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Charleston, South Carolina
Update
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"REAL Charleston News"
WHAT'S GOING ON IN
CHARLESTON...
Music lovers
will also enjoy the outdoor air and tantalizing tunes of
Charleston Summer Concert Series' presentation of "Reggae
Nights" at James Island County Park, July 21 and August 18.
The nationally-acclaimed Jah Works band from Baltimore,
Maryland, rocks the night away with its unusual blend of
roots-reggae and dance hall beats. A comfortably informal
evening for the entire family can be enjoyed on blankets or lawn
chairs, with food and beverages available. Other sounds adding
gusto to the city's warm, breezy nights echo the fourth Saturday
of each month with the Free Summer Concert Series at Charleston
Waterfront Park, overlooking the historic harbor.
And for ears
that prefer indoor air, the 2007 Classic Concert Series offers
chamber music selections at the historic Great Hall inside the
Old Exchange at 122 East Bay Street, July 31 and August 28.
Presented by the Charleston Chamber Players and Charleston House
Concerts, music dating to the 18th century will be performed in
period attire inside the same venue where President George
Washington was entertained in 1791. Tickets can be purchased at
the Old Exchange or by calling 843-727-2165.
Another
historic downtown venue, the Heyward-Washington House at 87
Church Street, will celebrate America's independence with
special Revolutionary War focus tours on each Saturday during
the month of July. Home to one of South Carolina's four signers
of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Heyward, the museum
house bears the distinctive diamond plaque that signifies a
place where George Washington stayed. The 1770 mansion has
notable interior carvings and designs, and is considered among
Charleston's most historic locations. For focus tour
information, contact www.charlestonmuseum.org.
If strolling is
too tame, try a West African dance class at the North Charleston
Cultural & Civic Center Complex, July 11,18, 25. Presented by
Charleston's award-winning Adande Dance/Drum Company, classes
offer instruction in a wide range of rhythmic West African
dances that have been handed down for generations. For
information contact 843-745-1087.
Another historic
downtown venue, the Heyward-Washington House at 87 Church
Street, will celebrate America's independence with special
Revolutionary War focus tours on each Saturday during the month
of July. Home to one of South Carolina's four signers of the
Declaration of Independence, Thomas Heyward, the museum house
bears the distinctive diamond plaque that signifies a place
where George Washington stayed. The 1770 mansion has notable
interior carvings and designs, and is considered among
Charleston's most historic locations. For focus tour
information, contact www.charlestonmuseum.org.
FEATURED CHARLESTON PROPERTIES
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CHARLESTON OUTDOORS
For
the nature-lover, July and August are exceptional for the city's
many kayak and adventure tours and rentals. Warmer weather
brings pristine estuaries and marsh creeks to life with an
abundance of great blue herons, red-winged black birds, brown
pelicans, glossy ibis, sandwich terns and great egrets. Mudflats
seem in constant motion with the millions of fiddler crabs
emerging for summer's feeding frenzy. Most enjoyable are the
frolicking antics of dolphin and porpoise pods, which roam
waterways thrashing the surface in a variety of leaps and tail
slaps. These curious creatures will often surface next to
paddlers and will sometimes propel themselves on nearby banks to
catch fish in a behavior known as stranding. Sightseeing and
eco-tours offer paddlers an impressive array of vantage points
to take in Charleston and its surrounding natural areas, from
waterfront views back at the city's famed Battery and steepled
skyline, to historic Shem Creek shrimpboats and fishing docks
and open expanses of spartina salt marsh lined with moss-covered
oak trees. Contacts: www.coastalexpeditions.com,
www.lowcountrypaddlers.com, www.barefootislandsports.com.
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CHARLESTON EXPLORER
Across the Cooper River at the Patriots Point Naval &
Maritime Museum, the windswept decks of famed U.S. Navy
warships present a stirring spectacle of patriotism,
service and valor. The most visible of these is the
900-foot aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown, which served
from 1943-1976 and was awarded eleven battle stars in
winning the nickname "The Fighting Lady". Flight and
hangar decks are crammed with vintage aircraft that served
on the Yorktown during World War II, the Korean War and in
Vietnam, and there is also a flight simulator on board
that allows visitors to take the controls for a mock
dogfight and carrier landing. The Yorktown is also home to
the newly-renovated Medal of Honor museum, with detailed
backgrounds of every recipient of America's highest honor.
The massive outdoor museum complex features full access to
several other great ships as well, including the destroyer
escort U.S.S. Laffey, which survived five kamikaze hits
during the battle of Okinawa, as well as the U.S.S.
