How much have SC home prices risen in the last 10 years? The sticker price is shocking
South Carolina’s housing market has been hot this year, but compared to a decade ago, it’s practically been on fire.
Housing industry experts say a combination of high demand, rising mortgage rates and low inventory has pushed home sale prices higher in South Carolina all year — far beyond what they were even a year ago.
But what about a decade prior?
According to the latest South Carolina Realtors statistics, the median sales price for homes in the state was $313,262 from January through July — an 18% jump over the same period last year.
However, it’s a whopping 108% increase over the $150,000 median sales price the state had during the same time frame in 2012.
Cherokee County had the biggest price jump over the past 10 years, with a median price of $210,000 for the first seven months of 2022. That is more than 2.7 times higher than the $77,000 median price the county had for the first seven months of 2012.
Joey Von Nessen, research economist at Moore School of Business at University of South Carolina, has said that the Great Recession, which took place between 2007 and 2009, led to both fewer existing builders and to new regulations that made it more difficult for new builders to enter the market.
“The result was a significant decline in new construction that has now lasted for more than a decade,” Von Nessen has said. “The cumulative effect of such a lengthy period of underbuilding is that even in 2022 with a decline in housing demand resulting from lower affordability, house prices continue to rise.”
Like prices, the state has seen a big jump in home sales compared to 10 years ago.
Statistics show that 65,833 homes were sold in South Carolina between January and July. Ten years ago, 30,202 homes were sold over the same period in the state.
Still, home sales have slowed considerably in recent months — a total of 7.3% year over year. The ever-rising prices have finally taken their toll and begun cooling the housing market, some experts say.
“I am seeing however, more houses and properties listed at what is a very high price for the condition and market and those are sitting and staying on the market for a longer time period and adding to the inventory, which is why inventories are increasing slightly,” Morris Lyles of ERA Wilder Realty Inc. and the 2021 South Carolina Realtors president has said. “As for why fewer people are buying, it is a simple affordability issue and also that they may not be getting the house that they want and they are holding off on buying until demand drops, or prices slow down more.”
Here’s a list of the median home prices for every county from January to July in 2012 and 2022.
- Aiken: 2012: $148,500 | 2022: $270,000
- Beaufort: 2012: $175,985 | 2022: $365,000
- Central Carolina: 2012: $105,000 | 2022: $189,000
- Charleston Trident: 2012: $189,282 | 2022: $385,000
- Cherokee County: 2012: $77,000 | 2022: $210,000
- Coastal Carolinas: 2012: $137,500 | 2022: $302,450
- Greater Augusta: 2012: $147,950 | 2022: $266,000
- Greater Columbia: 2012: $140,000 | 2022: $264,883
- Greater Greenville: 2012: $147,000 | 2022: $300,000
- Greenwood: 2012: $115,000 | 2022: $225,000
- Hilton Head area: 2012: $225,000 | 2022: $485,000
- Piedmont Regional: 2012: $149,000 | 2022: $375,221
- Greater Pee Dee: 2012: $126,250 | 2022: $200,000
- Spartanburg: 2012: $116,900 | 2022: $259,000
- Sumter/Clarendon County: 2012: $129,000 | 2022: $220,000
- Western Upstate: 2012: $125,000 | 2022: $265,000
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
