Annual Report on the Hilton Head Housing Market
A FREE RESEARCH TOOL FROM THE HILTON HEAD AREA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ®
2023 was a challenging year for the U . S . housing market : mortgage rates hit a 2-decade high , housing inventory remained at historic lows , and sales prices continued to climb nationwide , putting homeownership out of reach for many consumers . Housing affordability remained a top concern for homebuyers , and for good reason : mortgage payments are up significantly from 2022 , with a number of homeowners now spending more than 30 % of their income on their monthly payment . As a result , sales of previously owned homes remained sluggish throughout the year , while the shortage of existing-home inventory helped sales of new residential homes steadily increase from last year .
Higher mortgage rates aren ’ t just affecting buyers . Many current homeowners purchased or refinanced their homes in 2020 or 2021 , when mortgage rates were several percentage points lower than today ’ s rates . And while those pandemic-era mortgages have been a blessing for many homeowners , they ’ ve also kept others from moving . Rather than give up their current mortgage rate for a higher rate and a more expensive monthly payment , some would-be sellers have chosen to put their moving plans on hold , further limiting the number of homes for sale and driving up home prices in the process .
Prices : Home prices were up compared to last year . The overall median sales price increased 8.4 percent to $ 516,500 for the year . Detached home prices were up 4.5 percent compared to last year , and attached home prices were up 15.3 percent .
List Price Received : Sellers received , on average , 98.1 percent of their original list price at sale , a year-over-year decrease of 1.3 percent .
With inflation showing signs of improvement , the Federal Reserve recently announced they are likely done raising interest rates for the time being and plan to make at least three cuts to their benchmark rate in 2024 . Mortgage rates have been dropping in recent months , which should help bring buyers and sellers back to the market and could lead to an uptick in both home sales and housing supply . Affordability will still prove challenging for many homebuyers , however , and economists predict U . S . home sales will remain down compared to 2019 - 2022 . As for home prices , opinions are mixed , with some analysts expecting prices will hold steady or continue rising in areas , while others foresee a modest price drop in some markets .
Sales : Pending sales decreased 9.0 percent , finishing 2023 at 5,259 . Closed sales were down 7.5 percent to end the year at 5,405 .
Listings : Comparing 2023 to the prior year , the number of homes available for sale was up by 23.3 percent . There were 1,299 active listings at the end of 2023 . New listings decreased by 7.3 percent to finish the year at 6,469 .
Table of Contents 3 Quick Facts 5 Price Range Review 6 Property Type Review 7 Area Overviews 8 Area Historical Prices
Current as of January 10 , 2024 . Data © 2024 REsides , INC . All Rights Reserved . Sponsored by South Carolina REALTORS ®. Report © 2024 ShowingTime . | 2