Are SC house prices dropping? Is it a good time to buy? What to know

Patrick McCreless
Gerry Broome/AP

For anyone who wants to buy a house in South Carolina right now but has the luxury of waiting, you may want to consider it.

South Carolina remains a seller’s market, with housing prices that have risen consistently the last couple of years. And some forecasts through 2023 suggest not much will change.

The Palmetto State saw third quarter median prices for homes jump $15.5% over the same period last year, the latest South Carolina Realtors statistics show. The median price for a home in the third quarter was $320,000, up from $277,000 a year ago.

According to the Central Carolina Realtors Association, the U.S. real estate market overall continues to slow in the fall as rising consumer prices and higher mortgage interest rates squeeze homebuyer budgets and cool activity. However, South Carolina has so far pushed back against the slowdown, as high demand and insufficient housing supply has continued to drive the state’s rising prices.

Also, the state’s job market has remained strong this year. The latest SC Department of Employment and Workforce data shows the state’s unemployment rate was 3.2% in September, below the 3.5% national average.

“Wages in South Carolina are at an all-time high and the state is overflowing with job opportunities,” SC Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey said in a recent press release.

MSA 2023 forecast data gathered by Norada Real Estate Investments predicts South Carolina will continue to be a seller’s market into next summer. Here are home value forecasts for the state’s largest markets.

Greenville: +9.7% by June 2023

Columbia: +8.4% by June 2023

Charleston: +9.7% by June 2023

Myrtle Beach: +10.6% by June 2023

Spartanburg: +10.7% by June 2023

Here is how much median prices have risen in 2022 as of September, compared to last year, in all South Carolina housing markets.

Aiken: +14.8%

Beaufort: +19.1%

Central Carolina: +21.5%

Charleston Trident: +15.3%

Cherokee County: +13.8%

Coastal Carolinas: +24.8%

Greater Augusta: +12%

Greater Columbia: +18%

Greater Greenville: +17.5%

Greenwood: +15.3%

Hilton Head area: +20%

Pee Dee: +17.3%

Piedmont Regional: +17.3%

Spartanburg: +16.1%

Sumter/Clarendon County: +16.3%

Western Upstate: +14.3%

State total: +17.1%

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