Published October 1, 2026 in Market Update

Part of Pawleys Murrells moved faster, even as prices split

By April Formo

Real estate, Pawleys Murrells

The number that matters most right now: prices moved in opposite directions across Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island. One ZIP code was down 4.9%. The other was up 4.1%. Both sold faster. That split is the whole story for anyone pricing a home today.

The price split, side by side

In ZIP 29576, which covers Murrells Inlet and Garden City Beach, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 377 homes sold. That is up 34.6% from the same three months in 2025. The median sale price was $390,000, down 4.9% year over year. More homes sold, and they sold faster. The price dipped anyway.

That is not a contradiction. It means buyers in that ZIP code had more to choose from and used it. Homes for sale there fell 27%, but 377 sales on 445 available homes is a brisk pace. Sellers who priced to what buyers would actually pay found a market. Those who did not waited longer.

ZIP 29576: Murrells Inlet and Garden City Beach

The Real Estate Data Aggregator also counted 344 pending sales in ZIP 29576, up 8.2% from a year ago. Nearly 3 in 10 homes, 27.3%, went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share was up 7.2 points from 2025. When a home is priced well, the Inlet is not slow.

ZIP 29585: Pawleys Island, including Litchfield

In ZIP 29585, which covers Pawleys Island and the Litchfield communities, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 188 homes sold, up 24.5% from the same period last year. The median sale price was $548,700, up 4.1%. Homes for sale fell 32.2%. Supply tightened more here, and prices reflected it.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 192 pending sales in ZIP 29585, up 11.6% from a year ago. Just over 3 in 10 homes, 30.2%, went under contract within two weeks of listing. That share rose 9.3 points from 2025. That is the fastest two-week rate in either ZIP code.

Both ZIPs together: what moved across the whole area

Across both ZIP codes combined, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 565 homes sold in the three months ending July 31, 2026. That is up 31.1% from the same period in 2025. Homes for sale across both ZIPs fell 28.8%, to 658. New listings came in at 576, up 3.6%. Pending sales reached 536, up 9.4%.

What the national picture adds

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. The median price in ZIP 29585 beat that. The median price in ZIP 29576 went the other way. The national number is a backdrop, not a forecast for any one street.

Realtor.com reported that mortgage rates topped 7% for the first time since January 2025. Nationally, 20.8% of listings carried a price cut in September, the highest share since October 2022. Those conditions shape what buyers can afford everywhere, including here.

What this means if you are selling

Both ZIPs moved faster than a year ago. That is true. But the price direction was different in each one. A seller in Murrells Inlet or Garden City Beach is in a different conversation than a seller on Pawleys Island or in Litchfield in Pawleys Island. The ZIP code matters. The street matters more.

In ZIP 29576, 97.4% of list price was the average sale. In ZIP 29585, it was 97%. Both numbers are close. The difference is that one ZIP's prices rose and the other's fell. That means the list price you start with shapes everything that follows.

What this means if you are buying

Supply fell sharply in both ZIPs. With 3.6 months of supply in ZIP 29576 and 3.5 in ZIP 29585, there is not a large cushion of choices. Homes that are priced well are moving. In ZIP 29585, 30.2% of homes went under contract within two weeks. In ZIP 29576, 27.3% did. Waiting does not always mean more options.