If you're thinking about buying or selling in the Lowcountry, here's what the numbers are actually telling us this month, no fluff, just the trends that matter if you're weighing your next move.

The Big Picture

July brought a bit of a cooldown to our local market, but it's a more nuanced story than "the market is slowing." Closed sales dipped 12.8% compared to last year to 484 homes, and the median sales price eased 7.3% to $510,000. New listings were also down 9.4% to 523, which tells us sellers are being a little more cautious about when they list.

But here's the twist: pending sales actually rose 1.9% to 481, and year to date pending sales are up a healthy 5.1% compared to this time last year. That's a signal that buyer demand hasn't disappeared, it's just taking longer to convert into closed deals.

That "longer" part shows up clearly in days on market, which jumped 28.9% to 125 days. Homes that would have gone under contract in a month a year ago are now taking closer to four months. Inventory also tightened slightly, down 3.4% to 2,083 active listings, and months of supply dropped 10% to 4.5 months, still a fairly balanced market, leaning just slightly toward buyers.

What This Means If You're Selling

Pricing accuracy matters more right now than it did a year ago. With days on market stretching out and closed sales pulling back, homes that are priced right out of the gate are the ones still moving. Overpricing in this environment risks a longer, more visible time on market, which can work against you when buyers start asking "why hasn't this sold yet?"

The good news: buyer interest hasn't dried up. Pending sales are trending upward both monthly and year to date, so serious buyers are still out there. It's a market that rewards patience and smart pricing over urgency driven listing strategies.

What This Means If You're Buying

If you've been priced out or discouraged by fast moving bidding wars over the past couple of years, this is a market shift worth paying attention to. Longer days on market and a slight easing in median price give buyers a bit more breathing room to negotiate, especially in the higher end.

That's borne out in the broader twelve month housing supply data too: pending sales in the $750,001 to $1,000,000 range grew 14.9% compared to last year, the strongest gain of any price band, with single family homes in that range showing particularly strong momentum. Meanwhile, the overall twelve month median sales price across the region held fairly steady at $548,580, down just 0.3%, so pricing has largely stabilized rather than dropped sharply.

Inventory in the $150,000 and below range remains extremely tight and slow moving (a median of 175 days on market), while homes in the $750,001 to $1,000,000 range are moving fastest, at a median of 112 days. If you're shopping in the upper middle price bands, expect more competition than the headline numbers might suggest.

Local Snapshot: By the Numbers

• Median Sales Price: $510,000 (7.3% lower than last year)
• Closed Sales: 484 (12.8% lower than last year)
• Pending Sales: 481 (1.9% higher than last year)
• New Listings: 523 (9.4% lower than last year)
• Days on Market: 125 (28.9% higher than last year)
• Months Supply of Inventory: 4.5 months (10.0% lower than last year)
• Twelve Month Median Sales Price (Regional): $548,580 (0.3% lower)
• Strongest Price Segment: $750,001 to $1,000,000 (14.9% growth in pending sales)

Where I See This Heading

Markets like this, where prices soften slightly but demand holds, tend to reward people who move deliberately rather than reactively. If you're a seller, that means leaning on real comparable data rather than what the house down the street sold for two years ago. If you're a buyer, it means the window for negotiating power is open a bit wider than it's been in a while, particularly in the upper price tiers.

Every neighborhood in Bluffton and Hilton Head tells a slightly different version of this story, and the townwide averages don't always reflect what's happening on your specific street or in your specific HOA. If you want a read on how these trends apply to your property or the neighborhood you're watching, I'm happy to pull together a tailored breakdown.

Thinking about buying or selling in Bluffton or Hilton Head this fall? Let's talk about what these numbers mean for your specific situation.

Check out all of the local Hilton Head and Bluffton, SC market reports here [Link].