Psychology research shows people tend to regret inaction more than action, especially when they feel they “missed their window” to make a meaningful life decision like buying or selling a home. In the 2024–2025 housing cycle, that pattern is showing up clearly in how Myrtle Beach buyers and sellers feel about waiting on the sidelines versus moving forward. With mortgage rates stabilizing near the low‑6% range in early 2026 and local prices flattening after several years of volatility, Grand Strand consumers who delay are increasingly focused on “what I could have done” instead of “what I did and learned from.”
The Psychology of Regretting Delay
Behavioral research consistently finds that people feel short‑term regret over “bad moves,” but long‑term regret centers on opportunities they did not take. In real estate, that means buyers often forgive themselves for a less‑than‑perfect home choice but dwell on years of rising rents, missed equity, and not starting sooner. Recent NAR data show 79% of buyers still view homeownership as a good investment, reinforcing that the bigger long‑term regret tends to be not owning at all rather than choosing an imperfect property.
For sellers, the same pattern appears around timing and life transitions. In NAR’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 35% of buyers said they would move again for life changes like retirement, household shifts, or health—decisions that often get postponed until they feel “overdue.” Because most sellers successfully close near list price (median 99%) and report high satisfaction with the process, there is more regret about waiting too long to right‑size or relocate than about the stress of actually selling.
How the 2024–2025 Market Fueled “Wait and Worry”
From mid‑2024 through mid‑2025, buyers faced limited inventory, elevated mortgage rates, and higher down payments, which made it easy to rationalize “not yet.” NAR reports that first‑time buyers dropped to just 21% of all buyers during this period—an all‑time low—while median down payments climbed to 10% for first‑time buyers and 23% for repeat buyers, both the highest levels in decades. At the same time, 46% of would‑be buyers who struggled with down payments cited high rent or existing mortgage costs as the main barrier, a classic setup for delayed action and future regret.
Yet even under these conditions, 92% of buyers said they were satisfied with their purchase, and 79% still viewed a home as a good financial investment. Psychologically, this gap—between how challenging the decision feels and how positively people feel afterward—helps explain why delayed buyers often look back wishing they had acted earlier in the cycle instead of waiting for “perfect” rates, prices, or listings.
What Delay Looks Like on the Grand Strand
In the Myrtle Beach–Conway–North Myrtle Beach metro, the house price index reached 380.22 by Q3 2025, up from 361.67 in Q4 2024—evidence that, even in a cooling environment, values continued to edge higher. At the same time, the median listing price per square foot in the metro hovered around 228 dollars in December 2025, only slightly below late‑summer levels and suggesting a plateau rather than a deep discount phase. Local inventory in Horry County stayed elevated, with over 8,200 active listings in mid‑2025, giving buyers more options but also more opportunity to over‑analyze and stall.
By late 2025, regional recaps showed Myrtle Beach’s median sale price near 341,433 dollars, average days on market close to 98 days, and months of supply around 5.8—conditions that lean toward a balanced market rather than the frenzied post‑pandemic surge. For buyers who waited through higher‑rate 2024 and early 2025 only to see prices flatten rather than fall dramatically, the dominant emotion now is often regret over time lost building equity and enjoying coastal living, not regret over “buying at the wrong moment.”
Why Buyers Regret Waiting More Than Buying
Several data‑backed factors make delayed decisions especially costly for buyers:
Rents and debts compound. Nearly half of buyers who struggled with down payments pointed to high rent or existing mortgage payments, while 37% cited credit card debt and 36% student loans as key drags on saving. Each year of delay can mean another year of rising housing and consumer costs instead of channeling money into equity.
Inventory rarely feels “perfect.” Even in 2025’s more balanced market, buyers reported that the hardest part of the process was finding the right property—56% named this as the top challenge. Waiting for an ideal listing in communities like Carolina Forest, Market Common, or along the Intracoastal Waterway can turn into years of searching, while well‑located but imperfect homes come and go.
Satisfaction after purchase is high. In 2025, 59% of buyers said they were very satisfied and 33% somewhat satisfied with their overall buying experience. That means most buyers—across price points and property types—end up content with their choice, even if they had to compromise on size, style, or location along the Grand Strand.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates have recently stabilized near the low‑6% range nationally, with the 30‑year fixed averaging about 6.09% as of January 22, 2026—down from nearly 7% a year earlier. For many Myrtle Beach buyers who sat out when rates first jumped above 6%, current conditions highlight the emotional cost of waiting: they paid more in rent, did not benefit from moderate local appreciation, and now face similar rates with one less year of ownership behind them.
Why Sellers Regret Holding Back More Than Listing
Sellers around Myrtle Beach and across Horry County show a similar pattern: more regret about postponing a move than about the sale itself. Nationally, the typical seller has now owned their home for a record 11 years, and 26% say their main reason for selling is to move closer to friends and family—priorities that often build up over time. When they do list, most achieve strong results; in 2025 the median sales price was 99% of the final listing price and the median time on market just four weeks, with two‑thirds of sellers “very satisfied” with the process.
