Charleston metro, South Carolina

Welcome to the Charleston metro HousingGauge, your weekly local market report for the week of October 5, 2026.

Here is the headline. Charleston metro's HousingGauge score is 50 out of 100, which puts the market in the YELLOW zone. Conditions have weakened over the past three months, and financing remains expensive.

Three developments stand out this week.

First: Score down 15 points over 13 weeks. The score moved from 65 to 50 over the past 13 weeks, driven mainly by Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points).

Second: Mortgage rates up 0.85 points in three months. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, versus 6.43% three months ago.

Third: Rents up 4.2% year over year. Typical rent is $2,062 a month, for a gross rental yield of 5.5%.

Now, what is behind the score?

Mortgage Conditions scores 12 out of 100. The 30-year fixed rate averages 7.28%, up 0.82 percentage points over six months. Financing remains expensive, limiting affordability for leveraged buyers.

Supply & Buyer Leverage scores 63 out of 100. Inventory is 2.4% higher than a year ago (5,765 active listings), with 4.1 months of supply. Homes take a median 77 days to sell at 98.4% of list price, and 20.3% of listings have had a price cut. Negotiating leverage is fairly balanced between buyers and sellers.

Monetary Conditions scores 53 out of 100. The real policy rate is 1.24%, 0.23 points above the estimated neutral rate (r-star) of 1.01% — a near neutral stance. The fed funds rate has risen 0.24 points over six months.

Demand Trend scores 66 out of 100. Pending sales are 5.2% higher than a year ago and closed sales are 5.0% higher. Days on market are 4.1% longer than a year ago. Buyer demand is firming.

Valuation & Affordability scores 60 out of 100. The median home costs 5.3 times the median household income. Principal and interest on a typical purchase would take 34.6% of that income at current rates. Inflation-adjusted prices are 1.0% lower than a year ago. Affordability is stretched but not extreme.

Rental Economics scores 66 out of 100. A year of median rent equals 5.5% of the median price (a price-to-rent ratio of 18.1). Rents are up 4.2% year over year. Rental economics are comparatively strong.

The score is down 6 points from last week's report (56 to 50). Over 13 weeks it is down 15 points, from 65 to 50. The largest contributors were Mortgage Conditions (−7.0 points) and Monetary Conditions (−3.2 points).

So what would move Charleston metro into the green? It would take several changes together: 30-year mortgage rate falls below 6.15% (now 7.28%); the Fed cuts more than 0.55 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) narrows below −0.90 pts (now +0.23 pts); months of supply rises above 6.4 months (now 4.1 months); pending sales grow more than 15.0% year over year (now +5.2%); and mortgage rates fall more than 0.10 pts over three months (now +0.85 pts).

And what could make conditions worse? Watch for these together: 30-year mortgage rate rises above 7.70% (now 7.28%); pending sales growth slows below 0.0% year over year (now +5.2%); the Fed raises rates more than 0.50 pts over six months (now +0.24 pts); policy gap (real policy rate minus r-star) widens above +0.65 pts (now +0.23 pts); and months of supply falls below 3.3 months (now 4.1 months).

That is the Charleston metro HousingGauge for this week. The HousingGauge score describes market conditions. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell, and it is not individualized financial advice. For charts, sources and the full methodology, visit housinggauge.com. Thanks for listening.