August was a slower month in Charleston Trident MLS. Residential closings dropped, homes sat longer, and buyers had more to look at. Last-ask still held. That is the whole story, and the numbers underneath it tell you where to spend your time.
These figures are residential listings (property type A) pulled from Flexmls on September 1, 2026. August is the latest complete month. Sale-to-list is sold price versus last ask, not original list. Counts move daily. Verify live comps before anyone goes firm. This is not a CMA, an appraisal, or a price prediction.
Late-summer slowdown, not a price break. Closings fell 14 percent versus last August and 21 percent versus July. Average days on market stretched to 52. Asking medians are essentially flat year-over-year. Sold medians are a bit firmer. Buyers have more time. Sellers are still closing at 98.2 percent of last ask.
August snapshot
| Metric | Aug 2026 | Jul 2026 | vs July | Aug 2025 | vs last Aug |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 5,869 | 5,924 | −0.9% | 5,717 | +2.7% |
| New listings | 1,953 | 2,410 | −19.0% | 2,171 | −10.0% |
| Sold listings | 1,363 | 1,731 | −21.3% | 1,583 | −13.9% |
| Absorption (months) | 3.82 | 3.85 | −0.03 | 3.88 | −0.06 |
| Active median ask | $438,230 | $439,820 | −0.4% | $440,000 | −0.4% |
| Median sold price | $435,000 | $449,000 | −3.1% | $423,825 | +2.6% |
| Average DOM | 51.7 | 46.6 | +5.1 | 48.0 | +3.7 |
| Sale-to-list | 98.2% | 98.2% | 0.0 | 98.3% | −0.1 |
| Sale-to-original list | 95.6% | 96.0% | −0.4 | 95.7% | −0.1 |
Source: Charleston Trident MLS via Flexmls, residential. Sale-to-original-list of 95.6 percent is the price-cut print. Last-ask is still holding.
Active inventory peaked in May at 5,945 and has eased only slightly. Closings peaked in June at 2,031, then dropped through July and August. August new listings (1,953) are the lowest of any month since December. That is seasonal plus weaker demand, not a distressed print.
If you are buying
You have more time than you did last summer. A typical residential close in August took about 52 days on market, not 48. There are more homes sitting than last August. That does not mean every listing is a discount. Most still close near last ask.
The leverage that shows up in the data is original-list cuts (sale-to-original 95.6 percent) and days-on-market, not a collapse in last-ask. Use that on a house that has been sitting. Do not assume the first weekend is still a bidding war, and do not assume a 30-day listing is desperate.
If you want more homes to choose from at a lower ask, start with Moncks Corner, Ladson, and North Charleston. If you are shopping Mount Pleasant or the peninsula, use sale-to-list and the ask-versus-sold gap to shape the offer, not a story about prices running away.
By city, August 2026
| City | Active | Sold | MOI | Ask median | Sold median | DOM | Sale-to-list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moncks Corner | 333 | 82 | 4.79 | $380,000 | $359,685 | 51.6 | 100.1% |
| Ladson | 131 | 48 | 4.21 | $328,000 | $332,750 | 46.2 | 98.0% |
| North Charleston | 372 | 99 | 3.49 | $357,000 | $331,402 | 51.4 | 98.7% |
| Summerville | 1,520 | 435 | 3.37 | $417,750 | $405,000 | 50.9 | 99.5% |
| Hanahan | 68 | 29 | 3.33 | $460,000 | $445,000 | 35.0 | 97.3% |
| Charleston | 855 | 239 | 3.32 | $635,000 | $650,000 | 41.0 | 97.9% |
| Goose Creek | 209 | 53 | 3.23 | $335,000 | $353,000 | 39.1 | 98.1% |
| Mount Pleasant | 441 | 165 | 2.74 | $960,000 | $895,000 | 43.5 | 97.4% |
MOI is Flexmls absorption (rolling months of inventory), not a one-month active-divided-by-sold ratio. Ask versus sold can flip in a small sample because the mix of homes that close is not the mix still sitting. Hanahan had 29 closings. Goose Creek had 53.
Summerville has the most homes on the market and still closed at 99.5 percent of last ask. Volume is not the same as leverage. Treat it like a competitive new-build mix, then negotiate on days-on-market and original-list cuts.
Mount Pleasant is the tightest large corridor. The August ask median sits about 7 percent above the sold median. Use that gap on the offer. Hanahan is still the fastest local pocket on DOM (35 days in August, 17 in July) with only 68 actives. Tour fits quickly.
