www.charlestonmarketreport.

com

December 2006 Commentary

Welcome to The Charleston Market Report!

Due to the ever changing conditions of the local and national real estate market I will now start sending out
updates monthly to subscribers only. If you have friends or business associates who use the website then please
let them know these monthly updates will only go out via email after the 10th day of each month. The monthly
updates will incude a brief snapshot of the Charleston market and other important info. I do not have plans
right now to put this info on the website so they will need to go to the website and subscribe in order to see the
monthly reports.

This newsletter and website has grown tremendously since it launched in September. The Charleston Market
Report is now being used by many different people and businesses such as Realtors, Financial Advisors, CPAs,
Attorneys, Law Firms, Local Governments, investors, developers, builders and banks.

Below is a snapshot of the most recent Charleston real estate data. I have broken down the data into sales less
than $600,000 and greater than $600,000 to give everyone an idea of how the upper end of the market looks.
As you will notice there is a very big disparity among these two groups especially with inventory.
 Charleston Real Estate Snapshot
Tri-County Residential
Less than $600,000
Monthly Avg Avg Sale % Diff Avg Curr Months
Month Year
Sales ListPrice Price Sell/list DOM Inventory Inventory
January 2005 655 $216,188 $213,505 98.76% 51.0 2428 3.71
February 2005 719 $209,903 $207,655 98.93% 44.0 2426 3.37
March 2005 981 $222,057 $218,633 98.46% 49.0 2377 2.42
April 2005 941 $220,107 $217,818 98.96% 35.0 2324 2.47
May 2005 1067 $221,194 $218,927 98.98% 49.0 2268 2.13
June 2005 1255 $230,086 $228,009 99.10% 37.0 2234 1.78
July 2005 1033 $234,988 $232,366 98.88% 41.0 2290 2.22
August 2005 1132 $232,583 $229,869 98.83% 37.0 2304 2.04
September 2005 1009 $230,840 $228,424 98.95% 38.0 2256 2.24
October 2005 885 $229,106 $226,162 98.72% 38.0 2418 2.73
November 2005 870 $226,517 $224,485 99.10% 36.0 2510 2.89
December 2005 903 $229,144 $226,043 98.65% 33.0 2609 2.89

January 2006 667 $225,310 $223,060 99.00% 50.0 2622 3.93

February 2006 749 $232,951 $229,903 98.69% 42.0 2820 3.77
March 2006 1006 $232,356 $229,409 98.73% 55.0 3020 3.00
April 2006 820 $233,055 $229,596 98.52% 48.0 3298 4.02
May 2006 1027 $239,616 $235,852 98.43% 45.0 3338 3.25
June 2006 1139 $233,610 $229,499 98.24% 18.0 3542 3.11
July 2006 883 $249,872 $245,005 98.05% 50.0 3752 4.25
August 2006 878 $240,021 $235,702 98.20% 52.0 3855 4.39
September 2006 950 $225,478 $221,782 98.36% 42.0 3898 4.10
October 2006 665 $236,927 $232,180 98.00% 63.0 3905 5.87
November 2006 600 $240,249 $234,430 97.58% 67.0 4004 6.67

Tri-County Residential
Greater than $600,000
Monthly Avg Avg Sale % Diff Avg Curr Months
Month Year
Sales ListPrice Price Sell/list DOM Inventory Inventory
January 2005 60 $1,137,024 $1,080,136 95.00% 159.0 529 8.82
February 2005 52 $1,099,637 $1,032,619 93.91% 124.0 525 10.10
March 2005 81 $1,116,024 $1,091,717 97.82% 106.0 529 6.53
April 2005 89 $1,098,670 $1,047,367 95.33% 115.0 573 6.44
May 2005 107 $1,265,895 $1,225,169 96.78% 110.0 556 5.20
June 2005 117 $1,048,008 $1,004,388 95.84% 99.0 554 4.74
July 2005 131 $1,066,048 $1,036,341 97.21% 76.0 607 4.63
August 2005 105 $1,189,249 $1,147,313 96.47% 79.0 608 5.79
September 2005 101 $1,157,228 $1,101,766 95.21% 78.0 653 6.47
October 2005 99 $1,274,962 $1,224,363 96.03% 94.0 713 7.20
November 2005 72 $1,193,549 $1,157,468 96.98% 95.0 761 10.57
December 2005 90 $1,193,381 $1,154,990 96.78% 104.0 750 8.33

