Yahoo Finance SC home prices keep climbing in 2024. Here’s where it’s the most — and by how much
Buying a home got more expensive overall in South Carolina during the last three months.
The median price of homes in South Carolina was $340,000 in the second quarter of 2024 — a 3% jump compared to the same quarter last year, according to the latest data from South Carolina Realtors. June alone had a median home price increase of 2% year-over-year.
Of all the state housing markets listed by South Carolina Realtors, the Pee Dee region had the biggest median price increase at 10.3% during the second quarter. The Hilton Head area was the most expensive though, with a median price of $555,000 for homes in the second quarter.
Below are the South Carolina housing markets listed from biggest to smallest median price increases during the second quarter of 2024.
Housing market | Q2 2023 | Q2 2024 | % change |
Pee Dee | $203,900 | $224,995 | 10.3% |
Sumter/Clarendon County | $240,000 | $258,400 | 7.7% |
Hilton Head area | $519,995 | $555,000 | 6.7% |
Beaufort | $415,000 | $440,495 | 6.1% |
Aiken | $281,800 | $297,500 | 5.6% |
Greenwood | $250,000 | $259,461 | 3.8% |
Central Carolina | $205,500 | $210,750 | 2.6% |
Charleston Trident | $414,313 | $425,000 | 2.6% |
Piedmont Regional | $370,325 | $380,000 | 2.6% |
Spartanburg | $285,000 | $290,043 | 1.8% |
Western Upstate | $298,000 | $302,637 | 1.6% |
Cherokee County | $226,495 | $229,99 | 1.5% |
Coastal Carolinas | $325,000 | $330,000 | 1.5% |
Greater Augusta | $284,900 | $288,000 | 1.1% |
Greater Columbia | $273,244 | $275,861 | 1% |
Greater Greenville | $315,000 | $315,000 | 0% |
State totals | $330,000 | $340,000 | 3% |
Home sales
While prices rose across the board, home sales in South Carolina were more of a mixed bag over the last three months. There were 24,980 homes sold in the second quarter, a 1.8% drop from the same period last year, according to South Carolina Realtors data. Still, multiple markets saw gains in sales during the second quarter.
The Cherokee County market had the biggest loss in sales at 44%, quarter-over-quarter. Meanwhile, the Aiken market had the largest sales gains at 9.8% with 917 homes sold. The Charleston Trident market had the most sales for the quarter with 4,962 homes sold.
What’s happening in the housing market?
South Carolina’s continued drop in home sales overall is in keeping with much of the U.S. A recent South Carolina Realtors report states U.S. sales of new residential homes unexpectedly declined, falling 11.3% in June from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units.
“Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new-home sales to come in at a rate of 640,000 units for the month, with elevated mortgage rates blamed for the recent drop in sales activity,” the report states.
A recent Zillow report states that home buyers are still contending with costs that have risen far faster than wages, despite mortgage rates having eased since May.
“With many buyers pushed to the sidelines by costs, Zillow’s count of home sales for May was 27% below pre-pandemic,” the report states. “Zillow’s Sales Nowcast peaked in May this year before taking a 9% step down in June, defying a trend of ticking up in June over the past four years. Sales are now 35% lower than pre-pandemic norms.”