North Charleston still has one of the wider ask-versus-sold gaps among the larger cities. Goose Creek remains a price-access corridor (ask median $335,000). The August sold median jumped above ask on 53 closings. Compare the house, not the monthly print.
South Carolina overview: the tri-county split
Charleston Trident MLS is a Lowcountry board. It is not Greenville, Columbia, or Myrtle Beach. Those metros run on other MLSs. Inside this board, Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties are about 85 percent of August actives. The rest of the book is other South Carolina counties that show up in the same MLS (Colleton, Beaufort, and scattered listings farther out).
If you are relocating to South Carolina and asking “what does the state look like,” start here: the Lowcountry is three different price bands sharing one sale pace.
| County | Active | Sold | MOI | Ask median | Sold median | DOM | Sale-to-list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston County | 2,249 | 588 | 3.49 | $650,000 | $670,750 | 51.0 | 97.7% |
| Berkeley County | 1,660 | 485 | 3.52 | $414,995 | $410,000 | 47.0 | 99.0% |
| Dorchester County | 1,063 | 298 | 3.65 | $398,250 | $386,000 | 50.7 | 99.3% |
Same Flexmls residential pull, August 2026. Charleston County includes Mount Pleasant, the peninsula, the islands, and a large share of the premium ask. Berkeley and Dorchester are where most of the $300s–$400s inventory lives.
Months of inventory sit in a tight band: 3.5 in Charleston County, 3.5 in Berkeley, 3.7 in Dorchester. The difference is price, not pace. Inland counties close closer to last ask (99.0 and 99.3 percent). Charleston County leaves a little more room (97.7 percent), which matches what you see in Mount Pleasant and the city of Charleston.
What the rest of South Carolina looks like
Charleston Trident is not the state. Greenville, Columbia, and Myrtle Beach run on other MLSs. The statewide sold median is about $350,000 (SC REALTORS, July 2026: $349,900; Realtor.com sold: $346,000). Statewide listing median is about $365,950. Homes sit about 65 days statewide versus 52 days here. If a relocating buyer Googles South Carolina home prices, they are not looking at Charleston County.
Do not mix Census ACS home values with these Flexmls prints. ACS is housing stock, not the 2026 sold median. If you want the rest of the state as a search, start with South Carolina real estate and moving to South Carolina.
How to use this
- Widen the live search in Moncks Corner, Ladson, and North Charleston when you want more homes versus sale pace.
- In Summerville, treat 1,520 actives as choice, not automatic discounts. Last-ask is still 99.5 percent.
- On the coast and in Mount Pleasant, coach the offer with sale-to-list and the ask-versus-sold gap.
- Tour Hanahan fits quickly. Inventory is thin.
- If you are selling, last-ask is holding and original-list cuts are where the market is already working. Price to the house, not last spring.
I will pull live comps for a specific address. If you want the map view of what is for sale, under contract, and sold in my book, use Homes Pulse. Development and public-project context lives on Charleston Pulse.
Common questions
Is the Charleston housing market a buyer’s market in August 2026?
It is more balanced than last summer, not a distressed market. Closings are down, inventory is a little higher, and DOM is longer. Buyers have more time. Sellers are still closing at 98.2 percent of last ask.
What is the median sold price in Charleston in August 2026?
The Charleston Trident MLS residential median sold price in August is $435,000, versus $423,825 last August. The active median ask is $438,230. That is the full residential book, not a single-city median. City of Charleston sold median in August was $650,000. Mount Pleasant was $895,000.
Which Charleston-area cities have more homes to choose from right now?
Moncks Corner (4.8 months of inventory), Ladson (4.2), and North Charleston show the most listing cushion versus sale pace. Summerville has the largest count of actives. Mount Pleasant is the tightest large corridor at 2.7 months.
How does Charleston County compare to Berkeley and Dorchester?
August sold medians: Charleston County $670,750, Berkeley $410,000, Dorchester $386,000. Months of inventory are similar (about 3.5 to 3.7). Berkeley and Dorchester close closer to last ask.
How does Charleston compare to the rest of South Carolina?
Charleston County closed August at $670,750. The state is about $350,000. The whole Lowcountry board is $435,000 because Berkeley and Dorchester are cheaper. Statewide DOM is about 65 days versus 52 here. Charleston Trident is not Greenville, Columbia, or Myrtle Beach.