2026 Greenville Real Estate Market Update

August

The housing market continues to adjust as more homes become available across the country. Nationally, sellers are listing their homes for about 2.5% less than a year ago, marking the eighth consecutive month of declining list prices. This doesn’t necessarily mean home values are falling everywhere; instead, sellers are becoming more realistic about where to price from the beginning rather than starting high and relying on multiple price reductions. New construction is also creating opportunities for buyers, with builders cutting prices more than resale sellers for the second straight quarter and offering mortgage rates that average about 0.75% below the broader market.



Mortgage rates, meanwhile, are expected to remain relatively close to their current range, with the possibility of moving slightly higher as inflation remains above the Fed’s target. While today’s rates can still feel high compared with the COVID years, rates below 5% have actually occurred only about 20% of the time over the past 30 years. Longer term, expectations are that rates will generally remain in the 5.5%–7% range. There was also encouraging news for housing affordability: beginning in 2027, new restrictions will limit the number of single-family homes that large institutional investors can purchase.

The Greenville housing market continues to show steady strength. Through the first half of the year, home prices remain on the rise, with the average sales price up 2.7% and the median sales price up 1.2% compared to this time last year. Inventory has also continued to increase gradually, giving buyers more choices and creating a healthier, more balanced market than we've seen over the past several years.



Even with more homes available, Greenville has remained remarkably resilient. Closed sales are trending slightly ahead of where they were at this point in 2025, showing that buyers are still active despite higher mortgage rates. For sellers, this means homes are continuing to sell, but success is increasingly tied to pricing appropriately, presenting the home well, and having a strong marketing strategy. Overall, our market remains stable, with healthy demand and steady home values benefiting both buyers and sellers.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about rising inventory, slowing sales, and whether the housing market is headed for a correction. The reality is that the market is becoming more balanced. Inventory has been steadily rising across the country for the past four years, and South Carolina is now one of 17 states with more homes for sale than in 2019. While some markets, such as Florida, Texas, and Colorado, have seen inventory rise enough to put downward pressure on prices, South Carolina and Greenville have held up well. Greenville home prices are still up between 1% and 3.1% year over year, depending on the metric used, while closed sales are essentially flat compared to last year.



Another statistic that may generate headlines is that mortgage debt has reached an all-time high of $14 trillion. While that sounds alarming, it leaves out an important part of the story: homeowner equity is also at an all-time high of $34 trillion. In fact, homeowners now hold nearly 71% of their home's value in equity and only 29% in debt, making this one of the strongest housing markets from an equity standpoint that we've seen in decades. This means a wave of foreclosures or a housing crash remains unlikely. Instead, we're seeing a market where buyers have more negotiating power than a few years ago, while sellers who price appropriately and present their homes well are still successfully finding buyers and protecting the equity they've built over time.

One of the biggest questions in today’s housing market continues to be mortgage rates. While most major forecasters are not expecting significant movement in rates this year, buyers are still benefiting from the fact that rates are at the lowest levels we’ve seen during the spring market in the past three years. At the same time, the market is continuing to normalize. The number of homes for sale has risen well above the unusually low inventory levels we saw during the pandemic, but inventory is now much closer to what buyers and sellers experienced from 2012–2019. Likewise, the amount of time it takes to sell a home has returned closer to more traditional market timelines, where pricing and presentation play a much larger role in a seller’s success.



There has also been increased discussion nationally around foreclosure activity, but the data shows the market remains on much stronger footing than many people realize. Foreclosure levels are still well below pre-pandemic norms, and most homeowners today have significant equity in their homes. Nearly 40% of Americans own their home outright with no mortgage, and another 27% have at least 50% equity in their property. In South Carolina specifically, the average homeowner has approximately $247,000 in equity. Delinquency rates on primary mortgages and HELOCs also remain far lower than other forms of consumer debt, reinforcing that most homeowners are still in a very stable financial position. Overall, while the market has slowed from the rapid pace of recent years, the underlying fundamentals of housing remain much healthier than many headlines suggest.

There’s been a lot of movement in the housing market over the past month, particularly with mortgage rates. Rates have been a bit more volatile recently due to global events, but overall affordability is still improved compared to where it was a year ago. In fact, monthly payments are still meaningfully lower than early 2025 levels, and this is now the second year in a row where wage growth is outpacing home price growth—both of which are helping bring more balance back to the market. At the same time, we’re starting to see more sellers enter the market and buyer activity slowly increase, signaling that confidence is beginning to return.



Here in Greenville, we’re seeing signs of that momentum as well. Comparing March of 2026 to March of 2025, the average home price is up 5.9% and the median price is up 2.8%, both stronger than the broader yearly trends and potentially signaling that the market is picking back up. Month supply has dipped slightly, and while some homes are still selling quickly, others are taking longer—with the average days on market sitting around 67 days. Overall, this continues to be a market where pricing, presentation, and strategy matter more than ever, especially as inventory levels and buyer expectations continue to evolve.

Nationally, housing activity early this year was impacted by several winter storms across parts of the country that temporarily slowed showings and closings. As weather conditions improve, demand has begun to rebound. Affordability has also improved compared to where things stood over the past few years, as wages have been growing faster than home prices, and mortgage rates remain lower than recent highs. As a result, housing forecasters predict that about 10% more homes will sell in 2026 than in 2025, signaling that more buyers are expected to re-enter the market as the year progresses.



Here in Greenville, we’re seeing some of those same dynamics locally. Homes sold in February were down about 5.4% compared to last year, but home prices have remained steady with slight appreciation. One notable factor right now is the amount of new construction available—roughly 40% of the homes currently for sale are newly built. As we move further into the year, we typically start to see an increase in new listings, homes going under contract, and overall market activity, making strategic timing and preparation increasingly important for sellers.

Housing affordability has been steadily improving across the country since June of last year. Affordability is mainly driven by three factors—wages, interest rates, and home prices. While home values have continued to rise, they’ve been increasing at a slower pace than wages, and mortgage rates have come down from their recent highs. As a result, the monthly payment on a $500,000 home is about $352 lower today than it was in early January of 2025, making homeownership roughly 8.4% more affordable than it was at the start of last year.



This shift is beginning to show up in buyer activity. The Home Purchase Index, which tracks mortgage applications, has been steadily climbing and is now at its highest level since January 2023. That’s often an early signal that more buyers are preparing to enter the market. As demand builds, it typically leads to more competition and upward pressure on prices. In other words, we’re entering a window where buyers are starting to regain some affordability, but that advantage may narrow as we head into the late spring and summer market, as more people jump back into the market.

We’re starting the year with a noticeable shift in momentum across the housing market. Mortgage rates recently hit a three-year low, driven in part by a federal announcement to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed bonds. While rates will always fluctuate, this change has already led to increased buyer interest—often an early sign that sales activity may pick up in the months ahead.



For homeowners and sellers, the Greenville market remains strong. Home values continue to trend upward, with the average sales price rising 3.6% in 2025 and the median price increasing 1.7% year-over-year. At the same time, inventory is rising, and wages are expected to grow faster than home prices, creating a healthier and more balanced environment. In this type of market, when and how a home is listed matters more than ever. Strategic timing, strong presentation, and thoughtful pricing are becoming key factors in achieving the best possible outcome as the market continues to normalize.