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Today: 30-year fixed hit 6.66%, up 8 bps for the fourth straight week, with three Fed members dissenting in favor of a hike and markets pricing a rate increase as soon as September. Q2 GDP slowed to 1.5%, pending sales dropped 5.4% in June, and Chesterfield broke ground on a new industrial park 3.7 miles from the Scout Motors campus in Blythewood.
Rates keep climbing, and the next move may be up, not down. The 30-year fixed rose to 6.66% (from 6.58%), the fourth consecutive weekly increase and a 12-month high. The Fed held at 3.50-3.75% but three FOMC members dissented in favor of a hike. Markets are now pricing in a potential rate increase by September. Q2 GDP came in at 1.5%, well below the 2.1% forecast. Core PCE held at 3.3% year-over-year, with the monthly figure dipping to 0.1%, but that traces to June's brief Iran truce, not a durable trend. For Richland County agents: buyers who were fence-sitting need to hear that rate relief is off the table near-term. Price your listings to move now; the fall market will be tighter, not looser. (Realtor.com, RISMedia, Mortgage News Daily)
Pending sales fell 5.4% nationally in June as rates climbed from below 6.0% in late February to above 6.5% by mid-July. Owners holding sub-4% rates have zero incentive to list. Bright MLS economist Lisa Sturtevant flagged a possible "surprise bump" in late-summer transactions if buyers expect fall rates to be worse. If you're advising sellers in the Midlands, this is the window; list before August ends. (RISMedia)
Meritage Homes is pivoting away from entry-level. Q2 net orders dropped 9% despite a 14% community count increase; absorption pace fell 19%. The builder signaled a shift toward first-time move-up buyers starting around 2028, reading affordability pressure as structural, not cyclical. Average selling price slipped to $373K. Columbia's entry-level market ($180K-$280K) is already thin; if national builders pull back from that tier, local inventory gets even tighter. (HousingWire)
Construction labor is being siphoned by data centers and luxury builds. The industry is short roughly 500,000 workers (Census Bureau data). AI data center construction is competing for the same skilled trades, steel, and lumber. In Northern Virginia, data center developers are paying $3.5M-$6.3M per acre for land that was priced at $93K-$125K median. South Carolina is not yet seeing that level of competition, but Scout Motors' Blythewood campus and the state's growing data center footprint mean Columbia-area builders should expect tighter subcontractor availability and material cost pressure. (HousingWire, NAHB)
Carolina Pines International Commerce Center broke ground in Blythewood, 3.7 miles from the Scout Motors production campus. This is new industrial inventory in one of the Midlands' hottest growth corridors. Investors watching the Blythewood/I-77 corridor should track permits and adjacent parcels; the Scout supply chain is generating secondary demand for housing, retail, and services. (Columbia Star)
Lake Murray estate listed at $8.3M, framed as a renovate-or-raze decision. At that price point, the lot value and waterfront footage are the story; the structure is secondary. This is the upper end of the Lexington County luxury market and a benchmark for lakefront comps. Agents with high-net-worth clients should watch the outcome to calibrate pricing on other Lake Murray properties. (Post and Courier)
MUSC Health Columbia completed a $30M emergency department renovation at 2435 Forest Drive. Hospital expansions pull healthcare workers into the area and generate housing demand within a 15-20 minute commute radius. Forest Acres and Shandon agents should note the employment anchor. (Columbia Star)
Five Points commercial activity is accelerating. Columbia Classical Ballet is opening a school at 610 Harden Street (September 8), and Majestic Rose Venue launched at 1112 Harden Street. These are daytime-traffic tenants in a corridor historically dominated by nightlife. Commercial landlords on Harden should price accordingly; the tenant mix is shifting and vacancy risk is dropping for daytime-use spaces. (Columbia Star, Columbia Star)
Melrose Market opened on the Gervais Street corridor, drawing 100+ to a ribbon cutting with the mayor. Gervais between Five Points and Forest Acres continues to fill in. Investors holding commercial parcels along this stretch should note the momentum; this is no longer speculative revitalization, it is active. (Columbia Star)
Higginbotham acquired Turbeville Insurance Agency, a Columbia-based brokerage with four SC offices. When Texas-based firms acquire local operations, it signals outside capital viewing the Midlands as a growth market. No direct RE impact, but it confirms the broader thesis that Columbia is on institutional radar. (Columbia Star)
NGBS 2025 green building standard now offers property-level certification for existing multifamily. Owners of portfolio apartments in Columbia can now certify multiple buildings as a single property instead of one at a time. This can unlock favorable financing, grants, and tenant retention benefits. Multifamily investors with 50+ unit portfolios in Richland or Lexington counties should evaluate whether NGBS certification improves their cap rate story. (NAHB)
Blackstone Mortgage Trust is looking to sell up to $1B in loans, mostly office, to rotate into residential and industrial. BXMT originated $1.1B in Q2, 80% in U.S. residential and industrial. This is institutional capital flowing toward the asset classes Columbia has in abundance. Local CRE brokers should watch for discounted office loan paper if BXMT sells at scale. (Commercial Observer)