Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

Bluffton is moving with less inventory and more buyers in line

By Beth DeAngelis

Real estate, Primary market

These numbers are for the three months ending August 31, 2026. Read them that way, and not as today's snapshot.

Nationally, Redfin counted only 928,892 homebuyers in September, the lowest level since 2013. Here in the Lowcountry, the story reads differently - and that gap matters if your timeline points to Bluffton.

ZIP 29910: the tightest corner of the market

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 389 homes sold in ZIP 29910 in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 19% from the same months a year before. At the same time, homes for sale fell 17.7%, down to 372. More sales, fewer choices - that is the short version.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator also found that 25% of homes in ZIP 29910 went under contract within two weeks of listing, up 9.1 points from a year before. One in four homes did not stay on the market long. If your search is just beginning, that pace is worth knowing before you start.

I will make sure that you understand what 2.9 months of supply means before you write anything. I will make sure that your price and prep are right before you decide. I will make sure that the pace of this ZIP does not catch you off guard during your search or after you sign.

How the four ZIPs compare

ZIP 29910 is not the only part of this market worth watching. ZIP 29926 carries the highest median sale price and the fewest days on market of any ZIP here - the Real Estate Data Aggregator put its median at $770,000 and its median days on market at 43, with 34.1% of homes going under contract within two weeks. ZIP 29928 and ZIP 29909 move a little slower, but both saw pending sales rise year over year.

The wider picture: rates and national sales

Freddie Mac put the 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 15, 2026. That is the same figure Redfin called a three-year high on October 8. The National Association of Realtors counted 3.99 million existing-home sales nationally in September 2026, and reported that prices rose 1.3% year over year - the slowest growth since March, by Redfin's count. Your budget will feel those rates, so it is worth running the numbers before you commit to a price range.

Redfin reported that home sellers outnumbered buyers by 62.6% nationally in September 2026, and that the estimated number of buyers, at 928,892, was the lowest since 2013. In ZIP 29910, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 368 pending sales, up 8.6% - so while national buyers are pulling back, Bluffton buyers are still in line.

The whole market together

Across all four ZIPs, the Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 1,163 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 6.8% from a year before. Homes for sale across the market fell 9.3%, to 1,417. New listings edged up 1.3%, to 1,204. Pending sales rose 3.4%, to 1,146. More buyers are writing, and fewer homes are waiting.

What this means for your timeline

Before you settle on a price or a street, the ZIP code numbers above will tell you one thing, and the street itself will tell you another. A single block can move faster or slower than the whole ZIP - and that gap changes what you offer, what you list at, and how long you wait.

I will make sure that you have the street-level read before you decide on a number. I will make sure that your prep matches the pace of the ZIP you are targeting during the search. I will make sure that you are not reading last year's pace as today's, after you are under contract and the clock is running.