December 21, 2023

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

Residential Sales Trends in York, Lancaster, Chester and  Chesterfield Counties

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Canopy MLS reports on residential sales trends in the contiguous counties to Mecklenburg County, which includes York, Lancaster, Chester, and Chesterfield, South Carolina. Data included in this report is for single family, condo, and townhome property types only, for the geographies mentioned above.

In November, sales across the four South Carolina counties, just south of Mecklenburg and Charlotte experienced a decline of 19 percent year-over-year, as 443 homes sold.    compared to 547 that sold during the same period last year. Essentially,104 units sold separates last year’s activity from sales activity in November 2023. Sales compared to October were down 9.8 percent.  Notably, the town of York had closed sales rise 11.8 percent year-over-year, and was the only town within the micro-region where sales rose.

Pending contract activity or buyer demand, increased for the first time this year rising, 7.3 percent compared to last year, with 412 homes going under contract, as buyers moved to take advantage of falling mortgage rates in November. Contract activity compared to October was down 10.4 percent. November Showing Reports showed that buyer interest was highest in Fort Mill, where listings received 5.2 showings (or potential buyers) per listing, followed by Rock Hill, where listings averaged 4.9 showings per listing.

New listings also rose in November, as sellers listed 523 homes for sale, an increase of 8.1 percent over last November. Seller activity has been week throughout the year, which has impacted inventory and supply. This is the first rise in new listing activity this year. Month-over-month listing activity was down 12.5 percent, and the market remains extremely tight.

"Rates moving down over the last month or so, has really impacted both buyer and seller activity. Sales could have easily been higher if we didn’t have inventory and supply challenges." said Colleen Coesens, a Canopy MLS Board of Director representing South Carolina and a Realtor®/broker with EXP Realty, Fort Mill. “However, we are encouraged by predictions that rates should continue to fall over the winter months, as this should entice more sellers to list, leading to more supply in the long term. Sellers should contact a listing agent now to discuss the benefits of increased home equity and listing next spring.”

Inventory and supply at report time showed an extremely tight market, with 994 homes for sale compared to 1,074 homes for sale last November. Supply increased 5.6 percent compared to last year as a result of increased new listings, to 1.9 months of supply, which is unchanged compared to last month.

Buyers had some relief during the month, as prices softened. Both the median sales price ($385,000) and the average sales price ($423,433) dipped 3.8 percent and 3.4 percent year-over-year respectively. The original list price to sales price measure was relatively unchanged, dipping less than a percent (-0.2%) to 98.4 percent in November, as sellers continue to receive nearly all of asking prices for their homes.

Coesens further added, "Prices are impacted by both inventory and supply levels as well as rising demand. In areas where supply is rising, there will be some price softening however, buyers shouldn’t expect to see prices fall dramatically, as the market has always had enough demand to keep prices from collapsing. The York-area housing market has been on a trajectory of high-growth for several years now, and this will continue in 2024. Engaging with a Buyer’s Agent can help prospective buyers remain informed and prepared.”

Even though days on market increased 2.9 percent to 36 days in November, homes are still selling quickly, giving buyers little time to negotiate. This time last November days on market showed homes averaged 35 days on market until sale. 

A closer look at the four South Carolina counties

York County sales declined 15.3 percent year-over-year to 299 homes sold compared to 353 sold last year.  Fifty-four home sales were the difference between November 2023 and last November. Sales increased year-over-year in the Town of York, rising 11.8 percent year-over year as 38 homes sold compared to 34 last year. Pending contract activity rose 3.5 percent year-over-year as 264 homes went under contract compared to 255 during the same period last year. Contract activity was down year-over-year in Tega Cay (-38.1%) and Lake Wylie (-15.1%), but increased in Fort Mill (9.5%), Rock Hill (9.3%), Clover (4.5%) and the Town of York (2.6%).  New listings jumped 11.3 percent as sellers listed 335 homes for sale, which is 34 more homes listed than last year. Inventory however declined 9 percent to 605 homes for sale, while supply increased 5.9 percent to 1.8 months of supply. 

County-wide prices remained mostly unchanged with the median sales price dipping 1.9 percent to $385,000 and the average sales price down a percent to $436,692. The average list price increased 3.8 percent year-over-year to $435,520, which brought the original list price to sales price measure to 96.3 percent, while days on market increased 2.9 percent and showed homes averaged 35 days on market until sale, which is one day faster than last November.

