Home sales in SC keep rising with costs. See places where prices, sales growing fastest in 2025
If you want to sell homes, South Carolina has been a good place to be in 2025 so far.
The South Carolina housing market has grown in sales and prices throughout the year. According to the latest data from South Carolina Realtors, sales were up 2.6% year-over-year as of September. Also, prices were up 1.3% for the same period. They are gains tied to long-time trends of population growth and relatively low housing inventory, some industry experts say.
SC home sales
Most markets in the state have shown year-over-year home sales gains as of September. The Spartanburg market had the largest growth at 15.5% year-over-year.
However, a few markets had a decline in sales. The Sumter/Clarendon County market had the largest drop at 32.7% over the period.
Below is the percent change in sales for South Carolina housing markets, year-over-year as of September, according to South Carolina Realtors data.
- Spartanburg: +15.5%
- Beaufort: +10.0%
- Greater Greenville: +8.6%
- Piedmont Regional: +8.6%
- Western Upstate: +6.6%
- Pee Dee: +6.7%
- Greenwood: +4.8%
- Greater Columbia: +3.9%
- Charleston Trident: +1.6%
- Aiken: +0.2%
- Central Carolina: -0.2%
- Coastal Carolinas: -0.7%
- Hilton Head Area: -1.0%
- Greater Augusta: -2.4%
- Cherokee County: -7.5%
- Sumter/Clarendon County: -32.7%
- State Totals*: +2.6%
SC home prices
All but one market had an increase in median home prices. Cherokee County had the largest jump at 4.6% year-over-year. Below is the percent change in median home prices for South Carolina housing markets, according to South Carolina Realtors data.
- Cherokee County: +4.6%
- Pee Dee: +4.5%
- Greenwood: +4.0%
- Greater Augusta: +3.9%
- Piedmont Regional: +3.9%
- Aiken: +2.5%
- Charleston Trident: +2.3%
- Beaufort: +2.3%
- Greater Columbia: +2.0%
- Hilton Head Area: +1.9%
- Greater Greenville: +1.6%
- Western Upstate: +2.7%
- Spartanburg: +0.7%
- Sumter/Clarendon County: +0.8%
- Coastal Carolinas: +0.1%
- Central Carolina: -5.7%
- State Totals*: +1.3%
US housing market
Year-over-year sales have also risen across the South, along with the Northeast and Midwest, but remained flat in the West, the National Association of Realtors states.
“As anticipated, falling mortgage rates are lifting home sales. Improving housing affordability is also contributing to the increase in sales,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a recent report. “Many homeowners are financially comfortable, resulting in very few distressed properties and forced sales. Home prices continue to rise in most parts of the country, further contributing to overall household wealth.”
What’s happening with the SC markets?
Joey Von Nessen, research economist at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, said the state’s consistent population growth in recent years has led to high demand for housing, meaning more sales.
According to the annual U-Haul Growth Index, South Carolina grew more than any other state in 2024. The previous year it was ranked fourth highest. And of all the U-Haul movers coming and going from the Palmetto State in 2024, more than 51.7% were arrivals, the report shows.
“This continues to increase housing demand despite elevated housing prices,” Von Nessen said of the population gains.
Von Nessen noted, however, that while the state housing market continues to grow in sales and prices, the gains this year are still lower than they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020.
“For example, the annual rate of sales growth in South Carolina averaged 6.2% in the years leading up to the pandemic but has averaged just 2.6% so far in 2025,” he said. “Thus, although housing sales growth remains positive, the rate of housing sales growth has slowed due to high housing prices.”
For the rest of 2025, Von Nessen expects the housing market to continue to have relatively slow, but positive growth in home sales and price.
“… we do not expect any significant uptick in demand before the end of this year,” he said.