Clamagore, one of the Navy's first "thick skin" diesel
submarines capable of reaching depths of more than 300
meters. In addition, there's a life-size Vietnam-era Naval
Support Base, featuring attack helicopters and
river patrol boats. For information, contact
www.patriotspoint.org |
CHARLESTON TRIVIA
Hampton Park in
the Northwest section of the city has been, over the years, a
horse-racing track, a Civil War prison camp, and a fantasy city.
Today's circular drive around banks of azaleas and moss-covered
oaks follows the path of the old Washington Race Course, laid
out for horse-racing in the 1790's. In 1864, hundreds of Union
prisoners were brought here from Georgia when Sherman threatened
Confederate prison camps, and soldiers live in tents or in the
open meadows. By 1901, these grounds were converted into a
landscape of elaborate white buildings known as the "Ivory City"
for the Interstate and West Indian Exposition, an international
showcase of regional culture and history intended to draw
business to Charleston. The Exposition was a financial failure
and the Ivory City was torn down a few years later, leaving a
reflecting pond and sunken gardens that became the center piece
for a city park named opened in 1903 and named for former
governor and Confederate hero Wade Hampton.
CHARLESTON ARCHITECTURE - Featured home: Aiken Rhett House
The
Aiken-Rhett House at 48 Elizabeth Street is a 23-room mansion
built in 1818 and remodeled lavishly in the Italianate style by
William Aiken, governor of South Carolina in 1844-46. The design
was influenced by Italian villas the governor had seen on
frequent trips to Europe, with extended wings creating a
"piazza" or square for which city porches became known. The
house is distinguished by an elaborate marble and iron-railed
double stair entrance supported by Doric columns, leading to
exquisite ballrooms upstairs where many of the fine furnishing
and artwork collected by Aiken is still on display. It was here
that Confederate President Jefferson Davis was entertained
during the Civil War, and was briefly headquarters for
Confederate defenders of the city. Inherited by the Rhett
family, it was donated to the Charleston museum and is open to
the public.
Find out more about Charleston's most famous addresses...
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Charleston Real Estate Update - It's good to know the facts.
May - June 2007 -
Single Family Homes
Conflicting Views May Be a
Factor in Real Estate Market
Date: 6/11/2007
Charleston, S.C. (June 11, 2007) –– The real estate market in
Charleston experienced a decrease in units sold over May 2006,
as the market continues to seek middle ground between buyers and
sellers. The average median sales price year-to-date increased
from 2006, while days-on-market maintained the pace of the first
quarter of 2007, according to the Charleston Trident Association
of REALTORS®.
There were 1176 units sold in May 2007, down from 1471 units in
May 2006. The median price year-to-date is up 1.5% when compared
to 2006.
MLS President pointed to conflicting viewpoints between buyers
and sellers as being a factor that could be effecting the
market. “Sellers think they can fetch a high price because
median price is going up, while buyers think they should pay
less because homes aren’t moving as quickly and inventory is
rising.”
In May, homes spent an average of 94 days on the market before
being sold; and the average home sold for 96.39 percent of its
original asking price.
“Historically, the difference between sales price and list price
has been less than 5%,” said Rawers. “A realistic seller
shouldn’t list their house for more than 5% of its estimated
market value, while a realistic buyer shouldn’t expect to offer
less than 5% of the listing price and have a chance of obtaining
the property.”
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Sold |
Total |
Avg List $ |
Avg Sold $ |
Avg DOM |
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Downtown
Charleston - South of Crosstown |
20 |
$1,077,935 |
$1,017,970 |
148 |
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Downtown
Charleston - North of Crosstown |
15 |
$405,686 |
$397,803 |
128 |
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Mount Pleasant North of Hwy 41
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27 |
$518,066 |
$503,004 |
112 |
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Mount Pleasant South of Hwy 41
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63 |
$588,370 |
$565,012 |
109 |
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James Island |
51 |
$434,437 |
$413,842 |
111 |
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Kiawah Island/ Seabrook Island |
5 |
$1,191,800 |
$1,141,030 |
111 |
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Isle of Palms/Wild Dunes |
8 |
$1,751,500 |
$1,669,063 |
229 |
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Daniel Island |
11 |
$802,000 |
$766,601 |
149 |
We
would like to hear from you! If
you have questions about a topic in this newsletter, Charleston
SC or property in the tri-country area, please
email
or call me.
Jane Dowd -
Charleston Real Estate
843-224-2788
www.CharlestonAddress.com
www.Locountry.com
Charleston Real Estate News Archives
Downtown Charleston, West Ashley, Johns Island, James Island, Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island, Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms
(Wild Dunes), Edisto Island,
Folly Beach, Mount Pleasant,
Wadmalaw Island and Daniel Island
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