short sales on the local real estate market. The quantity of homes sold in Myrtle Beach decreased for the month of December, although it increased for the entire year of 2010. According to Myrtle Beach’s Multiple Listing Service and as reported by The Sun News, there were twelve percent more single family homes sold in 2010 relative to 2009. There were twenty percent more condominium sales in 2010, although both categories saw a slight decline over the last few months of the year.

Myrtle Beach properties saw a year-over-year decline for December 2010, decreasing in quantity by approximately four percent relative to December 2009. Condominium sales, however, actually increased by about eighteen percent over the same period. Several local experts suggested that the market would continue to improve in 2011, as price declines decreased in magnitude and the number of sales increased considerably for the region throughout 2010. Foreclosures and so-called “short sales” continued to be an integral part of the Myrtle Beach real estate market in 2010, and all indications are that the trend will continue well into next year. According to Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, distressed properties represented more than thirty percent of all homes and condos sold in 2010. In addition to decreasing the average sales price for many areas, the sheer quantity of distressed sales led to a fall in appraised values for many other properties. Essentially, foreclosures are often used by appraisers in order to ascertain comparable market value for other homes in the region. If a property is sold at a sharp discount during a foreclosure or short sale, that transaction’s price will in turn serve to depress the appraised value of surrounding properties.