Today: National housing inventory crept up to 879,764 but growth remains mild at 2.21% year over year, price cuts edged to 42.1% of listings, and FHA lending remains well-regulated despite media fearmongering. Thin local feed day; national signals dominate.
Market Pulse
- Inventory nudging higher, but barely. National active listings rose from 874,784 to 879,764 for the week ending Aug. 28, a 2.21% year-over-year gain. Context: at this time last year, inventory was actually falling week-to-week as rates dropped. For Richland County sellers, this means buyer leverage is growing slowly but not dramatically. If your listing has been sitting 30+ days, a price adjustment now will land before fall slowdown bites. New listings nationally came in at 66,874, up from 63,762 a year ago, and well below bubble-era peaks of 250,000-400,000/week. The seller lock-in effect from sub-4% pandemic rates continues to limit supply, but it's loosening.
-
Housing demand has slowed, but still stable for now
-
Price cuts at 42.1%, slightly above last year's 42%. With rates holding above 6.64% (the threshold where demand softens), expect this number to keep climbing. For Columbia agents: if you're pricing listings at the top of comps, you're pricing for a price cut. Price at or just below the most recent closed comp and save your sellers the DOM (Days on Market) penalty.
-
Housing demand has slowed, but still stable for now
-
Rates stuck in the upper 6s. The HousingWire 2026 forecast range was 5.75%-6.75%; rates are currently pressing the ceiling. National home price growth has flattened to 1%-2%, and the forecast calls for a possible -0.62% decline if higher rates, rising inventory, and price cuts persist. Richland County median prices have been more resilient than the national number, but flat is the realistic expectation through Q4. Buyers shopping now should not expect appreciation to bail out a stretched offer.
- Housing demand has slowed, but still stable for now
Industry & Legal
- FHA lending is not the next crisis. The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed implying nonbank FHA lenders represent systemic risk. MBA CEO Bob Broeksmit called it out directly: UWM's $2.05 billion capital raise reflects one company's rate bet, not deteriorating FHA underwriting. FHA loans remain 30-year fixed products with Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund protection for taxpayers. For Columbia originators and agents working with first-time buyers near Fort Jackson or USC, FHA remains the right tool. Do not let media noise scare qualified buyers away from a product designed for them. Nonbanks originate the majority of FHA loans because big banks walked away from this population after 2008.
- The WSJ is wrong about FHA loans and nonbanks
Deal Flow
- Building permit data: nothing local today. Permit reports from Midland, TX and Jonesboro, AR made the feed but carry zero relevance to the Midlands market. If you track Richland County permits, check the City of Columbia's building services portal directly; the RSS feeds did not surface local data this cycle.
Note: Article 5 ("underrated Southern city for new construction") had no extractable content beyond the headline. Article 6 (Yosemite land swap) is federal land policy with no bearing on the Columbia market. Both excluded.