Article about Luxury Home Sales in Charleston

The Post and Courier recently reported that high-end property buyers are resurfacing in the Charleston area to take advantage of lower prices:

Downtown Charleston saw a striking uptick in sales during the first six months for homes listed between $800,000 and $2 million. That's what Carriage Properties agent Charles Sullivan calls the "bread and butter" price for the typical second-home luxury buyer.

A total of 42 single-family residences below the Crosstown Expressway sold within that range from Jan. 1 to June 30, according to figures from the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. During the first six months of last year, only 13 homes changed hands.

Sullivan attributed part of the increase to recession-wary second-home buyers who are finally starting to come back into the picture after a long absence. He said noted that in 2008 and 2009, that class of buyers "did not exist."

It is not clear whether there was any drop-off in May and June, as there appears to have been nationwide in the real estate market. It is possible that the high number of sales were in the first few months, and the improved luxury sales in Charleston will not persist through the rest of the year.