I start with Charleston because that is the market most of you are buying or selling in. Mount Pleasant Town Council voted 5–4 on Tuesday to keep municipal consent for Charleston County’s Highway 41 plan, so the ~$245–250M widening can keep moving. After that: mortgage applications fell as the 30-year hit its highest level since August 2025, and the new Fed chair told Congress inflation is still the reason rates hurt housing.
Charleston
Mount Pleasant keeps Hwy 41 consent on a 5–4 vote
After a four-hour-plus meeting on July 14, Mount Pleasant Town Council denied a push to revoke municipal consent for Charleston County’s SC Highway 41 4-3-4 plan, then affirmed permission for the county to proceed. The project widens most of Hwy 41 to four lanes, keeps three lanes through the Phillips Community, and includes the Laurel Hill Parkway spur toward Park West Boulevard. County leaders had said losing consent risked sending the money elsewhere. Bids are still aimed for this fall, with groundbreaking talk pointed at early 2027. If you shop Park West, Dunes West, Rivertowne, or Phillips, this is the corridor story that will shape commute and construction noise for years, not a maybe.
Source: Post and Courier / Moultrie News
What the vote changes for buyers on the 41 corridor
The fight was real: packed chambers, hundreds of emails, and a swing vote after the county warned a no-build could forfeit the funding package. Consent staying in place means the Laurel Hill spur is still in the preferred design, not a rewind to a blank sheet. I updated Charleston Pulse and the development-map Field Note so they no longer say the town and county are “still wrestling.” Use the DOT layer on Pulse if you want the pin in context with the rest of the metro growth map.
Source: Live 5 / WCSC
Around the market
MBA: 30-year hits 6.65%. Purchase apps drop 7%.
For the week ending July 10, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s composite index fell 2.7% as the average 30-year conforming contract rate rose from 6.58% to 6.65%, the highest since August 2025. Purchase applications fell 7% week over week and slipped below last year’s pace after the holiday week. Refinance activity rose 4%, led by FHA and VA. Freddie Mac’s survey rate for the week ending July 9 was 6.49%. For Charleston buyers, same translation as Tuesday: qualification math did not loosen this week.
Source: Realtor.com News
Fed Chair Warsh: housing is uneven because inflation is still hot
In his first House Financial Services testimony since taking the chair in May, Kevin Warsh said the broader economy looks solid but housing does not. He tied elevated 30-year rates to inflation still above the Fed’s 2% goal (CPI at 3.5% year-over-year in June) and called his tenure a “new chapter” with no tolerance for sticky prices. Markets still see roughly even odds of a higher policy rate by year-end. No rate-cut fairy tale for Lowcountry purchase files this month.
Source: Realtor.com News
National
Social Security COLA talk vs. actual housing costs
Early chatter has a 2027 COLA near 3.8%. That sounds like relief until you stack it against insurance, taxes, and shelter costs that have been rising faster for a lot of retiree households. In Charleston that shows up as downsizers who cannot find a cheaper monthly payment, and adult kids who discover Mom and Dad’s “paid-off” house still carries a fat insurance and tax line. Plan the cash-flow, not just the headline raise.
Source: Realtor.com News
VA borrowers can deduct funding fees
VA News notes home-loan borrowers can deduct funding fees. For Joint Base Charleston and Naval Weapons Station buyers using VA, that is one more line to confirm with your tax pro when you close. It does not change the rate sheet, but it does change after-tax cost of getting into the loan. If you are shopping VA or assuming a VA loan, bring it up before you lock numbers in your head.
Source: VA News
Hwy 41 is no longer a maybe for Mount Pleasant consent. The corridor will get louder before it gets smoother. Mortgage rates climbed again and purchase demand cooled. Price honestly, underwrite the insurance line, and do not wait for a soft landing that is not on this week’s calendar.
Headlines from public reporting as of publish date. General market commentary, not legal, tax, or investment advice.