Luxury Market Showdown: Charleston vs. Savannah
Headline trends
- Charleston and Savannah both offer Southern charm aesthetics, with differing price dynamics.
- The entry point to luxury is $1.19 million nationally:
- Charleston: $1.96 million
- Savannah: $987,000
- Charleston has a population roughly twice as large, at 890,430, compared to 439,322.
- Charleston’s luxury market is deeper and more developed than Savannah’s.
- Luxury pace is similar in both markets and near national levels:
- Charleston luxury homes: 86 days on the market
- Savannah luxury homes: 86 days on the market
- National luxury benchmark: 88 days on the market
Southern charm
Southern charm typically brings to mind cobblestone streets, historic neighborhoods, walkable districts, live oak trees draped in Spanish moss, and a touch of the region’s hospitality. Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA, are synonymous with Southern charm and often top the list of historic Southern cities. Both are defined by preserved architecture, coastal access, and a lifestyle appeal that continues to draw buyers seeking a blend of culture, character, and quality of life.
Their historic housing stocks, however, reflect different development eras. Charleston includes a larger share of homes built in the mid-1800s, reflecting earlier urban development. Savannah’s historic growth occurred later, with a greater concentration of homes built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Yet beneath their shared Southern charm aesthetic, these two markets are operating at different points along the luxury housing curve. Charleston is a fully scaled luxury hub, with a deeper million-dollar inventory, a functioning ultraluxury tier, and pricing that sits above national benchmarks. Savannah, by contrast, remains an emerging luxury market, where high-end thresholds sit well below national norms and million-dollar listings represent a relatively thin slice of total inventory…