Charleston Real Estate Podcast with Dave Friedman

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We want to invite you to a Charleston RiverDogs game at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park as a way to say thank you, and we’re also raising money for charity. All of our friends, colleagues, and past and current clients are welcome. The game is on June 14th, and our free picnic will start at 6:00 p.m.

For every person that attends, we will donate $10 to the MUSC Children’s Fund in order to send children to Camp Can-Do, which is over on Seabrook Island.

Our goal is to donate at least $3,000, but we need your help to do so! We still have lots of tickets left, so just call the number on the screen and tell us how many tickets we should reserve.

There will be free food and drinks starting at 6:00 p.m., and the baseball game will start at 7:00 p.m.

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WE'LL DONATE $10 TO THE MUSC CHILDREN'S FUND FOR EVERY ATTENDEE.

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Last but not least - it’s still a great time to sell a home in Charleston. We’re still in a seller’s market, but when rates rise it may be more difficult to sell a home. If you list now you can cash out and then buy a home when the market is in your favor.

Buyers should also be aware that it’s a great time to purchase with interest rates still so low. However, they may see a small rate hike in June that could affect affordability. If you’re thinking of buying, get in touch with us now before your affordability takes a hit and you’re knocked out of your ideal price bracket.

If you have any questions about this event or about our local real estate market, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may

also call me at (843) 972-3833 for a FREE home buying or selling

consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today, I’m here with a real estate market update for the Charleston area. I’m reviewing some data from this year’s first quarter! Additionally, I’ll talk about some great events happening locally in the next few weeks.

April is here and the azaleas are in full bloom! Our city looks beautiful this time of year. Summerville just had a great Flowertown Festival weekend. The weather was great for such a gorgeous event! It’s an opportune time to take a relaxing stroll through the Middleton or Magnolia Gardens. They’re definitely a must-see this season.

We recently had 35,000 visitors in town for the Cooper River Bridge Run. Despite the rain, the event went on with flying colors. Isn’t that incredible? We also had the WTA Tennis Tournament on Daniel Island from April 2nd to the 10th.

There’s still time to take advantage of other fun events happening this April in our area. Enjoy the 69th annual Garden Tours festival until the 25th. The Farmer’s Market has also already started with live performances. The Spoleto Festival is coming up in May, so it’s time to start planning for that, too!

And now it’s time for a market update. Our housing market is booming here in Charleston. Market activity has increased while inventory levels have stayed incredibly low.  Prices increased to 6.6% compared to last year, but they’re doing so at a reasonable pace consumers can keep up with. In January and February, buyer activity increased 10% compared to 2015. The median sales price right now rests at around $235,000. Will buyer activity exceed 2005’s and 2006’s records?

Charleston is at the top of the charts. Our city was voted number one by Conde Naste and other major publications. U.S. News & World Reports ranked our area as the 19th place to live in the entire country. 

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in Charleston, reach out via phone or email. I’d be happy to help answer any questions you might have!

It's time again for another Charleston real estate market update! What trends have we seen lately and where is our market heading?

Right now, we've already surpassed the amount of homes sold last year, and we plan on clearing 15,000 closed homes! This is the busiest year we've had in 12 years and the third busiest year we've EVER had.

October was a bit slower than September, but that's to be expected. This typical of our market, as October is usually the cool down period after the hot summer months. Many markets in the area have seen median sales prices jump as high as 10%, but most markets are beginning to stabilize, which is great news for our market.

Rates are still fantastically low, as they're floating around 4.2%. This makes now a fantastic time to lock in a low rate on a new home if you're looking to buy! If you're looking to sell, now is a great time as we've seen a dip in inventory and the buyers who are out looking at this time are highly qualified and serious about purchasing soon. Many sellers are getting extraordinary values for their homes, but much of that is dependent on the condition and location.

A lot of people ask me where they can find the best homes in Charleston, and I'm happy to tell you that there are a lot of good options for you.

The Internet is a great place to start looking for homes. There are dozens of real estate websites, such as Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, etc. These websites are great starting points for your home search, but they don't always have the most reliable data put on them. Some of the listings are outdated, so a home that you're eyeing may actually have sold months ago. If a home is in good condition and priced correctly on Zillow, it's probably already been sold.

I have a great Internet tool to suggest to you, and it's called the Market Snapshot. We deliver you information about homes that you're interested in. So if you want a four bedroom, three bath, with a three car garage and a pool, we can alert you via email when a listing like that comes onto the market.

However, the downfall of the Internet is that it's not real. Sometimes what you see is not what you get, and that's why sometimes simply going out and looking at properties is the best thing that you can do. You can drive around and look at properties, but a better strategy is to hire a local real estate agent to show you homes.

I have access to some of the best homes in Charleston, and some of them aren't even on the market yet! If you search on my website (www.davefriedmantv.com) it's updated every fifteen minutes. You just need to go in and set your parameters (# of bedrooms, # of baths, square footage) and you will receive alerts when a similar home becomes available.

Because inventory is so low, we also have a 'coming soon' list of homes, and this allows you to escape the competition and find a good home very quickly.

If you want to find some of the best homes in Charleston then please don't hesitate to contact us. We have access to premier listings in Charleston, and you'll need our help when the market is this hot!

The recent bombardment of heavy rain here in Charleston has, as you might expect, drastically affected our real estate market here. However, the impact of the floods varies depending on the neighborhood. For instance, Mount Pleasant was hardly affected, while other areas in the Tri-County were devastated.

Most of this month, the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors is really focusing on relief for people and families affected by the flooding we've seen. In fact, so far this month we have contributed over $25,000 to various organizations, which include the Realtor Relief Fund, The American Red Cross, and Salvation Army. Most of this money ends up in the hands of families who need the help. Additionally, there are currently some closed-door talks happening with FEMA, which should result in more relief for people who need it.

Here at Dave Friedman Real Estate, we have made personal contributions to various other organizations as well. If you or someone you know needs help as a result of the rough weather we've had, please don't hesitate to reach to me via phone or email. I would love to put you in touch with some resources that will be able to give you immediate help.

Most people are surprised that the Low Country wasn't as affected as some places in the middle of the state, like Columbia, which was hit hard. We've seen some flooding here, which has resulted in relocation for some families, but overall the impact has not been as severe as many other places.

If you are in need of immediate relief right now, again, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I can put you in touch with the very best resources to help you recover and keep your family safe. You can reach FEMA (Disaster Relief) at 1-800-627-3362 or give me a call at (843) 795-7950 for immediate assistance.

Thanks, and stay safe!

I became an expert negotiator as a very young kid. I was down in Mexico with my parents and honed in on a giant box of Chiclets. The man selling them wanted $5, but I only had $3. I went to go ask my mom for the other $2, but instead of giving me the money, she gave me a lesson in negotiating that I will never forget. I went back to the man, with the same $3 and a brand-new mindset, and bam! I bought the box of Chiclets for $3. 

The best kind of real estate agent is one that can achieve their clients’ goals, while making the other party feel like they are winning, too. In every negotiation, everything is up for grabs and the best negotiator will always come out on top. 

In real estate, negotiations start long before the first showing occurs. As an expert, I like to discover the motivations of the other party; that way you are armed with the information you need to negotiate the best terms. 

To win, you’ve got to ask the right questions and use the right words. If any desperation is sensed, you’ve lost the foundation you’ve built. The minute you act like you are afraid, you have lost the negotiation.

Becoming a good negotiator takes a lot of practice. You have to constantly hone that skill until you are unconsciously confident in being a negotiator. 

If you have any questions or want to become a better negotiator, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

It's time once again for a brief update on where the Charleston Tri-County market is heading and what it means for you!

We've seen a huge improvement in the market when comparing January-July 2014 to the same time period this year. Right now, the amount of transactions is up 17%, while the amount of transaction volume is up 23%. The great news is that, while there are a lot more sales this year, there has also been a spike in listings, as we've seen 11% more new listings this year in comparison to last year.

As the summer continues, more and more sellers are gaining equity in their homes and they are able to sell them for what they are actually worth. The great thing is we'll continue to see a lot of listings come on the market throughout the year before tapering off around November. Additionally, we've seen a modest appreciation of home values this year, around 5%, which is indicative of a stable, healthy market.

If you're a seller, it's still a great time to put your home on the market, as inventory is very limited, so homes are selling quickly and for about 97% of the asking price on average. If you're buying, working with a real estate professional will give you the best shot at locking in the home of your dreams in this competitive market.

If you have any questions, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're always available to be your Charleston Tri-County real estate resource.

In an effort to get multiple offers on one of my listings, I follow a very strict process to generate a feeling of urgency around the home. One way we do that is by doing a lot of pre-listing marketing.

We start by creating a specific website for your home and work to drive traffic to it. We also use social media to target people who are most likely to buy your home. In a four-day period, we can generate between 6,000 and 8,000 impressions, and get 500-600 people to actually click on the advertisement to view your property. This strategy is fantastic because we can measure how many people show interest in your home.

We also have a Buyer in Waiting Program - people who sign up for this give us permission to send them emails with unlisted and newly listed homes. Once you list with us, we'll send out an email list to this pool of motivated buyers. Every month, we have over 300 new buyers who use our site to find a home, so we are able to place your home directly in front of an audience of serious buyers.

Once we release your home to the market, we'll typically not allow showings for the first four days. This way, we are able to structure appointments so that each potential buyer sees that other people are interested in the home. Showing many buyers your home at once creates a sense of urgency and will usually end in a bidding war for your home! 

If you have any questions about how you can make the most of your home sale, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give me a call or shoot me a quick email. I would love to hear from you!

Charleston is one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation, and we're seeing a lot of multiple offer situations here because of that. 

If you're a buyer in a multiple offer situation, you really need to take a step back and evaluate if the home is right for you and whether it's worth fighting for. If you decide to go through and try to purchase the home, there are a few things that we'll do with you.

Hopefully this information can be useful to you if you find yourself in a multiple offer situation in Charleston. 

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about this information. I'm always here to help you!

As the spring market kicks into full swing, we're coming off the best first quarter since 2005! Sales are on fire, inventory is extremely low, and homes are selling a lot faster than what has been typical over the last two or three years. 

Because inventory is so low, the Charleston market is very favorable to sellers. If you're a buyer in today's market, you need to be ready to act quickly on a home that you think is desirable, as there will likely be other people who are interested in the home as well. The crazy thing about our inventory levels is that they are about as high as they are going to be for the rest of the year. 

Over the past year we've seen an increase in home prices, from a median home price of $215,000 in 2014 to $221,000 this year. Interest rates remain at historic lows, hovering between 3.5% and 4.5%. The Fed has said they plan on increasing interest rates, which will decrease your purchasing power substantially. Rising rates will slow down the buyers who are out purchasing because homes won't be quite as affordable.

Now's the time to get the most out of the Charleston market. Low rates are great for buyers despite a crowded market, and now's the time for sellers to get top dollar, as inventory is incredibly low. If you would like to discuss your options, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to help you out!