May 2025 Greenville Real Estate Market Update

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.