Buying a house in Columbia is getting better. Here’s why, SC data & a local realtor says

House affordability in the U.S. has been an issue that has plagued the country for the past several years, leaving younger adults wondering if they’ll ever afford a house in their lifetime.

But recent data show that the housing market for buyers is starting to look more manageable.

U.S. Mortgage rates have, for the first time in years, lowered below 6% on average across the nation, according to Freddie Mac, a finance company. The last time 30-year mortgage rates were below 6% was in September 2022.

And that’s not all. Additionally, the housing market is seeing significantly more sellers than buyers last month, up to 44% more, making it one of the strongest buyer’s markets in the nation ever recorded.

When there are more sellers than buyers in the housing market, buyers usually have more leverage to negotiate pricing because there are more options.

However, while lower mortgage rates and more housing availability are good for buyers, that doesn’t always mean the number of homeowners will increase. Currently, high housing costs and economic uncertainty have frightened potential buyers, dropping the number of homebuyers to its lowest level on record.

The number of homes sold in the U.S. dropped by nearly 8% since Jan. 2025, according to a report by Redfin, a real estate brokerage.

In Columbia, the housing market is looking significantly different. To get a better idea of whether the city is also shifting toward a buyer’s market, The State talked with Karen Yip, a local realtor who has been in her practice for 23 years.

Here’s what she had to say:

Columbia housing market more balanced, somewhat competitive

In the Columbia Midlands market, Yip said that, unlike other parts of the country, home sales have steadily increased for a while, making it more balanced than a buyer’s market.

“If you look back in the last 13 plus years, the number of sales and median price have continued to be on a more stabilizing rise,” she said.

New listings in Columbia have risen 10.2% since last year, according to Exit Real Estate Consultants. Sales grew even higher at a 13.6% increase since last year.

Columbia is facing a somewhat tight housing market, where the city’s total monthly housing supply is shy of what economists would consider a balanced market. Yin said that Columbia has about 2.9 months supply of housing, while a four to six-month supply of housing is indicative of a balanced market.

Yin attributes the competitive market to recent developments and general affordability in the area compared to other metropolitan cities.

“We’ve certainly seen a pickup in buyer activity,” she said.

Columbia has become a hot destination for homebuyers in recent years, and for good reason. New public works, increased urbanization and other opportunities have brought in people from all over the nation, but especially northern cities, such as Washington D.C., New York City and Charlotte.

Yin said she has faith that the Columbia housing market will continue to grow and become more balanced as buyers continue to negotiate prices and homes keep on selling at a steady pace.

“I’m very optimistic about what 2026 will show us, but buyers are being picky ... and it’s not as easy as it was to sell a house during COVID,” she said. “I think it’s going back to normalization, what the market was pre-COVID.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 6:00 AM.