January 2006 78 $1,350,257 $1,283,344 95.04% 108.0 754 9.67

February 2006 68 $1,072,093 $1,023,895 95.50% 112.0 828 12.18
March 2006 113 $1,182,984 $1,130,354 95.55% 104.0 910 8.05
April 2006 97 $1,135,848 $1,093,461 96.27% 122.0 992 10.23
May 2006 123 $1,292,520 $1,232,787 95.38% 85.0 1094 8.89
June 2006 112 $1,134,029 $1,085,782 95.75% 88.0 1182 10.55
July 2006 94 $1,113,821 $1,063,160 95.45% 97.0 1267 13.48
August 2006 100 $1,097,720 $1,046,342 95.32% 120.0 1316 13.16
September 2006 79 $1,140,686 $1,068,643 93.68% 103.0 1323 16.75
October 2006 83 $1,255,997 $1,167,961 92.99% 106.0 1340 16.14
November 2006 55 $1,325,210 $1,261,754 95.21% 121.0 1372 24.95

Tri-County Condo/Townhomes
Less than $600,000
Monthly Avg Avg Sale % Diff Avg Curr Months
Month Year
Sales ListPrice Price Sell/list DOM Inventory Inventory
January 2005 242 $194,031 $193,546 99.75% 83.0 626 2.59
February 2005 239 $179,572 $179,024 99.69% 61.0 608 2.54
March 2005 577 $169,361 $168,933 99.75% 34.0 671 1.16
April 2005 366 $180,527 $179,675 99.53% 39.0 633 1.73
May 2005 358 $196,028 $194,189 99.06% 48.0 600 1.68
June 2005 356 $185,748 $184,140 99.13% 41.0 535 1.50
July 2005 265 $211,388 $209,466 99.09% 49.0 710 2.68
August 2005 307 $195,132 $193,408 99.12% 48.0 729 2.37
September 2005 295 $194,639 $192,659 98.98% 0.0 862 2.92
October 2005 281 $198,227 $196,699 99.23% 40.0 819 2.91
November 2005 323 $182,113 $181,654 99.75% 37.0 849 2.63
December 2005 409 $185,979 $184,533 99.22% 37.0 921 2.25

January 2006 301 $193,113 $193,001 99.94% 23.0 986 3.28

February 2006 245 $193,487 $191,813 99.13% 35.0 1395 5.69
March 2006 345 $213,446 $211,695 99.18% 30.0 1457 4.22
April 2006 403 $202,189 $200,529 99.18% 23.0 1396 3.46
May 2006 369 $204,469 $202,363 98.97% 34.0 1536 4.16
June 2006 304 $197,035 $194,547 98.74% 70.0 1580 5.20
July 2006 328 $192,522 $190,255 98.82% 58.0 1673 5.10
August 2006 286 $201,543 $198,775 98.63% 62.0 1651 5.77
September 2006 265 $207,584 $204,283 98.41% 61.0 1708 6.45
October 2006 227 $194,831 $191,285 98.18% 81.0 1824 8.04
November 2006 139 $188,315 $185,693 98.61% 45.0 1834 13.19

Tri-County Condos/Townhomes
Greater than $600,000
Monthly Avg Avg Sale % Diff Avg Curr Months
Month Year
Sales ListPrice Price Sell/list DOM Inventory Inventory
January 2005 7 $787,143 $785,714 99.82% 463.0 80 11.43
February 2005 10 $1,193,090 $1,155,000 96.81% 152.0 77 7.70
March 2005 14 $989,286 $957,500 96.79% 257.0 65 4.64
April 2005 17 $1,072,176 $1,045,743 97.53% 119.0 62 3.65
May 2005 27 $976,919 $936,789 95.89% 165.0 69 2.56
June 2005 21 $1,055,810 $1,026,845 97.26% 127.0 67 3.19
July 2005 16 $1,017,562 $976,855 96.00% 199.0 70 4.38
August 2005 22 $848,477 $822,205 96.90% 122.0 103 4.68
September 2005 16 $1,204,350 $1,179,854 97.97% 202.0 116 7.25
October 2005 19 $830,200 $824,080 99.26% 149.0 128 6.74
November 2005 15 $1,153,927 $1,119,347 97.00% 102.0 143 9.53
December 2005 22 $1,001,750 $960,705 95.90% 49.0 138 6.27

