The first quarter of 2026 in Charleston real estate was one of ups and downs. We started the year with strong sales, but momentum waned as the quarter wore on. The result was nearly identical to the first quarter of 2025. In the Charleston MLS, first-quarter residential home sales totaled 3,951, an increase of 1.9% over 2025. The median sold price rose 3.5% to $435,000, and the average sold price climbed 8.7% to $703,150. One statistic that moved in the wrong direction was the cumulative days on market, which reached 71 — up 16% from the first quarter of 2025. The luxury segment told a stronger story: among Charleston residential homes sold above $1 million, sales were up nearly 9%, with 559 closings. The median price in that segment rose almost 10% to $1,695,000, and the average sales price was up 13% to $2,263,512.
Charleston continued to trend well against the national picture. While our overall gain was a modest 2%, national home sales were down 3.6%. A major factor was continued economic uncertainty. At the start of the year, many expected interest rates to trend lower and release some of the pent-up demand. Instead, the picture grew cloudier with the start of the conflict in Iran in February. Mortgage rates held in the 6.2%–6.3% range for the quarter, only slightly below the 6.6% seen in the first quarter of 2025. This persistent uncertainty has prompted forecasters to revisit their projections for the year — the National Association of Realtors now expects sales to rise 4% in 2026, well below its original 14% forecast.
William Means agents were hard at work in the first quarter. Even as the broader market trended only mildly higher, our team helped clients close at a pace 20% above the first quarter of 2025. The quarter’s highest sale was a $6.9 million waterfront lot, listed by Beverly Burris and sold by Trey Mathisen, both of William Means. Activity has remained strong despite ongoing market uncertainty, and as always, we stay current on every aspect of the real estate climate so we can help our clients make the best decisions on their real estate journey.