In Rock Hill both the median sales price ($340,000) and the average sales price ($375,000) rose 2.7 percent and 11.7 percent year-over-year. The Town of York also had price increases with the median sales price ($374,500) and the average sales price ($415,706) rising 6 percent and 14.4 percent respectively. However, the median sales price in Clover dipped by 11.1 percent to $350,000 while the average price dropped 15.4 percent to $379,271.  Likewise, prices also declined in Tega Cay and Lake Wylie, giving buyers some relief in November.

Lancaster County home sales declined 31.1 percent as 111 homes sold compared to 161 that sold in November a year ago. Contract activity also declined, as 101 homes went under contract during the month, compared to 107 that were under contract last November. Contract activity rose in the Town of Lancaster by 3.8 percent as 55 homes went under contract.  New listings also fell, 22.9 percent to 118 homes for sale compared to 153 new listings offered by sellers in November 2022. Inventory declined 14.9 percent to 269 homes for sale while supply increased 5.3 percent to two months of supply. Buyers enjoyed some price relief in Lancaster, as both the median sales price ($422,831) and the average sales price ($418,129) declined by 4.9 percent and 13.3 percent year-over-year respectively, while the average list price slipped 1.2 percent to $399,736. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 96.6 percent, while days on market showed homes sold quickly and averaged 34 days on market, compared to 37 days this time last year.

Chester County homes sales declined 19 percent year-over-year as 17 homes sold compared to sold in November 2022. Pending sales rose 192.3 percent to 38 homes under contract compared to 13 last November, while new listings increased 107.7 percent as sellers listed 54 homes for sale compared to 26 listed in November 2022. Inventory increased 13 percent to 78 homes for sale at report time while months of supply declined 17.2 percent to 2.4 months of supply. Both the median sales price ($255,000) and the average sales price ($229,194) increased 28.6 percent and 44 percent year-over-year respectively while the average list price increased 27.3 percent to $287,600. This brought the original list price to sales price ratio to 93.1 percent while days on market showed homes selling quickly and averaging 36 days on market this past November compared to 24 days on market in November 2022.   .  (Due to small sample sizes, percentage of change may seem extreme)

Chesterfield County home sales declined 26.4 percent as 14 homes sold in November compared to 19 sold in November 2022, while contract increased 12.5 percent to 18 homes under contract during the month, which is two more than last year. New listings increased 81.3 percent to 29 homes for sale, which boosted both inventory and supply. Inventory increased 53.8 percent to 40 homes for sale and 2.1 months of supply, which is also up 133.3 percent. This time last year Chesterfield County only had less than a month (0.9), approximately 27 days of supply.  Prices held steady, with both the median sales price ($388,250) and the average sales price ($420,398) dipping 0.4 percent and 1.2 percent year-over-year respectively. The average list price increased 12.4 percen6 to $517,941 which brought the original list price to sales price ratio to 97.3 percent. Days  on market decreased by one day to 27 days in November compared to 28 days on market in November 2022. (Due to small sample sizes, percentage of change may seem extreme)

Canopy Realtor^® Association provides monthly reports on residential real estate market activity for the Charlotte region based on data from Canopy MLS. This report is based on the four South Carolina counties that are also included in the Charlotte region (Chester, Chesterfield, Lancaster and York Counties).  For more details, visit the monthly report this release is based on, and search for “Piedmont Regional Association of Realtors®". 

See also Charlotte region reports and individual county reports for York, Lancaster, Chester and Chesterfield.

For more residential-housing market statistics, visit www.CarolinaHome.com and click on “Market Data.” For an interview with Canopy MLS South Carolina representative, Colleen Coesens, Realtor®/Broker-in-charge with EXP Realty, Fort Mill, please contact Kim Walker.

Canopy MLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of Canopy Realtor® Association and is the private broker cooperative used by Realtors® to bring buyers and sellers together with access to thousands of residential listings in a multicounty service area, including Charlotte, Asheville and Catawba Valley regions spanning across North Carolina, South Carolina and outside of the Carolinas. Canopy MLS, which has 21,000 subscribers, provides the most trustworthy, timely, accurate and complete property data along with proprietary tools for showings, market stats, predictive analytics, and more. Canopy MLS is used by its members to support consumers in their residential real estate transactions, whether selling, buying, investing or renting.

Original Publish Date: 12/21/2023