September 28, 2023

Contact: Kim Walker, 704-940-3149

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 August, the four-county region experienced a decline in home sales of 5.5 percent in comparison to the same period during previous year. A total of 651 homes were closed during the month, contrasting with the 689 homes that were closed in August 2022. On a month-over-month basis, sales showed an increase of 18.1 percent compared to the month of August. This is the first month-over-month increase since May and is the largest amount of closed sales this year.

Pending home sales saw a 9.1 percent decline in August 2023, translating to 568 homes under contract—a drop of 57 contracts when compared to August 2022. Month-over-month, this represented a slight reduction of 0.2 percent, or 2 fewer units, compared to data from July 2023.

Compared to August of the previous year, there was a modest decline of 5.8 percent in new listings, with 710 homes being added. This contrasts with the 754 new listings recorded in August of 2022. However, there was an 8.2 percent uptick in new listings relative to July 2023, adding 54 more homes to the market. This month's figures represent the highest number of new listings in 2023 and the smallest year-over-year decline observed in the last 12 months.

"It is exciting to see that August has set the record for the highest number of closed sales and new listings so far this year. These strong numbers provide a promising outlook. This could very well serve as a positive indicator for the market's performance as we transition into the fall season." said Colleen Coesens, a Canopy MLS Board of Director representing South Carolina and a Realtor®/broker with EXP Realty, Fort Mill.

In terms of price trends, the median sales price saw a slight year-over-year reduction of 3.3 percent, settling at $394,439. Despite this, the month of August 2023 marked the fourth consecutive month-over-month increase in the median sales price, reaching the highest level since November 2022. The average sales price within the four-county region rose slightly by 1.9 percent to $452,054, setting a record for the highest average sales price in recent years. Compared to figures from July 2023, the average sales price in August increased by 3.4 percent. The original list price to sales price metric continues to indicate that sellers in the four counties are obtaining almost the entirety of their requested price, as indicated by the original list price to sales price measure of 99.3 percent.

In August, inventory experienced a reduction of 25.6 percent, resulting in 792 available homes, or 1.5 months of supply. In comparison, there were 1,065 homes for sale during the same period last year. While a balanced market typically maintains a six-month supply, the current inventory level remains critically low, although it shows modest improvement compared to the pandemic years.

Coesens further added, "August's performance could either be an anomalous occurrence for this particular year, or it might suggest that both buyers and sellers have accepted the current state of interest rates and are now actively engaging in real estate transactions."

Market timing metrics reveal a year-over-year lengthening in days on market for the past 12 months. In August 2023, the time from listing to sale expanded by 35 percent, going from 20 days in August 2022 to 27 days. This also represents a 2-day uptick compared to the previous month. Notably, Lancaster and York Counties saw substantial increases in this metric, at 33.3 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

A closer look at the four South Carolina counties in the Charlotte region:

Chester County home sales exhibited a 22.2 percent increase, with 33 homes sold as opposed to 27 in August 2022. Pending contract activity also surged, witnessing a 66.7 percent boost, as 40 homes entered into contract compared to 27 in the same month last year. New listings increased by 137 percent, as 64 homes were introduced to the market, in contrast to the 27 in August 2022. Meanwhile, available inventory edged up by 6.9 percent, to 77 homes, or an equivalent of 2.5 months of supply at the time of reporting. Over the past year, there has been a consistent climb in pricing. The median sales price elevated to $290,000, and the average sales price reached $272,074, marking year-over-year increases of 56.8 percent and 22.9 percent, respectively. The average list price also rose, increasing 36.7 percent to $304,587. Consequently, the ratio of original list price to sales price reached 97.3 percent, a modest 1.8 percent uptick from last year. Additionally, the days on the market until sale saw a 14.8 percent decrease, narrowing to 23 days compared to 27 days in August 2022. Buyer interest remained healthy, with an average of 3.3 showings per listing. (Due to small sample sizes, percentage of change may seem extreme)

Chesterfield County had seven homes sold during the month which was a 46.2 percent decline from 13 closed sales in August 2022. Contract activity also displayed a decline, with five homes under contract in August, down from seven the previous year. New listings were flat year-over-year with 7 homes entering the market. Despite this, the inventory increased to 25 homes available for sale at the time of the report, equivalent to a 3.1 months of supply. The median sales price elevated to $255,000, and the average sales price reached $241,995, marking year-over-year increases of 13.1 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively. However, the average list price dropped 21.4 percent to $244,648. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 91.3 percent while homes were on market 25 days until sale in August 2023. The properties listed in Chesterfield had an average of 2.7 showings per home, indicating the level of interest in the market. (Due to small sample sizes, percentage of change may seem extreme)

Lancaster County saw 138 homes sold in August 2023 compared to 188 of the previous year. There was a modest 3.8 percent decrease in pending sales, with 152 homes going under contract during the month, compared to 158 in the same period last year. New listing activity slightly declined by one percent year-over-year as sellers brought 205 homes to market during the month compared to 203 that were newly listed a during August 2022. Inventory dropped 28.5 percent compared to last August and showed 223 homes for sale at report time or 1.6 months of supply.  Prices declined while days on market increased providing some relief for buyers. Both the median sales price ($417,853) and the average sales price ($439,057) experienced a decline of 9.9 percent and 8.4 percent respectively, in a year-over-year comparison. The average list price dropped 0.1 percent to $440,218. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 98.6 percent as sellers still receive most of asking price, while days on market increased 33.3 percent to 24 days until sale compared to 18 days on market in August 2022. Lancaster listings saw an average of 5.1 showings per home listed in August.

York County experienced a slight uptick of 1.8 percent in home sales in August 2023, culminating in 461 sales as opposed to 453 in the prior year. Despite this, contract activity demonstrated an 11.9 percent decrease year-over-year, as 379 homes were placed under contract, compared to 430 homes in August 2022. Additionally, the number of new listings presented to the market receded by 14.9 percent year-over-year, with 433 homes listed during the month, relative to 509 in August of the previous year. In terms of inventory and supply, there were declines observed during the month. The inventory dropped by 30.3 percent compared to the previous year, leaving a total of 459 homes available for sale at the time of the report, which translates to a supply of 1.3 months. This supply level is down 13.3 percent from the previous year. During August 2023, the median sales price elevated to $399,000, and the average sales price reached $472,618, marking year-over-year increases of 0.2 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively. The average list price also increased by 6.6 percent to $456,404. This brought the original list price to sales price measure to 97.8 percent during the month; a small decrease from 98.9 percent in August 2022. Days on the market increased by 35 percent to 27 compared to 20 days last year. There was a good amount of foot traffic per listing during August with an average of 6.3 showings per listing, indicating a sustained level of interest in the market.

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®". 

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: 9/28/2023