Columbia home prices keep climbing while most US cities see drops

If you’re a young professional in Columbia trying to time your first home purchase, the latest housing data offers a clear — and slightly sobering — signal: prices here are still going up, even as much of the country cools off.

A new study from financial technology company SmartAsset ranks Columbia 20th in the nation for one-year home price growth, putting South Carolina’s capital among only a handful of major U.S. cities where the typical home value rose between 2025 and 2026, according to The State.

For renters watching the market — whether you’re a recent USC grad, a state government employee or a nurse at Prisma Health — the numbers tell a story worth understanding before you sign another lease or stretch for a down payment.

What the new numbers say

SmartAsset used data from the Zillow Home Value Index to compare home price growth in 100 of the largest U.S. cities. The index covers single-family homes, condos and co-ops.

In Columbia, the typical home value rose from $224,143 in 2025 to $226,769 in 2026 — a 1.17% increase over the year.

That sounds modest. And on a $225,000 starter home, it is: at current rates, a 1.17% bump means roughly $2,600 more on the sticker price. But context matters, and the context here is unusual.

Most of the country went the other way

Nationally, the typical home value in major U.S. cities fell by 1.04% over the same period. SmartAsset found that home values dropped in 70% of the cities it analyzed.

In other words: while seven out of 10 major American cities saw prices slip, Columbia’s kept climbing. That puts Columbia in a small group of metros — sandwiched in the rankings between Richmond, Virginia, and El Paso, Texas — where demand is still outpacing the broader market correction.

For a first-time buyer, that distinction has real consequences. A nationwide cooldown might suggest waiting could pay off. But Columbia is not behaving like the national market, and the people most affected are the ones trying to enter for the first time.

The longer view is harder to ignore

The one-year number is just the tip of the iceberg. SmartAsset’s data shows:

Since 2019, Columbia home prices have risen 65.2%.

Over the past five years, the typical home value has grown 42.3%.

That five- and six-year stretch covers exactly the window when many of today’s first-time buyers were finishing school, starting careers or building savings. A home that listed for around $137,000 in 2019 — the kind of starter property a young buyer might have eyed in Rosewood or West Columbia — would now carry a typical value north of $226,000 if it tracked the city’s average.

That erosion of affordability isn’t theoretical. It shows up in monthly mortgage payments, in the size of down payment you need to save, and in how much house your income qualifies you for.

What 1.17% means for a monthly payment

Annual price increases compound quickly when you’re financing a home over 30 years. On a $226,769 home with a 10% down payment, the loan amount is about $204,000. A 1.17% price increase translates to roughly $2,600 more borrowed — and over the life of a fixed-rate mortgage, that grows once interest is layered on.

Stack a year like this on top of the 65.2% run-up since 2019, and the math behind “should I buy now or wait?” gets more complicated. Waiting saves money only if prices fall — and so far, Columbia’s haven’t.

Which neighborhoods are driving the increase?

The SmartAsset study looked at citywide values rather than breaking out specific neighborhoods, so the report doesn’t pinpoint whether the growth is concentrated in Shandon, Rosewood, the Vista or newer developments in West Columbia and Lexington County. But the citywide number reflects a blended picture of all those submarkets.

What the data does make clear is that Columbia is, as the report puts it, “undeniably getting more popular.” As the city’s population grows, demand for housing grows with it — and supply hasn’t kept pace.

How Columbia stacks up nationally

The top of SmartAsset’s list features cities with even sharper one-year increases, but Columbia’s 20th-place ranking is notable precisely because of where it sits. The capital city is outperforming roughly 80 of the 100 largest U.S. cities on price growth.

For buyers used to hearing national headlines about a cooling market, that local divergence matters more than the broader trend. Mortgage rates, inventory levels and price appreciation vary city by city, and Columbia’s numbers suggest the local market is still tilted toward sellers.

The takeaway for first-time buyers

Nothing in the SmartAsset report tells any individual buyer what to do. But the data does offer a few practical reference points:

Columbia is one of the few major U.S. cities where home values rose over the past year.

The 1.17% one-year increase comes on top of a 65.2% climb since 2019.

Nationally, 70% of major cities saw prices fall — Columbia did not.

If you’re weighing whether to buy now or hold off, those numbers are the backdrop for the conversation.

You can find the full list of cities in SmartAsset’s ranking through the original report.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.