Is it time to buy a SC home? Sales are accelerating after a slump year. Here’s what’s happening
For South Carolinians who have held off on buying a home for the past year, it may be time to take the plunge.
Most South Carolina housing markets saw strong year-over-year home sale gains in February — a first for such growth in more than a year, industry data shows. The state is part of a nationwide trend in improvement as more housing supply finally hits the market and mortgage interest rates begin to improve, some industry experts say.
By the numbers
Overall, South Carolina had a 7.9% jump in year-over-year home sales in February, following a year of declines, according to South Carolina Realtors data.
“Despite dropping by about 10% over the past year, housing sales are only down about 3% over the last six months,” said Joey Non Nessen, research economist at the Moore School of Business at University of the South Carolina.
Nationwide, sales of new single-family homes rose 1.8% year-over-year in February, the latest U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development data shows.
According to Redfin, new listings rose 13% nationwide from a year earlier during the four weeks ending March 3, which is the biggest increase in almost three years. And following eight months of declines, February is the first month the number of homes for sale rose on an annual basis, Redfin states.
SC housing market gains in February
Here are the South Carolina housing markets that had year-over-year sales gains in February, according to the South Carolina Realtors.
- Aiken — 13.6%
- Beaufort — 0.6%
- Charleston Trident — 11.9%
- Coastal Carolinas — 2.7%
- Greater Columbia — 15%
- Greater Greenville — 11.9%
- Hilton Head area — 24.7%
- Piedmont Regional — 4.6%
- Spartanburg — 19.2%
- Western Upstate — 11.5%
SC housing market gains in January
South Carolina also had noticeable sales gains in January, but to a lesser degree than in February.
- Aiken — 2.2%
- Charleston Trident — 4.1%
- Greater Augusta — 4.9%
- Greater Greenville — 13.3%
- Hilton Head area — 11.8%
- Pee Dee — 4.2%
- Sumter/Clarendon County — 1%
- Western Upstate — 14.1%
What’s happening in the housing market?
Von Nessen said that the housing market has been in a major readjustment period over the past two year. Mortgage interest rates have spiked considerably since 2022, making homes less affordable to the average buyer. Also, buyers shifted their spending more from the goods market and toward services, Von Nessen said.
“This change reflects a movement back to pre-pandemic norms after social distancing eased in 2021 … this recent pivot away from the goods market combined with lower affordability has been a challenge for the housing market,” he said. “However, most of this readjustment period is now likely behind us. In recent months, sales activity has begun to stabilize at pre-pandemic levels.”
Chen Zhao, Redfin Economic Research Lead, said in a recent statement that low inventory and high housing costs have been two major obstacles for homebuyers over the last year.
“Now, the first barrier is starting to come down as more supply comes on the market,” Zhao said. “Housing costs are still high, but they’re likely to come down a bit as mortgage rates gradually decline through the year and price growth loses some steam. Buyers who can afford today’s mortgage rates may have better luck finding a home now than they have in the past several months, and they also may be less likely to face competition because inventory is improving.”
Von Nessen said housing affordability is likely to improve in some markets this year. Also, the Federal Reserve is on track to lower interest rates in the second half of 2024, which will help lower mortgage interest rates.
“This combination of market stabilization and increased affordability suggests that we will likely see statewide sales activity that is relatively flat or perhaps slightly positive in 2024,” Von Nessen said. “We also expect for housing prices to continue to rise this year because statewide inventory levels are still relatively low.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
