Rising prices, quicker sales: Median home price in downtown Greenville is almost $500,000

A map showing the different areas of Greenville that real estate agents use when compiling data.
A map showing the different areas of Greenville that real estate agents use when compiling data.

As the city of Greenville has grown, home prices have grown with it.

In Greenville’s downtown core, the median home sales price is just under half of a million dollars at $499,000, and two other areas in Greenville County have reached median home sales prices over $400,000.

As long as Greenville keeps placing on national top 10 lists, including realtor.com's top U.S. housing markets, prices will continue to go up, according to local real-estate agent and Greenville native Morgan Coleman.

The "hidden gem" that is Greenville is not so hidden anymore, Coleman said, and a lot of people are looking to move to Greenville from out of state.

"I think COVID has changed things a lot for people," Coleman said. "Now you can work from home, so a lot of people say, 'Hey, I can work remote, so I can work wherever I want now.' And that has absolutely changed the game for real estate."

Here's a closer look at the most expensive areas to live in Greenville and in South Carolina — along with what you can get in Greenville for half a million dollars.

Dive deeper: Greenville home sales prices have grown, but it's still cheaper to buy than rent for some

Downtown Greenville housing market

The central part of downtown Greenville has the most expensive real estate in Greenville County with a median home sales price of $499,000.

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Real estate agents have told The Greenville News that they often have to tell buyers to look to other areas in the county if they're working with a smaller budget. Downtown Greenville is not affordable for most home-buyers.

To pay off a mortgage on a $500,000 home, a household would pay about $2,200 per month, according to an online mortgage calculator.

The view from one of the penthouse apartments at the Deca Camperdown apartment building on Falls Street in Greenville.
The view from one of the penthouse apartments at the Deca Camperdown apartment building on Falls Street in Greenville.

This means a household would need to make much more than Greenville's area median income of about $60,000, according to U.S. Census data. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development advises households to spend no more than 30% of income on housing, meaning someone making $60,000 should pay only about $1,500 per month.

Yet for the people who can afford to buy a home downtown, they're often pleasantly surprised with what they can get for their money in Greenville if they're coming from other expensive areas, Coleman said.

For $400,000 in downtown Greenville, you can buy a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with varying square footage, she said. Move farther out into the county and you can get even more.

"With people moving from out of state here and what you can get in New York, Connecticut, California, they're like, 'Oh my gosh, I can have a five-bedroom home?'" Coleman said.

Here's a look at the real-estate data for homes in downtown Greenville:

  • 2021 median sales price: $499,000

  • 2020 median sales price: $425,000

  • 2021 new listings: 100

  • 2020 new listings: 93

  • 2021 percent of list price received: 98.9%

  • 2020 percent of list price received: 97%

  • 2021 days on market: 55

  • 2020 days on market: 69

Five Forks housing market

The median home sales price in the area surrounding the Five Forks community in the southeastern part of the county, north of Simpsonville, is $429,500.

It's an area known as Area 31 by the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors, and it's a place where sellers, on average, received more than 100% of the prices they listed in 2021.

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As Greenville gets more popular and less affordable, its surrounding areas are growing more expensive as well — like a "ripple effect," Coleman said.

"Downtown Greenville is an attraction at this point," she said, "and not everyone has to live downtown to be able to have a nice dinner with friends or go to a brewery or go to a ball game."

Here's a look at real-estate data for homes in the Five Forks area of Greenville County:

  • 2021 median sales price: $429,500

  • 2020 median sales price: $380,000

  • 2021 new listings: 469

  • 2020 new listings: 545

  • 2021 percent of list price received: 100.4%

  • 2020 percent of list price received: 98.2%

  • 2021 days on market: 25

  • 2020 days on market: 53

Southernside housing market

Southernside, a downtown Greenville neighborhood that's suffered gentrification in recent years, has seen median home values soar to reach $400,000, up from $326,000 last year.

The area historically ravaged by economic decline and segregationist policies continues to change as the multi-million-dollar Unity Park is built. Less-affluent residents have been pressured to leave the area while homes and apartments geared for those with more money are constructed.

Southernside growth: Proposal near Unity Park offers glimpse of Greenville's development and ongoing struggle

Prices continue to grow, and inventory is shrinking — making Southernside more and more competitive for home-buyers.

Here's a look at the real-estate data for homes in Southernside:

  • 2021 median sales price: $400,000

  • 2020 median sales price: $326,750

  • 2021 new listings: 177

  • 2020 new listings: 216

  • 2021 percent of list price received: 99.2%

  • 2020 percent of list price received: 97.1%

  • 2021 days on market: 28

  • 2020 days on market: 47

Here are the most expensive cities in SC

Though Greenville's housing market is hot, it doesn't compare to the Lowcountry, where vacationers have million-dollar beach homes along South Carolina's coast.

One exception is No. 4 on the list of the state's most expensive cities, Salem, a small town in Oconee County near Lake Keowee with only 135 residents.

Here are the most expensive cities in South Carolina based on average home prices according to homes.com, an online real-estate marketplace.

  1. Kiawah Island - $1.4 million

  2. Isle of Palms - $1.2 million

  3. Hilton Head Island - $844,000

  4. Salem - $695,000

  5. Seabrook Island - $684,916

Genna Contino covers Greenville County and housing for The Greenville News. Contact Genna at gcontino@gannett.com or on Twitter @GennaContino. Subscribe to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Expensive homes in SC: Downtown Greenville median is half a million