Charter One Realty Blog

Real Estate Market Recap - The Lowcountry - Mid-Year 2022

Rising inflation, soaring home prices, and increased mortgage interest rates have combined to cause a slowdown in the U.S. housing market. To help quell inflation, which reached 8.6% as of last measure in May, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in June, the largest interest rate hike since 1994. Higher prices, coupled with 30-year fixed mortgage rates approaching 6%, have exacerbated affordability challenges and rapidly cooled demand, with
home sales and mortgage applications falling sharply from a year ago.

With monthly mortgage payments up more than 50% compared to this time last year, the rising costs of homeownership have sidelined many prospective buyers. As existing home sales continue to soften nationwide, housing supply is slowly improving, with inventory up for the second straight month. In time, price growth is expected to moderate as supply grows; for now, however, inventory remains low, and buyers are feeling the squeeze of higher prices all around.

Mid-Year 2022 Market Snapshot - Hilton Head Island and Bluffton 

Sales: By the end of the first half of 2022, pending sales in the area totaled 3,300, a decrease of -22.9 percent from last year.  As compared to the same period last year, closed sales were down -22.3 percent. 

Listings: Comparing Mid-Year 2022 to Mid-Year 2021, the number of new listings entering the market was lower by -8.3 percent, amounting to 3,939 new listings at the end of June 2022. 

Prices: The Median Sale Price continued to climb compared to last year. 

According to the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors, the median home sale price on Hilton Head Island increased +17.23 percent to $902,100.

The median sale price for Hilton Head Island villas was $446,900, which was an increase of +35.4%.

The median sale price of homes on the Mainland (29909 and 29910) increased +29.0 percent to $470,000.

List Price Received: Sellers received, on average, 100.0 percent of their original list price at sale, an improvement of +1.6 percent compared to Mid-Year 2021.