Columbia SC Real Estate Market Update

Columbia SC Real Estate Update

February 2024: Slow and Steady Sales Gains

Central South Carolina benefited from the end-of-the-year low-interest rates from 2023, as existing home sales rose slightly in February 2024. Growth was scattered across the region, but generally, the market had more buyers than homes for sale. However, the month also saw more homes coming to market, which will benefit home buyers.

Note: Central Carolina includes the City of Columbia, and its surrounding cities and counties, such as Cayce, Lexington, Gaston, and Congaree. 

Affordable homes in the capital

Affordability is one of the Columbia region’s benefits. Overall median sale prices were reported at $264,000 for the month. The region now has 2,388 homes for sale, with 1,282 of those being new listings. Buyers should be encouraged that the choice of homes is increasing. 

But, not all pockets saw active inventory and more new listings. For a closer look at the areas of the Columbia metro:

From North to I-20 inside Columbia, median prices increased by 28% to $186,250. This affordability helped its days on the market drop to 39. However, the market had fewer new listings and a slight drop in closed sales.

The northeast side of town had a median sales price of $279,000, which was only $1,900 more than the prior year. New listings increased by 51%, which helped grow the inventory of homes for sale.

Forest Acres and Arcadia Lakes had a 9% home price growth to $265,000. Listings increased by 23%, but homes are still on the market longer, now an average of 84 days.

East Columbia had the most reduction in new listings, with just 6 coming to market in February 2024. Its median sale price of $365,000 increased by 3.8% year over year. Its inventory remains low. 

The most price growth came in southern Columbia, at 52%. Home buyers paid a median of $347,516. New listings increased by 67%, while the days on the market remained at 34. 

Southeast Columbia had a $240,000 median sale price and a drop in new listings coming to market. Homes averaged 40 days until sale, but overall inventory did increase by 40%.

In the northern suburbs of Irmo, Ballentine, and St. Andrews, fewer new listings and demand helped median prices increase to $238,500, an 11% jump. The existing inventory of homes for sale was up 80%. 

Will buyers have more homes this spring?

Inventory in the Central Carolinas is growing. The local supply reached 4.8 months; experts consider six months to be a balance between buyers and sellers. Across the greater region, the days on the market are about 125 days. New listings are on the rise. 

Still, the “lock-in” effect remains present. Mortgage rates in March 2024 persisted around the 7% mark, which will encourage those with lower rates to stay in place. However, it also makes homeownership more expensive. Affordability remains a challenge nationwide, and the Central Carolina market is no exception. Having more homes could help stabilize pricing growth, but interest in South Carolina living is growing.

November 2023: Inventory Increases, But So Do the Prices

Home sales across the nation dropped to a 13-year low. October was challenged by mortgage rates at multi-decade highs and sustained reduced housing affordability. How did that reflect in the Columbia, SC, real estate market?

Central Carolinas Real Estate

Like the nation, sales activity continued at its low levels in the Columbia metro. The market had almost 20% fewer closed sales overall than in October 2022. But it wasn’t all dramatically low, as condo sales actually increased by 19%. 

All properties combined had fewer sales pending, a sign the reduced sales activity will persist for the remainder of the year. Only the condo market had more homes pending sale, up 25%.

Homes in the Columbia metro typically carry median and average prices well below the national going rate. That continued, even as prices rose. Nationally, single-family homes had a median sale price of $396,100 in October 2023. The overall median sales price in the Central Carolina region increased 2.1% to $194,000. Condos had the most change, increasing prices by 40% to a median of $185,000.

Homes were on the market for about 116 days until the sale, the same as last year.

Regional supply of inventory bucked the national trend and decreased year-over-year from 3.9 months to 3.7 months. Still, supply favors the home seller.

Columbia Metro Real Estate

Focusing closer on the state capital and its immediate suburbs, the median sale price of $268,900 represented a 3.4% price increase from October 2022. Single-family home and condo prices rose by 2.2% and 7.2%, respectively.

