Charleston Home Prices Are Still Rising While the Country Softens

By Blake Heron, Realtor, Heron Homes CHS with eXp Realty. Updated October 2026.

The Charleston Check takes one national housing headline and tests it against the Charleston MLS, so you know what is actually happening here. 

The Verdict for Charleston

Not here, at least not yet. National price growth has nearly stalled, but Charleston County prices are still rising and there are fewer homes for sale than a year ago.

The National Headline

ResiClub, a housing research newsletter, reports that national home prices rose just 1.0 percent from September 2025 to September 2026, based on the Zillow Home Value Index. The number of large housing markets with falling prices grew from 54 to 66 out of 300 in a single month, with most of the softness in parts of Texas, Florida, Colorado and Washington where inventory has climbed above 2019 levels. Read the full ResiClub report.

What the Charleston MLS Shows

From October 2025 through September 2026, the median sale price in Charleston County was $641,450, up 2.6 percent from $625,000 the year before. Single family homes rose 3.6 percent, from $700,000 to $725,000.

Sales picked up too. 7,775 homes sold, up about 4 percent from the year before. At the same time, September ended with 2,246 homes for sale, about 3 percent fewer than last September. At the past year’s pace of sales, that is about 3.5 months of supply, down from 3.7 a year ago.

What I’m Seeing on the Ground

Of the 2,150 active listings on the market in Charleston County when I checked October 24, 950 had been on the market more than 60 days, and 653 more than 90. So even with prices up, more than 4 in 10 homes for sale have sat for two months or longer. If you are selling, price it to sell in the first few weeks, because the homes that sit end up competing with that pile. If you are buying, those are the homes where I look first for room to negotiate.

What It Means for Sellers

Charleston is not seeing the price pullbacks hitting parts of the Sun Belt, and supply is a little tighter than last year. That does not mean every price works. In September, sellers got about 94.8 percent of their original asking price, the same as a year ago, per the MLS market statistics, so homes priced right from the start still do best. To see your part of town, start with the Mount Pleasant, West Ashley or James Island market pages, or compare every area on my Charleston home prices by area page.

What It Means for Buyers

Prices here are still edging up, so waiting for a national slowdown to show up in Charleston has not paid off so far this year. With about three and a half months of supply, there is still room to compare homes and negotiate, especially on homes that have sat or been reduced.

Ask Blake

If you want the numbers for your street, call or text Blake Heron at 843-718-6338. If you are thinking about selling, start with what your home is worth on my home value page.

How We Measured

Charleston MLS, all residential, Charleston County, October through September. Medians leave out boat slips and fractional shares. Sales counts, active listings, months of supply and sale to original list price come from the MLS market statistics, the same source as Post 1. Days on market counts from the current listing date, active listings on October 24, 2026. Pulled October 2026.