Expensive lots boost average prices across area

The average price of single-family lots in Horry County doubled from this time last year, an increase attributed to the growing number of upscale neighborhoods in the area.

“It is the price and sale of premium lots that are driving the average price up,” said Bernard Helm, president of MORE.

Horry Co.

Lots sold for an average price of $64,960 in the first quarter of 2005 and $130,155 this year, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises or MORE, a real-estate research group in Rocky Mount, N.C.

The median price, or the midpoint of the price range, is not rising as fast because there still are lower-end lots available. The median price of lots increased 17 percent from $38,000 to $44,550. That increase represents the true appreciation in the market.

Georgetown Co.

Georgetown County saw the same kind of dramatic increases, with the average price of lots doubling to $202,498 from $106,688. The median price rose 16 percent to $86,900 from $74,908.

Brunswick Co.

Single-family lots in Brunswick County dropped slightly in median price to $38,000 from $50,000 last year. Helm said the drop was due to more inland lots being sold in Brunswick this year.

Out-of-state buyers

Builders and real estate agents say they’ve been getting more calls from potential buyers in other states.

However, Todd Vencil, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Va., told builders in a recent Grand Strand seminar that… as feeder markets cool, like the Northeast or Florida, buyers in those areas may have trouble selling their homes in order to buy on the Grand Strand.

Sales down from 2005

Most brokers are using 2004 data to compare this year’s sales instead of 2005 because last year had unusually high sales. Sales in 2006 are down from last year.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC