Recognizing the importance and benefits of weaving affordable residential housing into the evolving urban landscape, a proposal to the Board of Architectural Review would have a mixed use building squeeze into the vacant lot at 725 King Street. With less than 33 street-facing feet to work with, the proposed building has an efficient design to accommodate both commercial and residential … Read more
Three years ago, I wrote an article to examine the home values in Park Circle, and illustrated how they were increasing at a faster clip than most other areas. Using City of Charleston as a comparison (admittedly a large swath, but works well enough to make a point), I looked at how those home values increased over time versus those in Park … Read more
Join me on a walking tour of Huger Street as it crosses multiple boroughs in the upper peninsula of historic Charleston, South Carolina. In this video I discuss the revitalization occurring in this part of downtown, and the effects on various types of homes. Beginning in the North Central borough with a latte from an acclaimed local’s favorite, Huriyali, before … Read more
Mass transit, like in many southern cities, has been admittedly lacking in Charleston. We have an expansive bus service that does a serviceable job, however any semblance of light rail vanished with the dismantling of the electric trolley cars in the 1930s. Charleston as a Leader in Mass Transit There was a time when, especially among southern states, Charleston spearheaded … Read more
A new infill development will soon be taking shape on the eastern edge of the Eastside borough on the historic Charleston peninsula. In a neighborhood composed mostly of Charleston Single Houses dating to the late 1800s, a dense, cohesive core of mixed uses has traditionally been lacking. In addition to a number of sporadically placed corner stores, restaurants, and venues … Read more
Last year in 2017, a record 6.9 million visitors flocked to our fair city, often escaping to the beautiful warm weather from their snow-blanketed homes. While the winter Charleston weather is certainly a respite for our frozen friends to the North, let it be known that the Lowcountry climate is not consistent throughout the year. In fact that’s putting it … Read more
At the Real Estate Studio, we count ourselves fortunate to experience so many wonderful homes in the Charleston area. This time of year, there are certain elements in homes that often enjoy more attention from prospective buyers: the outdoors. The South Carolina Lowcountry is a summer dream, often enhanced with screened porches, shade trees, rooftop decks, and oh yes, the … Read more
Charleston is apparently a wonderful city in which to sojourn. So just as when visiting any attractive city, guests have a number of options for room and board: hotels, vacation homes, timeshares, and short term rentals from services like Airbnb and Vrbo. Saavy real estate investors responded to the growing popularity of short term rentals by purchasing properties in downtown … Read more
It began on a Wednesday afternoon – most of Charleston was home from work and school, anticipating a historic weather event. What started as freezing rain became snowfall flurries, then a bit of a blizzard. It has been nearly thirty years since we’ve experienced this sort of thing, so we enjoyed the novelty of it. And there is truth to … Read more
So, how’s the market? Of course that would be the first question you ask! Short answer: it’s healthy. Sellers are selling and buyers are buying, and we’re not seeing the crazy price inflations from several years ago. In some areas though, particularly downtown, the limited inventory of homes has created a price gap. A shortage of affordable housing in the … Read more