About Sumter County, SC

Home Sales Data for Sumter, SC January 1-15, 2010

This information was for residences only; I did not include land or commercial properties. I looked only at Sumter and the surrounding area.

For the period January 1-15, 2010, there were 87 new listings placed on the market. Lowest list price was $10,500 for a four-year-old bank-owned mobile home that sold for $10,000 cash after being on the market 37 days. Highest list price was $460,000 for new construction home in an upscale subdivision, with hardwood floors, tile floors, granite countertops, a central vacuum system, a three-car garage and tons of other neat amenities. One new listing is a bank-owned bungalow which was withdrawn after being on the market 16 days (with the latest Realtor®, anyway; it's been on the market for awhile with others). Seventeen of the new listings are new construction, one is a condo/townhouse and one and is a duplex. Twelve of the new listings are REO (bank-owned) and two are listed as short sales.

Twenty-four properties sold (closed) from January 1-15, 2010. Lowest list price was $10,500 for the four-year-old bank-owned mobile home mentioned above (which sold for $10,000 cash after being on the market for 37 days). Highest list price was $279,900 for a custom-built home on a golf course which was originally listed for $300,000 and underwent two price reductions before selling for $272,950 after being on the market for 189 days. Six of the sales were new construction and one was a duplex. Two of them were listed as REO (bank-owned) and none were listed as a short sale.

Of the 24 properties sold, 9 were listed for at or below $100,000. Average days on market was 67 and median days on market was 61 (ranged from 14 to 142). Average list-to-sales percentage was 93% and median list-to-sales was 95.24% (ranged from 66.36% to 100%).

Ten of the 24 sold properties were listed above $100,000 and below $200,000. Average days on market was 109, and median days on the market was 113.5 (ranged from 19 to 166). Average list-to-sales percentage was 98.98% and median list-to-sales was 99.17% (ranged from 93.64% to 102.7%).

The remaining five listings which sold were listed above $200,000 and below $300,000. Average days on market was 220 and median days on market was 217 (ranged from 189 to 260). Average list-to-sales percentage was 99.22% and median list-to-sales was 100% (ranged from 97.52% to 100.42%).

In contrast, for the same period a year ago (January 1-15, 2009), 49 properties were newly listed. Lowest list price was $22,000 for a then-35-year-old bank-owned mobile home which underwent two price reductions to end up at $17,500; the listing expired after being on the market for 301 days and has not been re-listed in the MLS. Highest list price was $379,900 for a then one-year-old new construction executive home in an upscale subdivision which was withdrawn from the market after being listed for 127 days and has not been re-listed in the MLS. Five of these listings have expired, twelve were withdrawn, one was rented rather than sold, and two remain active. Nine of them were new construction, one was a duplex and two were condos/townhouses. Eight were listed as REO (bank-owned) properties and two were listed as short sales.

Between January 1-15, 2009 17 properties sold (closed). Lowest list price was $29,900 for a then fifty-year-old home which sold for $17,000 cash after being on the market for 120 days. Highest list price was $228,900 for a then four-year-old home which underwent one price reduction to $219,900 before selling for $197,000 after being on the market for 107 days. Three were new construction and one was listed as a duplex . were listed as REO (bank-owned), were listed as short sales.

Of the 17 properties sold, 7 were listed at or below $100,000. Average days on market was 166, median days on market was 120 (ranged from 36 to 431). Average list-to-sales price percentage was 88.94% and median list-to-sales was 95.83% (ranged from 56.86% to 100%).

Eight of the 17 sold properties were listed above $100,000 and below $200,000. Average days on the market was 223 and median days on the market was 242 (ranged from 88 to 345). Average list-to-sales price percentage was 101.25% and median list-to-sales was 100.05% (ranged from 93.15% to 114.14%).

The remaining 2 listings were listed for above $200,000 and below $300,000. Average and median days on market was 101 (ranged from 95 to 107). Average and median list-to-sales-price percentage was 87.89% (ranged from 86.2% to 89.59%).

At the moment there are 891 residential properties on the market in Sumter County. Fifty-six homes sold (closed) in the past month. Unless something changes, we have almost 16 months of inventory on the market. Yikes.

