Where the numbers come from
Every figure on this site comes from a public source and is credited to it. We combine them; we don't change them.
Zillow Research
Zillow Home Value Index (all homes, smoothed, seasonally adjusted) by city and ZIP code, and Zillow Observed Rent Index. Monthly.
Redfin Data Center
Housing Market Tracker by city and ZIP code: median sale price, homes sold, days on market, inventory, months of supply, sale-to-list ratio. Each month is a 3-month rolling window. Redfin is a national real estate brokerage.
Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS®
Local Market Updates for 33 CTAR MLS areas via ShowingTime FastStats, split by single-family and townhouse/condo. Monthly.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey
5-year estimates of median household income (B19013), median home value (B25077), median gross rent (B25064) and tenure (B25003) for each town and ZIP code.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
All-transactions House Price Index for five-digit ZIP codes. Annual.
Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey
Weekly national average 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgage rates.
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Daily 10-year Treasury par yield.
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates
Residents of every town and county as of July 1 each year, from 2020 on, and each county's change split into moves from elsewhere in the U.S., moves from abroad, and births minus deaths. Annual, revised every year. Town figures count people inside town limits, so annexed land adds residents who did not move.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics: residents who have a job and the unemployment rate for the three counties and the five towns with 25,000 or more people, monthly, not seasonally adjusted. Metro payroll jobs come from the Current Employment Statistics survey. The local figures divide up the Charleston-area total, so places in the area trend almost together.
Cape Island Point Tide Gauge™ (market conditions score)
Our own 0-to-100 market conditions score of how hot or cool each town's market is, compared with what is normal for that town at the time of year. It combines five Redfin figures (months of homes for sale, sale price compared with asking, share of homes that find a buyer within two weeks, contracts signed per new listing, homes for sale compared with a year ago), each compared with the town's own history. The method is our own. Checked against Zillow home values for 2016 to 2025. It describes current conditions and is not a prediction. Towns with too few sales are not scored. Beside the score, "payment pressure" shows how much the monthly principal and interest on the typical home (Zillow value, 20% down, Freddie Mac 30-year rate) has changed in six months, because in our tests the payment tended to move about six months before the score did.
How we calculate
- Town figures come from each source's own town-level data. James Island and Rockville use Zillow's ZIP-code series (29412 and 29487) because Zillow publishes no series for those towns.
- Monthly payment is principal and interest on a 30-year fixed loan at the latest Freddie Mac rate, with the stated down payment. It excludes property tax, insurance, flood insurance, HOA dues and mortgage insurance.
- Price to income divides the latest Zillow home value by the Census 2020–2024 median household income.
- Months of supply under 4 is labeled a seller's market, 4 to 6 balanced, over 6 a buyer's market.
- Small towns with fewer than 10 sales in a 3-month window are flagged, because their medians swing widely.
Why numbers differ between sources
Zillow, Redfin and the local MLS often show different figures for the same place. See the FAQ for why, and which number to use.
Corrections
Spot something wrong? Email brandon@capeislandpoint.com and we'll fix it in the next update.