Myrtle Beach Mortgage Rates Hit 6.69%: Should Buyers Wait or Move Now?

by Mike Fiebernitz

Mortgage rates in the Myrtle Beach housing market just touched 6.69% — a new high for the year, and the fifth straight week rates have climbed. If you've been telling yourself you'll wait until rates come down before buying or selling, you're not alone. It's the most common thing I hear from buyers and sellers right now. But when I actually ran the numbers for our local market, they told a different story than I expected. Here's what's really happening with rates, inventory, and timing in Myrtle Beach — and what it means depending on whether you're buying, selling, or just watching from the sidelines.

QUICK SUMMARY

Mortgage rates hit 6.69% on a 30-year fixed as of August 6, 2026 — the highest level in over a year
Myrtle Beach currently has 6,100–6,200 active listings, a near-record level, with inventory up more than 37% year-over-year
Homes are averaging 118 days on market locally
17 of 18 Federal Reserve officials expect rates to hold steady or rise through the end of the year
Waiting a year to buy could cost $42,000–$60,000+ in carrying costs and lost equity on a $375,000 home
Buyers currently have unusual negotiating leverage — sellers are motivated and inventory is high
Today's rates are still lower than they were in 2006

Why Mortgage Rates Climbed to 6.69%

Freddie Mac reported a new high for the year on the 30-year fixed rate: 6.69%, marking the fifth consecutive week of increases. This isn't just a short-term blip tied to renewed Middle East tensions and rising oil prices — the underlying rate pressure hasn't resolved, and it's affecting how both buyers and sellers are approaching the market right now.

What's Actually Happening in the Myrtle Beach Market

Inventory Is Climbing Fast

Right now, the Myrtle Beach market has close to 6,100–6,200 active listings — a near-record level for our area. Inventory has grown more than 37% year-over-year, and homes are averaging 118 days on market.

What Rising Inventory Means for Sellers

Sellers who are holding off, hoping for a better market, are watching two things happen at the same time: their home's value is softening, while competition from new listings keeps growing. Every additional month someone waits to list, there are more homes competing for the same pool of buyers.

The "Wait for Lower Rates" Trap

Here's the part that surprises most people. Based on recent Fed commentary, 17 out of 18 Federal Reserve officials expect rates to hold in the high-6% range or move higher through the end of the year — only one official projected a decrease.

But even if rates do eventually fall, it's worth thinking through what actually happens the moment that occurs. Every buyer who has been sitting on the sidelines waiting for lower rates would likely enter the market at once. That sounds great for sellers — until you consider that all the sellers who were also waiting for rates to drop would start listing their homes at the same time. More buyers *and* more sellers entering simultaneously means more competition all around, which is good for buyers but tougher for sellers.

The negotiating leverage that exists right now — the extra time to think, sellers willing to offer rate buydowns — tends to evaporate once that competition returns. Buyers and sellers holding out for pre-pandemic conditions could be waiting a very long time. The market has changed, and the people who are closing deals at the best prices right now are the ones adapting to today's conditions instead of waiting for old ones to come back.

What Waiting Actually Costs You

Let's put real numbers behind this. Take a home worth $375,000. Between the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and utilities, you're looking at roughly $3,500 to $5,000 per month in carrying costs — that's $42,000 to $60,000 a year out of pocket while you wait for conditions that may never materialize. Factor in modest equity erosion, and the total cost of waiting a year can easily exceed $44,000.

In a flat or declining market, the math almost never works out in favor of waiting.

What Sellers Closing Deals Are Doing Right Now

Pricing Correctly From Day One

The sellers who are actually getting their homes sold aren't pricing based on what the market looked like in 2021 or 2022, and they're not pricing based on how much they personally need to walk away with. They're pricing based on today's comparable properties.

Offering Rate Buydowns

Successful sellers are building rate buydowns into their listing strategy, giving buyers a real financial reason to choose their home over new construction.

Listing With Urgency

Rather than taking a "wait and see" approach, the sellers closing deals right now are listing with urgency — understanding that, in this market, the fastest sale is usually the most profitable one.

What Buyers Should Be Doing Right Now

If you've been waiting for rates to drop before making a move, the current environment may actually be one of the better windows to buy — not because 6.69% is a great rate historically, but because almost everything else favors buyers right now:

Sellers are motivated and negotiating
There are over 6,100 properties for sale in the Myrtle Beach market
You have weeks to make a decision instead of hours
You can ask sellers for rate buydowns that lower your effective rate without waiting on the Fed

Marry the House, Date the Rate

A strategy worth considering: negotiate the best purchase price you can right now, and treat today's interest rate as temporary. You can always refinance a mortgage rate later if rates drop — but you can't refinance a purchase price. The equity you're building right now by getting into a home can't be recovered if you wait and prices or competition move against you.

A Little Historical Perspective

It's easy to compare today's rates to the sub-3% rates we saw during the pandemic and assume something's broken. But pulling from Freddie Mac's own reporting, rates today are actually lower than they were back in 2006, when I bought my first house. The pandemic-era rates were the anomaly, not the norm. The sellers — and buyers — who are adapting to that reality are the ones coming out ahead.

If You're Thinking About Selling

If you've been holding off on listing because you're waiting for rates to drop, it's worth considering listing now instead. In most cases, wherever you're planning to move next is likely to cost more down the road too — so the advantage of waiting tends to be a wash. Taking advantage of today's price on your next home, and refinancing later if rates fall, is often the more strategic move.

FAQ

Should I wait for mortgage rates to drop before buying a home in Myrtle Beach?
Not necessarily. With inventory near record highs and sellers motivated to negotiate, waiting could mean facing more competition and higher prices once rates do fall — while also paying carrying costs in the meantime if you already own where you live.

Why did mortgage rates go up again in August 2026?
Freddie Mac reported a new year-to-date high of 6.69% on the 30-year fixed, marking five straight weeks of increases, driven in part by renewed Middle East tensions and rising oil prices.

How many homes are currently for sale in Myrtle Beach?
The market currently has approximately 6,100–6,200 active listings, a near-record level, with inventory up more than 37% year-over-year.

Is it a bad time to sell my house with rates this high?
Not if you price it correctly based on today's comparable properties, consider offering a rate buydown, and list with urgency rather than waiting for conditions to change.

What does "marry the house, date the rate" mean?
It means securing a good purchase price now, accepting today's interest rate as temporary, and refinancing later if rates drop — since you can refinance a rate, but you can't go back and get today's price once it's gone.

The Bottom Line

Rates at 6.69% don't feel good compared to a few years ago, but for buyers, current conditions in the Myrtle Beach market — high inventory, motivated sellers, and time to negotiate — may outweigh the rate itself. For sellers, pricing accurately, offering incentives, and moving with urgency are what's working right now. Whichever side of the transaction you're on, the numbers are worth running for your specific situation before deciding to wait.

Don't Make This $3,000 Property Tax Mistake When Moving to Myrtle Beach

If you're trying to figure out whether it makes more sense to buy now or wait, I'd rather you have real numbers than a gut feeling. Reach out and I'll run them for your specific situation — call or text me at 843-907-0355, or grab a spot on my calendar at calendly.com/mikefiebernitz/30min