Published October 11, 2026 in Market Update

Pickens looks slower on price, but buyers are still showing up

By Lauren Ritchison | Compass Real Estate

Real estate, Easley, Pickens, Liberty

Rates are not helping anyone right now. CNBC reported the average 30-year fixed rate hit 7.49% as of October 7, 2026. Redfin reported that 21.1% of U.S. sellers cut their asking prices in the four weeks ending September 20. That is the backdrop for every market, including this one.

Pickens (ZIP 29640): more buyers, lower price

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 100 homes sold in ZIP 29640 in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 4.2% from the same months of 2025. Buyers are still active. The catch is that 133 new listings came to market, up 15.7% year over year. More supply with steady demand pulled the median sale price down 12.6% to $250,000.

That 99.7% sale-to-list figure is worth noting. Homes that did sell went for nearly full price. The price drop is a market-level story, not a sign that sellers are giving things away at the door. Still, with 4.4 months of supply and 144 homes for sale, buyers have real options and time to use them.

Pending sales in ZIP 29640 came in at 105, up 1.9% from a year ago, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That tells you buyers are still writing contracts. And 16% of homes sold above list price, up slightly from last year.

Easley (ZIP 29640 and 29642): two different stories

ZIP 29642, which covers much of the Easley area, looks different from its neighbor. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 198 homes sold there in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 1% year over year. The median sale price rose 2.3% to $357,950. Inventory fell sharply: homes for sale dropped 38% and new listings fell 37.6%. Supply is tight at 2.4 months.

The tighter supply in 29642 has not sped things up much. Median days on market there rose 11 days to 61, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Homes went for 97.8% of list, down 0.4 points. Sellers are getting close to list, but buyers have a little more room to negotiate than they did a year ago.

Liberty (ZIP 29657): the tightest market of the three

Liberty's ZIP 29657 had only 32 homes for sale in the three months ending August 31, 2026, down 39.6% from a year ago, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. Sales jumped 43.8% to 46 homes. Supply sits at just 2.1 months. That combination kept the median sale price nearly flat at $279,500, down just 0.2%.

Liberty is a smaller market. Pickens residents drive to Easley for big-box shopping and most errands. But the numbers in 29657 show real buyer interest. More than a third of homes, 35.7%, went under contract within two weeks of listing, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. That share is down 11.7 points from last year, so buyers have slightly more breathing room than before.

Travelers Rest (ZIP 29671): price jumped, but pace slowed

ZIP 29671, which covers the TR area, had the biggest price move of the group. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median sale price at $350,000 for the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 27.7% from a year ago. Sales rose 13% to 52 homes. Days on market fell 7 days to 55.

One number to watch: only 19.6% of homes went under contract within two weeks of listing in 29671, down 10.6 points from a year ago. Buyers are still buying, but they are taking longer to decide. TR has its own character: it was a real stop for drovers bringing livestock down the mountain passes, the first flat ground where animals could be penned and pastured. That history is still there in the town, and buyers who want it will find it.

The national picture behind these numbers

Nationally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. house prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, with a 0.3% month-over-month gain in July. Realtor.com reported active listings nationally topped 1.16 million homes in September 2026, and price cuts hit 20.8% of listings, the highest share since October 2022. More inventory and higher rates nationally are pressing sellers to be realistic on price. That same pressure showed up in Pickens.