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MILLION-DOLLAR HOMES HOT PROPERTIESLocal market remains strong But it wouldn't hurt - especially if you want to live downtown or on one of
the barrier islands. After all, there's a beachfront house at Kiawah going for a meager $8.4
million. Then there's the mansion at 32 South Battery advertised for a paltry
$6.9 million. A total of 104 houses south of the Crosstown, including 76 south of Broad
Street, are priced at $1 million or higher. There are 312 in the three-county
metro area, according to the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors Multiple
Listing Service. Beatty Hooker Doyle, a Realtor with Daniel Ravenel Real Estate of Charleston,
said the volume of million-dollar listings, particularly on the peninsula, is up
compared with last year. She attributed that to a rise in home values and an
influx of sellers. "Some people bought a few years ago and have fixed up their homes and
are ready to sell," she said. "Other people have lived in their house
for a long time and are moving because they're ready for a lifestyle change,
perhaps to downsize." "It's a good time to sell and cash in," said Ann Green Ailstock of
downtown real estate agency Disher Hamrick & Myers. "People have heard
about their neighbors selling and cashing in, and they want to get in on the
bandwagon." It's getting to be that $1 million isn't such a big deal any more, Realtors
say. "When you think about downtown, $1 million" is a pretty common
selling price, said Chuck Sullivan, broker-in-charge of Carriage Properties, a
real estate firm specializing in high-end properties on the peninsula. 'MOVING AND BUYING' "The change in the appreciation in the downtown market astonishes
me," Ailstock said. The National Association of Realtors reported last week that home-price
appreciation in the nation's hottest markets, far from cooling off as many
economists had expected, actually accelerated. Economists felt that prices would drop because of the wobbly stock market and
the anemic economy. "Usually, when you see a recession, housing goes down with the rest of
the economy," said Dr. Douglas P. Woodward, an economist at the University
of South Carolina. Instead, low interest rates have helped boost housing, he said. Even so, local Realtors aren't expressing concern about a housing bubble that
could burst. "I don't think Charleston fits that profile," Doyle said. "I
think we're somewhat protected from that because people keep coming here for the
lifestyle. Charleston is such an attractive place to live." Added Sullivan, "People are moving and buying here because they want to
be here. That keeps prices stable." Karen Bacot, director of marketing at Kiawah Development Partners, the master
developer of Kiawah, said that prices did go up fairly fast for a few years, but
they aren't coming down. "They're not lowering prices," she said. Ailstock said she's seen a few prices drop, but not many. "When you're
asking for $1.8 million and you drop it to $1.7 million, you're not really
dropping it." HOT SUMMER Houses going for $2.5 million or less
are moving, Sullivan said. "It's been the best summer we've ever had in
downtown Charleston." Above $4 million, "There are still people looking, but there are
fewer," he said. Charleston didn't crack the million-dollar market until the late 1980s. In
1987, 15 Legare St. sold for a little more than $1 million, and prices have been
bumping up since then. Today, the downtown record stands at $4.1 million for a 7,333-square-foot
home at 7 Orange St. that sold in 2001, according to Thomas Bennett Jr. of
Carriage Properties. The record at Kiawah is $7.5 million for a
6,670-square-foot house sold in 2000, according to the Realtors Association. But
two properties at the highest end of the price spectrum have been taken off the
market, although for different reasons. The Calhoun Mansion at 16 Meeting St. was offered for $9.5 million two
years ago, and billionaire Robert McNair's Kiawah Island beachfront house went
on the market several months ago for $28 million. The Calhoun Mansion, owned by Charleston attorney Gedney Howe, was pulled off
the market in July, according to Helen Geer of William Means Real Estate. Geer said several people looked at the house but backed off because of the
turbulent stock market and weak economy. She said the house would go up for sale
again when things improve. The 24,000-square-foot Italianate mansion built in 1876 had been heavily
promoted. It was featured in a two-page advertising spread in The New York Times
Magazine. The ad was placed by Christie's Great Estates, which listed the
mansion with Williams Means. Meanwhile, the $28 million asking price on the McNair home was believed to be
the highest ever put on a house in the Charleston area. McNair, who made his fortune building an energy company in Houston,
reportedly wanted to sell the house because he wasn't using it much. He owns the
National Football League's newest franchise, the Houston Texans. According to Bacot, McNair and his wife, Janice, decided not to sell the
house only a few weeks after they had it listed. McNair's wife is from South
Carolina and wanted to keep it, she said. SELECT MARKET Efforts to sell the area's most expensive houses reach well beyond the
Lowcountry. "Anything priced over $4 million we classify as premier," said
Bacot, whose company is marketing eight houses on Kiawah priced at $4 million or
more. The houses are being advertised in The New York Times Magazine, Christie's
Great Estates and the Robb Report, a real estate report for the wealthy. Her company, like many others, also produces slick, magazine-style brochures
on the houses to give to prospects. Ailstock said her firm is affiliated with noted international real estate
firm Sotheby's and uses its mailing lists to get the attention of people who can
afford to buy Charleston mansions. One of her listings, 21 King St., will be featured in Leading Estates
magazine next month, a magazine she said is aimed at "people who can afford
to pay for this house." Sullivan said his firm, which is listing 15 Orange St. for $4.4 million and
60 Montagu St. for $3.9 million, tries to appeal to both regional and national
audiences. "We also advertise regionally in different papers like Atlanta,
Charlotte, Raleigh and magazines. We feel in addition to advertising nationally
there are advantages presenting properties regionally also. We represent a large
number of buyers" from those markets, he said. Meanwhile, Ailstock maintains there hasn't been a better time to buy in
years. "When I first came in this business (interest) rates were twice as
high," she said. "Now you can get twice the house for that." Sullivan also thinks people are looking at real estate as an investment
because of the rocky stock market. "We're seeing people look at real estate as an alternative," he
said. "People see it as a haven. Getting a 7 to 8 percent return isn't
bad." |
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