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Charleston Ranks Among the Top 10 Real Estate Markets During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The National Association of Realtors Research Group identified Charleston-North Charleston as one of the top ten real estate markets during and in a post-Covid environment.

The metrics they examined in their study are as follows:

1) Fraction of the workforce working from home (2019)
2) Share of multi-generational households (2019)
3) Net domestic migration in a metro area (2019)
4) Movers from expensive West Coast areas moving into another metro area (2018)
5) Unemployment rate (September 2020)
6) Share of workers in retail trade, leisure and hospitality industries (2019)
7) Small business openings relative to January 2020 (Nov 2020)
8) Mobility to retail and recreation places relative to January 2020 (Nov 2020)

So why did the Charleston metro area make the list? Charleston has a low unemployment rate of 4.7%, which is well below the national rate of 7.9%. The hospitality and travel industries were some of the industries most affected by layoffs during the pandemic, and while 21.1% of the total workforce in Charleston accounts for these industries, Charlestonians are going to restaurants and recreational places at a greater rate than the average nationally. Even though the amount of residents going to restaurants and leisure activities is down 13% from pre-pandemic levels, the national average is down 20%. Having good weather, which makes outdoor activities and social distancing more of a possibility, and having a city government less restrictive to shutdowns has helped widen that gap.

Another worthy statistic to note is that the net migration to Charleston in 2019 was 10,340, which ranks it just behind the much larger metro areas of Atlanta, Boise, Phoenix, and Dallas. Charleston is a popular place.

The other metropolis areas that made the list (in alphabetical order): 

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA
Boise City, ID
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN
Madison, WI
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
Provo-Orem, UT
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA