May is here and the Spring weather has been spectacular. May is a big month for Charleston because of Spoleto Festival USA and it’s sister festival Piccolo Spoleto. These start in late May and run until June 12. These vast array of events is the greatest cultural happening in Charleston each year. One must simply choose at least 5 events to see. The Greek Festival is also another highlight for May. Kudos to some of our local high schools that won awards from US News and World Report. Academic Magnet High School and Charleston School of the Arts were awarded Gold Medals while Wando High School in Mt Pleasant received a Silver Medal. Academic Magnet High School was ranked #8 in the nation.
Here’s your May event calendar:
1-9: North Charleston Arts Festival
1: Iris Dement, Chas Music Hall
5: Pat Benatar, Chas Music Hall
6: Palmetto Brewgrass Festival, Chas Music Hall
6-8: Charleston Greek Festival, Greek Orthodox Church
7: 9th Annual Dragon Boat Festival, Brittlebank Park
7: 40th Annual Lowcountry Shrimp Festival, McClellanville
8: Mother’s Day
11-13: Carolina Billfish Classic, Tolers Cove Marina
14: 5th Charleston Beer Garden, Patriots Point
22: 26th Annual Charleston Sprint Triathlon Series, James Island County Park
27-June 12: Piccolo Spoleto, piccolospoleto.com and Spoleto USA, spoletousa.com
27: A Taste of Gullah, Memorial Waterfront Park Mt Pleasant
30: Memorial Day
30: Jerry Douglas, Chas Music Hall
June 2: Cyndi Lauper, Chas Music Hall
June 4: Jerry Seinfeld, N Chas PAC
The Charleston SC Real Estate market here is the busiest it’s ever been, busier than 2005-6. Through March, we are up 7.3% in transactions over the same period from 2015. And median sales price is up to $235k, which is up about 5% over the same period from 2015. Short sales and foreclosures are almost non-existent and we are deeply in a sellers market in most MLS areas. New construction is abundant in many areas. One can still buy new homes in the area with granite counters and hardwood floors for under $110/ sqft. Mortgage rates are still very buyer friendly. One can get a 15 year mortgage now for close to 3%. Top Chef is finally coming here in May. The successful Boeing model here is being copied by Volvo. They are now building a plant in the Summerville area. The digital and IT business is booming here so much that they call us Silicon Harbor. Restaurants continue to open daily. Craft beer makers and beer gardens seem to pop up all over the place. It is common to have a friend post on Facebook that they pulled up next to Bill Murray at a traffic light today. We have awesome minor league hockey, baseball, and soccer teams. It seems a kinder, gentler town with plenty of tree huggers and yoga fanatics who want to be friendly to the environment and to their fellow man. Whole Foods is opening a second store in West Ashley! It’s getting more difficult to imagine living anywhere else.
