Foreclosure and Rent Trends: A Complex Picture in South Carolina

By Elias DaSilva | September 16, 2024

Rental costs have been climbing nationwide, nearing historic peaks, as reported by Redfin on Tuesday. However, the Charlotte metro area, despite rising rents, is defying the trend of near-record highs.

In August 2022, after a steep increase in rental prices starting in spring 2020, the national median rent reached a record $1,700 per month. Although this figure slightly decreased in 2023, it has been inching back up each month this year.

From April to May, rents in the U.S. increased by 0.5%. Redfin noted the median rent in May was $1,653. Meanwhile, Apartment List’s June report for the Charlotte metro, which includes Rock Hill, showed rents were $200 to $400 less per month.

In May, Rock Hill’s median rent for a one-bedroom was $1,171, and for a two-bedroom, it was $1,230. Although rents have been rising since February, with a 0.9% increase from April, they have dropped significantly since last August. May’s rents were 6.4% lower than their peak a year ago, according to Apartment List.

The Charlotte metro also diverged from another national trend in May. Redfin reported that renters in most major U.S. cities were staying in their homes longer between 2012 and 2022 compared to the previous decade. However, more renters in Charlotte moved within 12 months, and the percentage of renters staying for 10 or more years slightly decreased.

Redfin identified four main reasons for renters staying longer, including rising rental prices and an increase in apartment living. The report also mentioned a slow recovery in new housing construction after the 2007 crash and a 40% average increase in home prices nationwide since 2019.

South Carolina’s median home sale price mirrored this trend. From April 2019 to April 2022, the state’s median sale price rose nearly 50% to $385,800.

During this period, foreclosure filings began to rise across the country.

While foreclosure rates have been increasing nationally since 2019, according to ATTOM Data Services, they remain much lower than a decade ago.

A positive note for South Carolina in ATTOM’s latest foreclosure report, released Tuesday, is that for the first time this year, the state is not among the top five for highest foreclosure rates.

ATTOM’s data shows South Carolina had one foreclosure filing per 3,337 households in May, ranking eighth in the nation, just ahead of the District of Columbia and Indiana, and about 0.01% above the U.S. average for the month.

May’s rate marks a 23% decrease from April and an 18% decrease from the previous May.

In April, ATTOM reported South Carolina had the second-highest foreclosure rate in the first quarter (behind Delaware), with one filing per 929 households, 44% higher than May’s rate.