This SC housing market among hottest in nation, US News & World Report says. Here’s where
It’s been a rough few years for housing markets across South Carolina and the U.S., but there are signs of improvement.
According to the South Carolina Realtors’ annual report, 2023 was a particularly challenging year, given that mortgage rates hit a two-decade high, housing inventory stayed at historic lows and sales prices continued to skyrocket.
However, more recent January data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows national sales of new homes on the rise. And with ongoing signs of reducing inflation and predictions that the Federal Reserve will start cutting rates by mid-2024, if mortgage rates also fall, then home sales should increase, U.S. News & World Report states.
But while markets may improve, they won’t all do so equally. To that end, U.S. News & World Report recently compiled a list of the 20 hottest housing markets to help buyers and sellers jump in when the timing is right.
Of the top 20, one South Carolina housing market made the cut. Check it out below.
Hottest SC housing market
The Charleston-North Charleston metro area ranked 13th on the list of hottest housing markets. The top five markets included Denver, Raleigh, NC, Virginia Beach, Va, Durham, NC and Charlotte, NC.
Most of the housing markets on the list included a mix of improving demand, supply and financing alternatives, U.S. News states. Charleston-North Charleston ranked fourth among hottest markets for housing supply, U.S. News added.
Data
To determine the hottest markets, the analysis pulled from the U.S. News Housing Market Index, which includes a vast array of data points.
Housing market struggles
Housing affordability has been a top concern for many homebuyers, S.C. Realtors states.
“Mortgage payments are up significantly from 2022, with a number of homeowners now spending more than 30% of their income on their monthly payment,” the Realtors annual report states. “As a result, sales of previously owned homes remained sluggish throughout the year, while the shortage of existing-home inventory helped sales of new residential homes steadily increase from last year.”
U.S. News notes that the national U.S. housing market remains somewhat frozen, despite fixed-rate mortgage rates falling to about 6.8% from October’s highs, which were at 8%.
Housing market improvements
National sales of new residential homes saw improvement in January, rising 8% month-over-month and 4.4% year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted rate of 664,000, according to U.S. Census data in a January SC Realtors report.
The Charleston market had a 4.1% jump in sales in January, year-over-year, realtors data shows.
Pending sales in the SC Realtors region were down overall in January. However market-wide, inventory levels increased 15.3%. The property type with the biggest gains was the condo segment, where sales were up 38.5%