In Horry County specifically, median prices around 332,000 dollars in late 2025 were essentially flat year‑over‑year, and homes took about 112 days to sell, up modestly from 106 days the year before. This kind of slow‑moving shift tends to amplify regret for owners who delayed listing in neighborhoods like Carolina Forest, Socastee, or North Myrtle Beach expecting price spikes that never arrived. Many end up trading in a similar market a year or two later, but with more maintenance, carrying costs, and stress behind them.
Action, Risk, and Protecting Your Mindset
Buying or selling always involves uncertainty, but recent data show that most participants feel good about their decisions once they act. Among 2025 buyers, 88% used an agent and 91% said they would use the same agent again or recommend them—strong signals that, with professional guidance, the process tends to validate the choice rather than fuel second‑guessing. For sellers, 73% offered no buyer incentives at all in 2025 and still achieved efficient sales, demonstrating that reasonable pricing and preparation can work even without aggressive concessions.
Psychologically, one of the healthiest ways to approach a Myrtle Beach move in 2026 is to focus on “good‑enough alignment” rather than perfection. That means clarifying non‑negotiables (budget, commute patterns, proximity to beaches or medical services), using data on price per square foot and days on market to set realistic expectations, and accepting some trade‑offs in exchange for progress. For both buyers and sellers, the regret to watch out for is not making a carefully informed move—it is delaying for years out of fear and then having the market, your life, or both move on without you.
Carolina Crafted Homes stays current on Myrtle Beach market trends and can answer questions about how timing, psychology, and local data intersect for your situation. Reach out anytime for guidance about buying or selling along the Grand Strand—no pressure, just straightforward expertise grounded in current numbers and clear expectations.
FAQs
Q1. How much does it cost to buy a home in Myrtle Beach right now?
Recent 2025 recaps put Myrtle Beach’s median sale price around 341,433 dollars, with typical values near 313,000 dollars depending on the data source and property type. Median price per square foot in the broader metro was about 228 dollars in December 2025. In practice, buyers focused on popular areas like Carolina Forest, North Myrtle Beach, or Surfside Beach often see a wide range of options under 400,000 dollars, especially for condos and smaller single‑family homes. Working with current MLS data is important because neighborhood‑level prices can differ noticeably from metro averages.
Q2. What should I know about waiting to buy in Myrtle Beach in 2026?
House prices in the Myrtle Beach–Conway–North Myrtle Beach metro continued to edge up into Q3 2025, with the local index rising from 361.67 in Q4 2024 to 380.22. At the same time, national 30‑year mortgage rates have settled near the low‑6% range as of January 2026, down from almost 7% a year earlier. That combination—modest price growth and stable but still‑elevated rates—means waiting does not guarantee better affordability and can mean more time paying rising rents instead of building equity. Many recent buyers report high satisfaction with their purchase, suggesting the larger risk is long‑term regret over not entering the market at all.
Q3. How long does it take to sell a home in Horry County?
In late 2025, typical Horry County homes sold in about 112 days on average, up slightly from 106 days a year earlier. Nationally, NAR data for 2025 show a median of just four weeks on market for recently sold properties, with homes that sold within two weeks usually achieving 100% of asking price. Along the Grand Strand, time on market varies by property type—oceanfront condos and resort‑area homes can take longer than inland single‑family neighborhoods. Pricing in line with recent local sales and preparing the home well tend to matter more than trying to time a specific month.
Q4. Are mortgage rates in early 2026 a good time to act?
As of January 22, 2026, the Freddie Mac 30‑year fixed mortgage rate averaged about 6.09%, with 15‑year loans near 5.44%. That is significantly lower than the nearly 7% levels seen at the start of 2025 but still well above the historic lows of 2020–2021. For Myrtle Beach buyers, that means monthly payments are higher than a few years ago but more manageable than during 2023’s peak, especially when combined with today’s flatter local prices. Whether it is a good time depends on your income stability, savings, and how long you expect to stay in the home, not just the headline rate.
Q5. What federal resources can help me avoid regret when deciding to buy?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers plain‑language tools for comparing loan estimates, understanding closing costs, and stress‑testing payments at different rates and price points. HUD’s housing research and policy resources explain how FHA‑insured loans, counseling agencies, and fair lending rules work, which can reduce confusion and fear during the decision process. Psychology‑oriented organizations such as the American Psychological Association regularly highlight how emotions, stress, and cognitive bias affect big financial choices. Using these materials alongside local Myrtle Beach market data helps buyers evaluate decisions more objectively and reduces the chance of regret driven by avoidable misunderstandings.
