This Tiny Southern Town Has Seen Home Prices Nearly Double

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More than a year has passed since the COVID-19 national emergency ended. Still, the U.S. is grappling with many of the pandemic's economic knock-on effects -- most notably, a surge in home prices. The typical home on the market in the U.S. had a list price of $439,950 in July 2024, up nearly $121,000 from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, according to data from Realtor.com.

In recent years, new-home construction has been hampered by pandemic-related work restrictions and supply chain issues. As a result, inventory has not kept pace with demand, and an already decades-old housing shortage has only worsened. Now, with mortgage rates at historic highs, many homeowners who are locked in at lower rates are reluctant to sell, further limiting housing supply. According to estimates from The Pew Charitable Trusts , closing the gap would require between 4 to 7 million new homes.

Home prices have also been driven up by surging demand. The shift to remote work, in addition to social distancing rules, confined millions of Americans to their homes during the pandemic -- and resulted in a spike in home sales. In October 2020, the sales volume of new, single-family homes topped 1.03 million, a high not seen in nearly a decade and a half.

Few parts of the country have been spared from surging home prices. In South Carolina, the median list price among all homes on the market was $360,000 in July 2024, up 26.3% -- or $75,050 -- from the start of the pandemic. (Here is a look at the most affordable housing market in each state .)

Notably, when it comes to the housing costs, location matters -- and in some parts of South Carolina, housing prices have climbed much faster than average. In others, meanwhile, increases have been far more modest.

Of the 15 metropolitan and combined statistical areas in the state with available data, median list prices have increased anywhere from 8.2% to 76.2% since the start of the pandemic. In these same communities, a typical home now costs anywhere from $23,750 to $140,000 more than it did in March 2020. (Here is a look at the 23 cities where most homes are selling for less than $125,000.)

This is how home prices have changed since the pandemic in every city in South Carolina. Cities are ranked by the percent change in the media list prices from March 2020 to July 2024.

Why It Matters

Since the start of the pandemic, limited supply and rising demand have fueled a surge in home prices. Now, with mortgage rates at their highest levels in over a decade, many would-be sellers are staying out of the market, further exacerbating a long-standing inventory shortage. Historically, homeownership has been a reliable means of building wealth -- but rising prices and elevated borrowing costs have priced millions of Americans out of the market. Still, location matters in the real estate business, and some parts of South Carolina have borne the brunt of rising prices, while others have been largely shielded.

• Change in median list price since start of pandemic: +8.2% (+$23,750)
• Median home list price: $312,450 in July 2024; $288,700 in March 2020
• Median list price per square foot: $161 in July 2024; $114 in March 2020
• Size of a typical listed home: 1,887 sq. ft. in July 2024; 2,318 sq. ft. in March 2020

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