By admin 
Owning a house you can call your own has always been considered a part of the American dream.
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However, with current housing prices and mortgage rates, this dream continues to become less and less attainable for the average citizen. In just a decade, median home prices have increased by 80% since 2016, according to Realtor.com.
In South Carolina, housing is generally cheaper than in most of the U.S., but the real estate market is not immune to this ongoing trend. The average Palmetto State home value is $306,323, up 1% from last year, and the nation’s typical home value is $368,697, Zillow says.
That’s not all. SC is among the states with the biggest increases in mortgage interest rates so far this year, according to a study from WalletHub, a personal finance company.
In the group’s study, they tracked how much mortgage rates in each state increased between Q1 (Jan. 1 to March 31) and Q2 (April 1 to June 30) of 2026. States were then ranked based on their mortgage rate increases.
“Consumers’ home-buying struggles are exacerbated by the fact that the average mortgage interest rate increased in all but 13 states between Q1 2026 and Q2 2026,” said Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst. “Although interest rates are still down a bit from the highs we saw last year, they’re a far cry from the historic lows during the pandemic.”
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Here’s how SC mortgage rates compare to other states:
SC’s mortgage rate ranking
SC ranks No. 10 nationally for the increase in its average mortgage rate between Q1 and Q2 of this year.
WalletHub says that SC’s interest rate has increased by 0.92% in that time frame. The Palmetto State’s average mortgage rate in Q2 was 5.02%, which is still significantly lower than the nation’s 6.95% average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate.
SC has been a popular state to move to thanks to its affordability and booming economy. As a result, home prices in the state’s growing cities have skyrocketed.
Top 10 states with fastest-growing mortgage rates
The following states are seeing mortgage rates grow faster than anywhere else in the country.
- Mississippi: 1.92%
- Colorado: 1.60%
- Tennessee: 1.57%
- Wisconsin: 1.23%
- Missouri: 1.14%
- North Carolina: 1.10%
- Kansas: 1.10%
- Arkansas: 1.04%
- New Hampshire: 1.00%
- South Carolina: 0.92%
How were states ranked?
WalletHub used data from its internal database to determine the states where mortgage interest rates are increasing the most. They analyzed their proprietary user data on mortgage interest rates from Q1 2026 to Q2 2026.
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