The Headlines Feel Heavy. Here’s What I’m Seeing in the Lowcountry.
September 24, 2026
If this week’s economic headlines have made you uneasy, I understand. Inflation is still putting pressure on household budgets, and the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate last week. For anyone thinking about a home purchase or refinance, those concerns are real.
But the national mood isn’t the whole story here at home. South Carolina’s unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in August, its sixth monthly decline in a row, and the state reported more people working than a year earlier. That doesn’t erase the strain families feel at the grocery store or when looking at a mortgage payment. It does give us a more complete picture of the state’s economy.
Our real estate market is still chugging along
There is no lack of activity within our MLS. In August, the Charleston Trident MLS recorded 1,645 pending sales, up 11.8% from a year earlier, and 1,614 closed sales, up 2.5%. Homes took an average of 51 days to reach an accepted offer, compared with 48 days a year ago. Buyers and sellers are still making moves; they’re often taking more time to work through the details.
That creates a silver lining for buyers. Price, closing costs, and other concessions are more open for discussion than they were during the years when many homes drew immediate offers. It doesn’t mean every seller will negotiate or every listing is a bargain. It means there may be room to build an offer around what a buyer actually needs.
For sellers, the lesson is just as practical: buyers are paying close attention to their monthly payment and cash needed to close. A thoughtful asking price, good presentation, and willingness to consider the full terms of an offer can help a home stand out. The MLS reported a median sale price of $431,500 in August, up 1.8% year over year, so this is hardly a story of a market that has stopped.
What I’d do with that information
If you’re buying, start with a payment that feels comfortable and have a local lender work backward from there. When you find the right home, we can look at the price and whether a seller credit toward closing costs or a rate buydown makes sense.
If you’re selling, let’s price against the homes buyers can choose from today and decide in advance which terms matter most to you. A concession may be useful if it helps get a solid transaction to closing, but we should look at your net proceeds before agreeing to one.
And if the numbers don’t work for you right now, that’s useful information too. You can use the time to prepare without feeling that the headlines have made the decision for you.
My take: The news has been heavy, but the Lowcountry market continues to chug along. People are still buying and selling homes. There’s simply more conversation around price and terms than we saw in recent years. Let’s look at your situation and the neighborhood that matters to you, then make a plan based on those numbers.
Jared Jackson | Rainbow Row Real Estate & Ascend Financial Group