Published October 13, 2026 in Market Update

Luxury inventory is down even as new listings edge up

By April Formo

Real estate, luxury

The number that matters most right now: the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,237 luxury homes for sale across ZIPs 29585, 29576, and 29579 in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 30.1% from the same period a year ago. For sellers, tighter supply supports careful pricing. For buyers, choice is genuinely narrower than it was.

At the same time, new listings are not frozen. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,122 new luxury listings in those three ZIPs over the same period, up 2.4% from a year ago. Some fresh options are arriving. Total inventory is still well below where it was, but the pipeline is not closed.

Nationally, Realtor.com reported active listings topped 1.16 million homes for sale in September. That is a broad recovery in supply across the country. Here, the picture is the opposite: local luxury inventory fell even as the national count climbed.

What the rate environment means for this market

CNBC reported the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached 7.49% last week. That is the highest level in three years, according to CNBC. Nationally, mortgage purchase applications fell 15% compared with the same week a year ago, also per CNBC. Higher rates slow some buyers. That may be part of why pending sales here dipped 9.4% year over year.

Realtor.com also reported that price cuts hit 20.8% of listings nationally in September, the highest share since October 2022. That is worth watching. Locally, homes are still selling close to list: 97.2% of list price in both ZIP 29585 and ZIP 29576, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator.

Each ZIP reads a little differently

ZIP 29585, which covers Pawleys Island and Litchfield, had the highest median sale price at $550,000, up 6.8% from a year ago, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Homes there took a median of 51 days to sell, and inventory fell 31.6% year over year.

ZIP 29576, which covers Murrells Inlet and Garden City Beach, saw median prices dip 1.2% to $399,000. That is a small move, and it is honest to name it. Sales volume jumped 28% year over year, which tells a different story than the price line alone. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 74 median days on market there.

ZIP 29579 had the sharpest price dip, down 5.2% to a median of $369,900. Above-list sales also fell there, with just 3.6% of homes selling over asking, down 3.5 points from a year ago. Supply tightened there too, though less sharply than in the other two ZIPs.

Speed: homes are moving faster than last year

Fifty-eight days shorter in ZIP 29585 is a meaningful shift. A year ago, a Pawleys Island home might have sat for well over 100 days at the median. Now the median is 51. That does not mean every home moves quickly. But the middle of the market is moving faster.

About a quarter of homes go under contract within two weeks

In Murrells Inlet and Garden City Beach, nearly 1 in 4 homes went under contract within two weeks. That share rose 4.9 points from a year ago. In ZIP 29579, that same share fell 6.9 points. The two ZIPs are moving in opposite directions on this measure.

The national price picture

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Month over month, they rose 0.3% in July, seasonally adjusted. That is a modest national gain. ZIP 29585 is outpacing it; ZIPs 29576 and 29579 are below it.