This group says Rock Hill home values are up higher than anywhere else in the country
By one account, Rock Hill homeowners gained more than anywhere else in the country during the early stages of COVID-19 pandemic.
Insurance rate comparison and market analysis site Insurify released its list of cities with the biggest real estate booms in early 2020. The Insurify study found Rock Hill was No. 1 in the nation with a more than 18% home value increase from January to October 2020. That was almost three times the national average.
The South Carolina rate was a little above 4%, for No. 22 among states. The home value index used in the study put the average Rock Hill home at more than $215,000.
The Insurify study used public home value and population data to create the list. It identified places across the country with 50,000 or more residents.
What local data shows
Piedmont Regional Association of Realtors is based in Rock Hill. That association serves York, Lancaster and Chester counties. Canopy Realtor Association covers Charlotte and communities across a multi-county metro area. Shared data from both shows an increase in Rock Hill home sales, and the prices those sales fetch.
Almost 2,000 Rock Hill home sales in 2020 listed by Canopy show an average sales price of just more than $250,000. That figure is up more than 12% from the year prior. For comparison, Fort Mill home sales were more than $100,000 more on average but grew in the year by less than 8%. Tega Cay homes sold for about $150,000 more on average than Rock Hill homes but grew at just more than 7% in a year.
Sales are one indicator of home values in an area. Yet most homes in a community aren’t sold in a given year. York County reassessed properties in fall 2020. Properties countywide increased in value, though some areas saw more increase than others.
New initiative
This month South Carolina Realtors launched the South Carolina Good Life Initiative in Rock Hill. It’s a program designed to promote improved infrastructure, road and other public needs that accompany community growth. A survey found top concerns are population growth, public safety and affordable housing.
“While COVID-19 presented challenges and unexpected growth for the state, the quality of life issues did not go away,” said South Carolina Realtors president Owen Tyler in the recent announcement. “In fact, most of the issues only increased.”
Rock Hill has had noticeable residential growth along with massive business projects from the Carolina Panthers headquarters to repurposed mill and factory sites downtown. The Good Life Initiative will focus on traffic, transportation and other issues.
The 24,000-member Realtor association held a webinar Thursday to unveil the initiative to its membership.
“I am thrilled to see this project come to Rock Hill,” said South Carolina Realtors vice president Charles Mace. “The project makes an effort to turn challenges into opportunities to benefit the community.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 7:51 AM.
