Thursday, October 11, 2012

Lake Murray Home Sales Analysis

Mel Coker's Analysis of Lake Murray Home Sales

Homes on Lake Murray in the Chapin area
I have completed a detailed analysis of Lake Murray home sales* over the past (almost) 11 years.    2006 was the "high-water mark" for home sales on Lake Murray by most measurements. 

Please keep in mind that sales prices on Lake Murray can vary widely due to a number of factors, including: location, view, amount of water frontage, age of home, construction quality of home.  And, the lake is relatively large, encompassing 4 counties (Richland, Lexington, Saluda, Newberry) and over 620 miles of shoreline.  During the past 3 years, the breakdown on sales among areas of the lake are:
Irmo/Chapin (Richland and Lexington Counties): #163 (49.2%), Avg. Price $497,705
Lexington (South side of the lake): #80 (24.2%), Avg. Price $541,382
Newberry County: #58 (17.5%), Avg. Price $340,206
Saluda County: #29 (8.8%), Avg. Price $304,585

In 2006, there were 139 closings on Lake Murray, with an average sales price of $560,091.  There were also 11 closings of homes valued at $1 million or more.  By comparison: in 2011, 120 closings with average sales price of $477,642 and  5 closings of homes valued at %1 million or more.

Lake Murray Closings 2002 - 2012 (estimated)


For 2012, there have been 107 closings thru September 30th, with an average sales price of $447,982.  This average price is down 6.2% since 2011 and down 20.0% since 2006.  I estimate there will be 138 closings for the year in 2012, the 3rd straight year of increased number of closings.  Also, the number of closings will be in line with the number of closings seen in 2006-2007.  Pricing remains down over the past 3 years in line with pricing seen during 2004-2005.

Lake Murray Average Prices 2002 - 2012


More interesting data: there were 4 straight years of fewer closings between 2006-2009.  This resulted in two consecutive years of lower average prices during 2009-2010, with 2010 down 10.5%.  With increasing numbers of closings again over the past 3 years, I expect in time prices will also begin to increase somewhat.

As of October 10th, there are 200 homes for sale on Lake Murray with an average asking price of $672,382 (it's evident, that "the market" is for the lower priced and smaller homes).   These "listed" homes on average are larger too (by 17%) than the average square footage for homes closed so far in 2012.  There are 26 homes priced at $1 million or more - only one sale so far in 2012 at $1 million or more.  So, it's a buyer's market for million dollar homes!

NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY AT LAKE MURRAY!
Lake Murray was named as one of the Top Ten Lakes in America for Boating and Living by Boating Magazine in 2011.   Compared to most other nice lakes, Lake Murray offers tremendous value.  When you are ready to BUY (or sell) at Lake Murray, contact Mel Coker.   Mel lives on Lake Murray and owns and maintains this blog and a Lake Murray website.  Mel knows Lake Murray!


Mel Coker
CRS, ABR, GRI, SRES, ePRO
Member: RE/MAX Hall of Fame
Lake Murray Realtor and Resident
RE/MAX Metro Associates
(803) 318-2007
email
Columbia Real Estate


*For purposes of my analysis, I measured Lake Murray homes sales with the following criteria: minimum 1200 square feet, 75 feet water frontage, minimum price $175,000.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Lake Murray Video



Link to video


Mel Coker
Lake Murray Resident and Realtor
RE/MAX Metro Associates