South Carolina Home Prices Rise 2.4% in Third Quarter as Sales Show Mixed Results

South Carolina Home Prices Experience Uptick in Third Quarter

Hey there folks! The latest data shows that buying a home in South Carolina has gotten slightly pricier over the last three months. The median price of homes has gone up by 2.4% as compared to the same period last year, wrapping up at $338,000 in the third quarter of 2024, according to South Carolina Realtors. That’s a 3.5% year-to-date increase compared to 2023. Things are heating up!

Central Carolina leads the Pack

Interesting to see that among all the state housing markets enlisted by South Carolina Realtors, the Central Carolina region had the biggest median price increase, with a whopping 19% increase in the third quarter. That’s not to say others were lagging behind. The Beaufort area came in second with a 7.8% bump and a median price of $435,000 for homes in the same period.

Here’s a little more detail, the South Carolina housing markets had median prices increasing in the following order from the largest to the smallest jumps: Central Carolina (19%), Beaufort (7.8%), and so on, all in the third quarter year-over-year.

Home Sales – a Mixed Bag

While prices mostly rose across South Carolina, the home sales story was somewhat of a mixed bag over these last three months. As per data from the South Carolina Realtors, home sales actually saw a 2.1% drop from the same period last year, with 22,987 homes sold in the third quarter. Nonetheless, a few markets still witnessed some sales gains during the third quarter.

The Beaufort market had the biggest loss in sales at 16% quarter-over-quarter. On the brighter side, the Aiken market had the largest sales gains at 8.8% with 898 homes sold. Meanwhile, with 4,422 homes sold, the greater Greenville area tallied the most sales for the quarter.

In Light of the Federal Rate Cut

In September, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a point. While this should technically help lower mortgage rates, don’t hold your breath for significant drops. An industry expert cautions, “For those who are ready to buy now, waiting for larger declines in mortgage rates carries some risk, absent an unexpected deterioration in the labor market, it’s unlikely mortgage rates would decline all that much more.”

However, all’s not gloomy! The rates are lower than they have been in 18 months, inventory is slowly reforming, and there are more homes on the market now than since September 2020.

The Outlook Ahead

According to a recent forecast report, while home values in the U.S. are expected to soften, sales are projected to rise in the coming months. The report suggests that lower mortgage rates and increased building inventory should drive a spike in sales and a slight drop in value. Adding, “Home values are expected to climb 2% in 2024 and grow 0.9% over the next 12 months. With a gradual increase in existing home sales, there’s an estimated 4.4 million transactions anticipated in 2025.”

For South Carolina, major markets should expect a modest rise of 1.1% in home value by September 2025. Definitely much to look forward to!

So there you have it, a quick snapshot of South Carolina’s real estate market over the third quarter of 2024. Here’s to keeping an eye on these numbers!