January 2006 27 $999,763 $952,235 95.25% 44.0 126 4.67

February 2006 22 $888,477 $858,419 96.62% 89.0 142 6.45
March 2006 23 $918,609 $896,957 97.64% 83.0 166 7.22
April 2006 22 $996,255 $976,600 98.03% 62.0 194 8.82
May 2006 27 $871,456 $839,980 96.39% 48.0 207 7.67
 June 2006 22 $854,827 $838,249 98.06% 140.0 256 11.64
July 2006 11 $1,018,173 $989,300 97.16% 97.0 260 23.64
August 2006 16 $856,875 $826,242 96.43% 74.0 277 17.31
September 2006 9 $1,330,867 $1,283,425 96.44% 232.0 304 33.78
October 2006 20 $833,475 $807,362 96.87% 67.0 323 16.15
November 2006 5 $993,600 $936,000 94.20% 127.0 328 65.60
Source: Charleston MLS

As many of you know I have been outspoken about certain area home prices being to high in this current market. There
is an old saying that says, "A picture is worth a thousand words." This 100+ year graph by Robert Shiller should put this
argument to rest. Many of the sellers in denial right now need to take a hard look at this graph.

The Fed
Right now the Federal Reserve is boxed in crying wolf about their concern over rising inflation. The bond and
currency markets are countering this claim by The Fed and are clearly signalling an economic slowdown in
2007. The bond and currency markets make the stock market look like peanuts when you compare volume and
typically your more shrewd players on Wall Street can be found putting their money where their mouth is for
clients in these markets. I read every amount of material I can get my hands on from Fixed Income managers
such as Bill Gross of Pimco and Jeffrey Gundlach of TCW Group. These two gentleman alone manage billions
(With a B!) of dollars in the bond market. When I read what they are saying and then I take a look a the TNX,
TYX, current economic data and an inverted yield curve how can you not agree with them.
In 2007 not only will we probably see the short term rates come down but I believe you will also see the long
term bond drop as well. This will be important so that the yield curve flattens out as the economy slows down.
This trend has already been occuring as I have previously mentioned on the website. Below are the current
Point and Figure charts of the TNX (10 Year Yield) and TYX (30 Year Yield.) The blue lines on these charts
represent the trend lines. It is clear that both of these charts are close to breaking their trend lines. This would
be great news for consumers looking to buy homes at lower rates or refi out of higher interest rate mortgages.

Point & Figure View

U.S. Housing Market
Pimco's view of the U.S. Housing Market. December 2006
A must read if you want a concise explanation on the housing market.

Best Regards,

brad
Disclaimer

The research done to gather the data in The Charleston Market Report involves examining thousands of
listings. With this much data inaccuracies will occur. Care is taken in gathering and processing the data and
information within this report is deemed reliable. IT IS NOT GUARANTEED. The real estate market is
cyclical and will have its ups and downs. Past performance cannot determine future performance. The purpose
of the Charleston Market Report is to educate you on current and consistent market conditions by reporting
leading market indicators with the support of traditional real estate data.

This information is offered with the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering legal, tax or other
professional services. If legal, tax or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent
professional are recommended. This is a personal newsletter reflecting the opinions of its author. It is not a
production of my employer. Statements on this site do not represent the views or policies of anyone other than
myself.

Investing in real estate is not a get-rich-quick scheme nor is there any guarantee you will make a profit. Every
effort has been made to make this report as complete and accurate as possible. However, there may be
mistakes. Therefore, this report should be used only as a general guide and not as the ultimate source for
making money in real estate.