Florence, South Carolina Housing Market

What stands out in Florence?

• Homes for sale are down 22% on last year: among the sharpest inventory declines of 765 tracked cities. Supply is shrinking, which shifts leverage to sellers.
• Prices were above the year before in 95% of months: among the most consistent price growth of 765 tracked cities. Drops here have been short.

What moves the numbers in Florence?

Florence asking prices per square foot were above the year before in 95% of months since the data starts. Within a year, the cheapest and priciest months differ by about 7.4%. That is bigger than the yearly trend, so timing your purchase matters here. Nothing in Florence's numbers is far from its own normal. Your return comes from the property and the price you negotiate.

Is now a good time to buy in Florence?

The median asking price is 10.8% below its May 2025 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 2.5% below the May 2026 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices stopped falling about a year ago. They are flat now. Waiting will not get you a cheaper house. It might still get you a more motivated seller. Florence prices have risen in 106 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

If you plan to sell in the next two years, move it up. This much buyer demand does not last. Right now it does your negotiating for you.

How does Florence compare with other South Carolina markets?

Ranked among the 11 South Carolina markets we track:

• Asking price: 3rd cheapest of 11. Florence is at $275,827. Closest: Sumter and Goose Creek.
• Buyer competition: the most competitive of 10. Florence is at 0.52 buyers per home. Closest: Mount Pleasant.
• Time on market: 2nd longest time on market of 11. Florence is at a median of 72 days on market. Closest: Rock Hill and Hilton Head Island.
• Price cuts: 3rd fewest price cuts of 11. Florence is at 19% of sellers cutting. Closest: Greenville and Hilton Head Island.

What is the fair market rent in Florence?

HUD sets one fair market rent for Florence County. For fiscal year 2026:

• 1 bedroom: $953 a month. Up 11% on last year, up 95% since FY2016.
• 2 bedrooms: $1,117 a month. Up 5% on last year, up 72% since FY2016.
• 3 bedrooms: $1,434 a month. Up 6% on last year, up 75% since FY2016.
• 4 bedrooms: $1,588 a month. Up 9% on last year, up 78% since FY2016.

The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of Florence County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.

Who will rent from you in Florence?

In Florence, 37 out of every 100 households rent. Most own their home. That share has held steady for five years. Renter households average 2.3 people. Two and three bedrooms fit the typical renter.

Households grew 1% in five years. The housing stock grew 2%. The two are moving in step. 12.5% of homes sit empty. Tenants have options. Budget extra weeks of vacancy between leases.

The median Florence household earns $64,186 a year. Incomes here have grown 5.3% a year since 2019. Incomes and home prices are rising in step. A typical home costs 4.3 times the median income. That is the national middle. Neither cash flow nor appreciation is free here. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $1,605 a month.

To see what one Florence address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

What numbers should you underwrite a Florence deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +4.9%/yr. Florence has grown about 4.9% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices fell 1.1% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Months of carrying cost — 3. Budget at least 72 days of holding costs, the current median listing age, when you exit or refinance. That is 6% longer than a year ago.
• Comp on price per square foot — $150/sqft. The typical Florence listing shrank from 2,063 to 1,829 sqft since Jul 2016. So median price hides real growth: 67% per sqft versus 38% on the median. Comp on median price and you will overpay for small homes.
• Competition when you exit — -22%. Homes for sale in Florence are down 22% on last year, so your resale faces less competition than today's comps did.

Read how rent-to-price works and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Florence?

The median asking price in Florence is about $276,000 as of Sep 2026, down 6.9% from a year ago. The typical listing is 3% smaller than a year ago, and asking price per square foot is down 1.1%. So the size of homes on the market explains much of the drop. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Florence figures cover the 5 ZIP codes with a Florence mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Florence a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Sellers have more pull in Florence than usual. We compare Florence with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 52 pending sales per 100 listings, against 27 then; there are 23% fewer homes for sale; 19% of sellers have cut their price, against 16% then.

Are Florence home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 10.8% below its May 2025 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 2.5% below the May 2026 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices stopped falling about a year ago. They are flat now. Waiting will not get you a cheaper house. It might still get you a more motivated seller.

What is the best month to buy a house in Florence?

Across 9 full years, Florence asking prices ran lowest in January, about 4.5% below the year's average. They peaked in June. The most homes for sale show up in July, about 7% above the yearly average.

How long do homes stay on the market in Florence?

The typical Florence listing has been on the market 72 days. That is 6% longer than a year ago.

What price growth should I assume for Florence?

Assume +4.9% a year. Florence has grown about 4.9% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices fell 1.1% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.

What is the fair market rent in Florence?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Florence County is $1,117 a month for 2 bedrooms and $1,434 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.