The good news for Columbia home buyers is that inventory is rising for all price points. In total, there are 25% more homes for sale as of October 2023 than the prior year. As new construction came online, the condo market had 50% more units for sale.

In sum, it would take 2.3 months to sell all the current available inventory. This is 44% longer than October 2022, thanks in part to the increase in listings. It will take much more to bring the market closer to balance.

City of Columbia Real Estate Breakdown 

From downtown and north to I-20, October home sales had a median price of $131,000, a drastic decline of 28%. That drop was despite a 52% increase in closed sales. The month ended with 85 homes for sale, a 52% increase year-over-year (YOY.) Year-to-date, median home prices declined 7% to $160,000.

In Columbia northeast, new listings increased by 24%. However, despite the bump, this region’s overall listings were still down 19% for the year. Inventory is 5% less YOY, influencing a median sale price increase of $296,385. 

Forest Lakes and Arcadia Lakes had 45 new listings come onto the market, 32% more than in October 2022. The most significant growth was in the median sale price, which was 45% more and reached $330,000. But, 41% more homes were also for sale in the month.

New listings dropped in East Columbia by 35%. But, demand in this market is still relatively high, as shown by the 61% increase in median sale price. Home buyers paid $475,000 to live in this part of town; homes spent a median of ten days on the market.

Columbia South had the same number of new listings as last year and two fewer homes on the market. Like the other sections of town, its median sale price increased, but only 7% to $272,820. 

Its neighbor, southeast Columbia, had the most growth in new listings, with 70% more homes listed. That helped its inventory of homes for sale increase by 22%. It’s the only market where the median sale price dropped, by 10% to $224,450.

August 2023: Wild variably in sales across neighborhoods

As a popular state for people to move to, how is that impacting South Carolina’s real estate market? In particular, is the state capital affected by persistently high mortgage rates, low inventory, and higher buyer demand? The latest numbers from the Columbia metro show that the real estate markets here are highly hyper-local. The neighborhood just across the road could be having a completely different experience. Look at what’s happening in the Columbia, SC, real estate market.

The big picture

Looking across the greater Columbia Metro, which covers Richland County and some surrounding areas, overall sales activity was down 14.2% year-over-year. This was persistent both in the quarter, down 15.7%, and for the year to date, down 17%. Overall, sales activity continues slowly, while the days on the market increased by 50% to 33.

This sales activity coincides with what’s being reported statewide in South Carolina, where home sales were down 16.9% for the year and 14.4% for the quarter.

For those looking at homes in the Columbia metro, the median sales price was $275,000, which was no change from the prior year. To date, the metro home prices are only up 1.9%. Columbia real estate is still a deal compared to the statewide median August 2023 sales price of $332,500. That figure was at 4.2% year over year; statewide, year-to-date median sales prices are up 3.2%.

City of Columbia      

Looking at how the city of Columbia, from downtown to I-20, performed in August 2023, there was some good news in an 11% jump in year-over-year new listings. But it’s not enough to eat into the overall number of new listings, which are still down 10% yearly.

The city’s median home prices had the same kind of trend. The reported $200,000 price tag was a 17% increase from August 2022, but prices were still down 2.8% for the whole year thus far.

Columbia Northeast

In this corner of town, around Wildwood, Sandhill, and Lake Carolina, new listings were down by almost 16% from August 2022 and 24% for the year to date. It’s a testament to the area’s popularity, as it also had one of the highest number of homes for sale, with an inventory of 449. The local median price for August 2023 was $279,900, an 8.6% decline from the prior year. However, that was only a 4% drop for the year to date.

Forest Acres/Arcadia Lake

Located along the city of Columbia borders and highly regarded for its rural feel, the Forest Acres and Arcadia Lakes metro suburbs had an almost 20% bump in new listings. Simmons ended with 67 homes for sale. The homes that did close were at a median price of $248,750, an 11% decrease year over year, but that price tag was up by 12% for 2023.