Home sales, prices in SC mostly flat all year. Here’s why & what Trump tariffs mean for future
The South Carolina housing market has had little growth overall this year so far, both in sales and prices.
South Carolina home sales totaled 19,237 in the first quarter of 2025 — a relatively flat, -0.2% change from the 19,268 homes sold over the same period last year, according to data from South Carolina Realtors.
Home prices were also relatively flat at 0.6% quarter-over-quarter. The median home price in the state was $332,000 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $329,990 the same quarter last year.
SC home sales
Most markets in the state had sizable drops in home sales quarter-over-quarter. The Sumter/Clarendon County market had the biggest loss at 13% for the quarter.
However, a few markets had noticeable sales growth. The Spartanburg market had the largest increase at 20.2% compared to the first quarter a year ago.
Below is the percent change in sales for South Carolina housing markets quarter-over-quarter, according to South Carolina Realtors data.
- Aiken: -0.8%
- Beaufort: 11.5%
- Central Carolina: 8.8%
- Charleston Trident: -1.5%
- Cherokee County: -7.5%
- Coastal Carolinas: -5.6%
- Greater Augusta: -8.8%
- Greater Columbia: -0.7%
- Greater Greenville: 8.9%
- Greenwood: -7.3%
- Hilton Head area: -9.0%
- Pee Dee: 3.6%
- Piedmont Regional: 0.5%
- Spartanburg: 20.2%
- Sumter/Clarendon County: -13%
- Western Upstate: 4.6%
- State totals: -0.2%
SC home prices
Median home price increases were mostly modest across South Carolina markets. Cherokee County had the biggest percent change at 12.5%. Here’s a breakdown of price change by percent, quarter over quarter.
- Aiken: 1.2%
- Beaufort: 9.9%
- Central Carolina: -9.2%
- Charleston Trident: 3.2%
- Cherokee County: 12.5%
- Coastal Carolinas: -1.8%
- Greater Augusta: 3.5%
- Greater Columbia: 1.6%
- Greater Greenville: 1.5%
- Greenwood: 5.6%
- Hilton Head area: 7.6%
- Pee Dee: 0.8%
- Piedmont Regional: 2.0%
- Spartanburg: 1.8%
- Sumter/Clarendon County: 2.0%
- Western Upstate: 5.1%
- State totals: 0.6%
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 that lower affordability and higher uncertainty have reduced demand in housing overall in the state so far this year. Von Nessen said that even though the economy has seen steady growth the last few years, prices have risen faster than wages, meaning consumers are still worse off compared to where they were when the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020.
“Prices have increased by about 25% since December 2019, while wages have increased by an average of just 20%,” Von Nessen said. “In addition, mortgage interest rates remain elevated, which directly limits housing affordability.”
Many homeowners have either purchased or refinanced their homes in recent years and have mortgages with interest rates at or below 4%. As such, current rates of 7% are less attractive and can discourage buyers, Von Nessen noted.
Much of the rest of the U.S. has struggled with home sales lately, mainly because of the lack of affordability, the Zillow March housing market report shows.
“Newly pending sales were essentially flat compared to last year, even though average mortgage rates were lower this year — 6.65% on average in March, compared to 6.82% a year before,” the Zillow March report states. “About 265,000 listings went into a pending sale in March — 110,000 fewer than came on the market. This mismatch pushed inventory up to 1.15 million homes — 19% over last year — the most inventory buyers have seen in March since 2020.”
A look ahead for SC housing market
President Donald Trump’s string of tariffs this year and the threat of higher prices have already left some consumers feeling financially squeezed and more reluctant to spend on big-ticket items like houses, Von Nessen said. Looking ahead to the summer peak buying months, inflation will be a key metric likely to determine the pace of housing market growth in South Carolina.
“The main concern over the newly implemented tariffs is that they will lead to higher inflation and thus further erode consumer purchasing power,” Von Nessen said. “This could, in turn, cause consumers to cut back on spending and slow the economy — including job growth. Most people can’t buy a house without a job.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Home sales, prices in SC mostly flat all year. Here’s why & what Trump tariffs mean for future."
