EVO REAL ESTATEJENNIFER YOUNG · CHARLESTON, SC
Resources / Market researchEVO market perspective

Look beyond
the listing feed.

A market report is only as useful as the properties behind it. Follow the sale, examine the records, and understand what a comparison actually measures.

Property research materials arranged for review
Two sources. Better questions.

Follow the sale.
Understand the story.

MLS records help explain listing activity and reported closings. County records provide another view of property transfers, recorded prices, and building characteristics. Their overlap—and their differences—deserve a closer look.

A county record without a matching MLS entry is a lead for research. It is not, by itself, proof of an off-market sale.

Explore the price-per-foot comparison ↓
Inside the records · First research sample

Behind the count:
143 county records.

Charleston County’s sales search returned 143 rows for ZIP 29464 with sale dates August 1–31, 2026. Downloaded September 25, 2026; the export matches the displayed result count and is below the county’s export limit.

All property classes143

County search result rows

Recorded price ≤ $1043

Require transfer review before use as price evidence

Finished area = 020

No usable area for a price-per-square-foot calculation

These groups overlap. Counts describe this export, not unique deeds, qualified sales, or the entire Mount Pleasant market. Two parcel IDs appear more than once; separate transfers and repeated records need to be distinguished.

Single-family residential9393
Condominium2323
Townhouse1010
Other classes, including land1717

Even within the single-family group, a recorded price does not establish whether a transfer was an ordinary sale between independent parties. That review comes before a market median.

Open the county search ↗Download the research rows ↓

Download contains parcel, sale, classification, and area fields; owner names are omitted. This is a dated research snapshot, not a live feed.

The comparison worth making

Price per square foot.
Put in perspective.

Use sale price divided by finished living area for each eligible home, then take the median of those individual ratios. Assessed tax value is a different measure and does not belong in the sale-price numerator.

01 / Same homes

Check the measurement.

Match the same transactions by parcel, property, and sale date. Compare MLS price ÷ MLS area with county price ÷ county finished area. Review price differences separately from area differences.

A mismatch can change the ratio even when the underlying sale is the same.

02 / Same market

Check the coverage.

Compare the matched MLS group with the full eligible county group using one consistent area definition, the same boundaries, property type, and sale-date window.

Separate homes by size, age, location, and new construction where the sample allows. A different mix can move a median without a change in home values.

03 / Show the evidence

Explain the gap.

Publish both medians, sample sizes, the middle 50% range, exclusions, unmatched records, and the data date. Keep unresolved records outside the qualified comparison.

Small samples need individual context. A percentage difference is not proof that MLS prices are wrong.

Comparison status

The county research sample is available above. A matching sale-level MLS dataset and deed review are still needed before an MLS-versus-county median or percentage gap can be reported. No market comparison has been calculated for publication.

Try the measurement

Same sale. Different square footage.

Enter a sale price and the two reported area figures to see the effect of the denominator alone. This checks arithmetic; it does not decide which measurement is correct or estimate market value.

Enter all three figures to compare.

Your entries stay in this page and are not sent or saved. Confirm both area definitions; garages, porches, additions, and unfinished spaces may require separate review.

Research standards

The quality of the comparison
starts with the records.

Sale, not simply transfer

Review nominal consideration, related-party transfers, partial interests, estate and trust transfers, and corrective deeds. Keep unresolved records separate. A low recorded amount alone does not tell us the reason for a transfer.

One transaction, properly counted

Reconcile deed identifiers and parcels. A bundled price cannot be assigned in full to every parcel. Separate vacant land, commercial property, multifamily, condos, and single-family homes.

Dates and data coverage

Use the sale date consistently and retain recording dates separately. Allow for reporting delays. Check search limits and repeat the extract before publication; later corrections can change the results.

Go to the source.

Charleston County · Sales and finished-area records ↗Charleston County · Recorded deeds ↗Charleston County Assessor · Tax appraisal and property records ↗CTAR · MLS market reports ↗Berkeley County · Property research ↗Dorchester County · Property and sales history ↗

Research checked September 25, 2026. CTAR’s monthly report identifies its source as the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service; it is not a count of all county ownership transfers. The county export used here has no sale-qualification or deed-identifier field. Those gaps must be resolved before treating its rows as comparable market sales.

What does this mean for your property?

Tell us the property or neighborhood and the decision you are weighing.

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