And now, fun with graphs and charts. This time, I looked at average home sales prices. Not list prices, sales prices. And it was sort of interesting. I attended a meeting last week during which one Realtor®, who's been doing business here for a long time and who knows his stuff, said that in Sumter we really hadn't seen the price drops that had occurred in other places. Seemed wrong to me. So I put this chart together.

The average prices seemed to hold pretty steady, until 2009. It's debatable that that information is particularly useful -- it includes every piece of residential real estate that sold, from the poorest old decrepit mobile home to the highest-priced upscale executive mini-mansion (we don't have any of the real type here). The median price has seen more volatility ("median," for those of you who don't know what that means and up until a couple weeks ago that included me, means the number of homes that sold below that price are equal to the number of homes that sold above it).

I'm no expert, but that graph looks like a drop in home prices to me.

Can't wait to see what my next effort turns up.

(Based on information from the Sumter Board of Realtors®/MLS, February 1, 2010)

It's not as bad as in some places, but this is a bit colder than we're used to.

Me, in my natural habitat.

This article was in the local paper a few days ago. I filed it in the back of my head for future blogging purposes, and now is as good a time as any.

Third Army Headquarters/ARCENT is coming to Shaw Air Force Base. We've known this for a few years now. Lots of cheerful speculation has occurred on how this is going to re-energize our housing market.

Well, it won't. The plan is to build in excess of 600 homes in the area; the location hasn't been determined yet. It would be nice if it were a boon for local builders, but the project is attracting some very big builders nationwide. So, whoever gets the contract will benefit. Their subcontractors (which will probably be mostly local people) will benefit. The Army folks moving here will benefit, as they'll have new housing close to their work and won't have to pay a mortgage or worry about selling the place when they leave. They will have to pay rent to the developer, however I'm betting it won't be as high as such rental housing would bring on the open market. My guess -- the Army will stipulate in the contract that the developer can only charge whatever the soldier's BHA is, and that's driven by rank, time in grade and whether they have a family. That's Basic Housing Allowance to all you civilians out there, an allowance given to military members to subsidize the cost of a house.

The rest of us (meaning Realtors® and builders and subcontractors not directly involved) won't benefit at all. Unless some of these people decide to buy, we won't see any increase in business. It's not really a surprise, or shouldn't be. Anyone who's been paying attention should have realized awhile ago that not only were the Army folks being encouraged to live in or near Columbia (to be closer to Fort Jackson and its Army infrastructure), these folks usually don't stay in one place long enough to make buying a house a sensible decision. They rent because they pick up and go elsewhere in an even faster turnaround than the Air Force usually does.

Oh, well.

With any luck some of them will be musicians and maybe we can plus-up the community concert band. That would be a fine thing.

Home Sales Data, December 16-31, 2009 Sumter, SC


This information was for residences only; I did not include land or commercial properties. I looked only at Sumter and the surrounding area.

For the period December 16-31, 2009, there were 65 new listings placed on the market. Lowest list price was $15,600 for a 49- or 50-year-old bank-owned bungalow that went pending after being on the market for two weeks. Highest list price was $640,000 for a new construction home in an upscale community (4,450 square feet, hardwood floors, granite countertops, high ceilings, a spa shower in the master bath, plus lots of other nice amenities). Twenty of the new listings are new construction (of which five were listed and pended the same day, two listed and sold the same day, and one listed and went under contract the same day) and one was a duplex. One new listing was a HUD listing which listed and closed the same day. Four of the new listings are REO (bank-owned) and two are listed as short sales. One of the new listings is being sold by auction.

Forty-seven properties sold (closed) from December 16-31, 2009 . Lowest list price was $28,900 for a 63-year-old bank-owned home that originally listed for $35,000 and underwent one price reduction before selling for $22,000 after being on the market for 149 days. Highest list price was $299,900 for a new construction which sold for $294,900 after being on the market for 38 days. Fourteen of the sales were new construction and one was a duplex. Five of them were listed as REO (bank-owned) and one was listed as a short sale.

Of the 47 properties sold, 10 were listed for at or below $100,000. Average days on market was 96 and median days on market was 85 (ranged from 13 to 167). Average list-to-sales percentage was 90.46% and median list-to-sales was 95.68% (ranged from 75% to 100%).

Thirty-three of the 47 sold properties were listed above $100,000 and below $200,000. Average days on market was 171, and median days on market was 169 (ranged from 1 to 579). Average list-to-sales percentage was 88.8% and median list-to-sales was 99.33 (ranged from 16% to 102.94%). [Sidebar: The 16% list-to-sales was actually four listings sold as one, the list price was $125,000 for all four and the seller got $100,000 ($25,000 each); that's a list to sales percentage of 80%, actually.]

The remaining four listings which sold were listed above $200,000 and below $300,000. Average days on market was 120 and median days on market was 78 (ranged from 31 to 292). Average list-to-sales percentage was 99.71% and median list-to-sales was 99.76% (ranged from 98.33% to 101%).

In contrast, for the same period a year ago (December 16-31, 2008), 49 properties were newly listed. Lowest list price was $19,900 for a then 18-year-old bank-owned mobile home which underwent one price reduction to $17,500 and was withdrawn after being on the market for 72 days. It has not been re-listed. Highest list price was $369,900 for a then 1-year-old new construction which expired after being on the market for 195 days, relisted with the same agency and agent after waiting two months and for the same price. It's been on the market for a total of 345 days; make the builder an offer, he might take less. Five of these listings have expired, 11 were withdrawn, two were rented rather than sold, and one remains active. Nine of them were new construction, twelve were listed as REO (bank-owned) properties and one was listed as a short sale.

Between December 16-31, 2008 45 properties sold (closed). Lowest list price was $17,500 for a then 63-year-old house which sold for $14,800 cash after being on the market for 44 days. Highest list price was $599,000 for a then 2-year-old two-story executive home in an upscale subdivision which sold for $560,000 after being on the market for 101 days. Five were new construction, one was listed as a condo/townhouse (and also as a duplex and patio home; not sure which it is, really and they're all different) and one was listed as a duplex (and it is, actually). Twelve were listed as REO (bank-owned), none were listed as short sales.

Of the 45 properties sold, 17 were listed at or below $100,000. Average days on market was 117, median days on market was 58 (ranged from 1 to 784). Average list-to-sales price percentage was 88.37% and median list-to-sales was 95.88% (ranged from 50% to 115.52%).

Twenty of the 45 sold properties were listed above $100,000 and below $200,000. Average days on market was 209 and median days on market was 144 (ranged from 2 to 943). Average list-to-sales price percentage was 96.34% and median list-to-sales was 96.84% (ranged from 86.76% to 101.56%).

Six listings were listed for above $200,000 and below $300,000. Average days on market was 108 and median days on market was 101.5 (ranged from 33 to 232). Average list-to-sales-price percentage was 95.63% and median list-to-sales was 96.59% (ranged from 91.68% to 98.69%).

One listing was listed for above $400,000 and below $500,000. It was on the market originally for $495,000, underwent one price reduction to $450,000 and sold for $427,000 (94.89% of reduced list price, 86.25% of original list price) and was on the market for 418 days.

The remaining listing was listed for above $500,000 and below $600,000. It was on the market for $599,000 sold for $560,000 (93.49%) after being on the market for 101 days.

At the moment there are 836 residential properties on the market in Sumter County. There were 67 homes that sold (closed) in the past 30 days. Might be the holiday slump; that means unless something changes, we have about 12.48 months of inventory on the market.


And now, fun with graphs and charts. I did a little research in the MLS, partly to see if I could figure out how to put a graph together (because words, words, words are boring, boring, boring). For this report, I looked at home sales by list price for the years 2006 to 2009.

It's grim. The trend, with a small anomaly in the $300-$400K range in 2007 and another in the +$400K range in 2008, has been steadily downward.

Well, here's hoping for a turnaround soon.

(Based on information from the Sumter Board of Realtors®/MLS, January 17, 2010)