Healthy economy spawns hot real estate market

On Oct. 19 some 300 of the Lowcountry’s commercial real estate players gathered at the Sheraton North Charleston Hotel for the region’s commercial real estate forecast. (See the Business Journal’s Nov. 1 issue.) A week later, many of those same players met again, this time at the Francis Marion hotel downtown to get a commercial real estate review from BarkleyFraser.com.

Both gatherings emphasized that the Lowcountry has a robust real estate market feeding off of a relatively healthy local economy.

The Charleston area’s economy is the hottest in South Carolina. Our unemployment rate is one percentage point below the national average while the state’s average is one point above.

That’s why folks keep moving here. And as people continue to move here, real estate professionals continue to be active.

The office and industrial markets are getting stronger, according to forecasters. About 250,000 square feet of office space will be built next year along with a million square feet of industrial space. That’s good news for businesses wanting to move or expand here.

So much is happening, it’s dizzying. Low interest rates and the desire for professionals to own their own space are driving the office condo market, especially in Mount Pleasant, says BarkleyFraser.com’s Jon Chalfie. Meanwhile, Daniel Island boasts a 90% office occupancy rate—the area’s highest—and more class “A” buildings are slated to meet the high office space demand in that community.

Meanwhile, North Charleston is acting like it intends to become the office address. There’s the forthcoming Carriage Hill Executive Center, home to Verizon’s 150,000-square-foot call center and its adjacent 150,000-square-foot sister building. There’s the future South Carolina World Trade Center building that will house sales offices for international companies in addition to the Trade Center’s new headquarters. The 90-acre Faber Place executive office park continues to attract companies. And other office space is bound to appear when Montague Avenue gets revitalized, Centre Pointe gets built and several new hotels along International Boulevard are constructed.

What’s really sizzling is the tri-county’s residential real estate market. Daniel Island will post more than $200 million in sales this year, making it by far the fastest growing community in the state. As of September, Seabrook Island, on track for a record sales year, claimed more than $125 million in sales—$27 million more than in 2003. For families with more moderate incomes, residential building is sprawling out to Jedburg, Cottageville and Awendaw.

Yeah, we’re hot. And as baby boomers look to retire here and out-of-state businesses keep giving us the eye, we’re not about to cool off.