Then the agency wants to help families buy them.
The state Housing Finance and Development Authority had sought to boost the number of affordable homes on the market with a 30-house pilot program.
Thanks to $5 million allocated by the Legislature in the current budget, the agency now has enough for up to 130 homes, said Robert Macdonald, chief of staff at SC Housing.
“South Carolina is in a housing crisis, and this is our attempt to take a big swing at finding a solution,” said Todd Latiff, chairman of SC Housing’s governing board.
“We’re talking about people that have never had the opportunity to be homeowners having that chance,” he continued. “We’re talking about creating generational wealth for the South Carolinians that take advantage of this program. This is a big deal for our state.”
How it Works
To do this, SC Housing is seeking builders willing to participate. The agency is asking construction firms to build either 1,000-square-foot homes with two bedrooms or 1,200-square-foot homes with three bedrooms. Both sizes must have two bathrooms.
The agency doesn’t put any requirements on the homes’ location. But it will give more weight to applications from builders spreading homes over more locations throughout a county or region, as opposed to a single neighborhood.
The homes must be priced at or below $175,000 for a two-bedroom and no more than $200,000 for a three-bedroom.
By comparison, the median listing price of a home in South Carolina is $350,000, according to data from the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank.
But the cost can be much higher depending on the region. The most expensive area to buy a home is the southern part of Beaufort, where the median price in July for homes sold was $650,000, according to the latest report from the state Association of Realtors.
In exchange for the reduced price, SC Housing will subsidize the construction with a $12,500 payment to the homebuilder for each home constructed.
The head of the Home Builders Association of South Carolina, Mark Nix, reiterated that he’s glad to see the state experimenting with ways to make homes more affordable. And the agency has taken some of the association’s feedback into account since its initial proposal.
But Nix still cautions that the program might not be financially feasible for most builders in the state.
Land is expensive, and extra fees tacked on by many cities and counties add up. A lot of municipalities also have enacted strict requirements on how small they’ll allow lots to be for new home construction, Nix said.
“There’s no way you’re going to be able to build for that in a high-growth area of a major metro,” he said.
It’s more likely that construction companies will have to find land on the outskirts to make it work. Or cities will need to make concessions for builders of these projects.
The agency began taking applications from interested homebuilders Aug. 22. They have through the end of September. The agency will announce the chosen builders in October.
Adding to the affordability of the homes, SC Housing will provide eligible homebuyers with $25,000 in forgivable down payment.
To be eligible, a family’s annual income can’t exceed $127,200.
The state also will require buyers to take out a 30-year mortgage from one of the state housing authority’s participating lenders.
Record Lending
Even before this new homeownership effort, SC Housing’s mortgage programs have been growing. They provide loans to buyers with low to moderate incomes at interest rates below the national average.
“We’ve all heard the real estate market slowing down. There’s a couple houses in my neighborhood that usually would have sold in 24 hours that have been on the market for a couple months now,” Macdonald said. “But our volume continues to increase.”
Macdonald estimates they’ll end the calendar year with about $400 million in total mortgage loans, up about 10% over last year.
“Our mission is to open doors, literally and figuratively,” said Richard Hutto, SC Housing’s executive director. “We are proud to be a reliable resource for South Carolinians who might otherwise be locked out of the housing market due to cost barriers or limited access to credit.”
Affordable Rents
In addition to home ownership, SC Housing also works to increase the availability of affordable rental housing across the Palmetto State. That’s largely through a pair of state and federal income tax incentives to developers willing to build apartment complexes with lower rental rates.
Last month, the state’s five-member fiscal oversight board chaired by Gov. Henry McMaster approved six projects: two new apartment complexes and improvements to four existing complexes. All must offer affordable rents for another 30 years.
The new complexes include 180 units west of Greenville and 76 units in northeast Columbia, on the site of an existing complex operated by the city’s housing authority.
The agency vets projects based on their financial viability as well as multiple other factors, including proximity to amenities such as pharmacies, health care, grocery stores, and schools, according to Lee Ann Watson, the agency’s attorney.
SC Housing expects to seek approval for about 10 more projects by February 2026, Watson said.
The agency’s ability to finance and offer tax credits for these projects is federally regulated.
In 2024, SC Housing had the capacity for 14 projects across the state — 11 new complexes and three renovated complexes with a total of about 950 units.
This is of particular importance because about half of all renters in the state spend more than 30% of their income on rent each month, according to a 2023 housing study by the agency.
This story first appeared in the South Carolina Daily Gazette. Read the original here.
