Why Lake Keowee Median Prices Can Move Sharply in a Small Sample
The August 2026 Lake Keowee median rose 28.9% year over year, from $950,000 to $1,225,000. The association also warns that rounded figures can look extreme when samples are small. August contained 29 closings in 2026 and 28 in 2025.
A median follows the middle closing
Order the 29 sale prices from low to high and the median is the 15th value. If more high-priced waterfront or club-community homes close in one month, the middle can move higher even when comparable individual homes have not risen by the same percentage.
The report is not a repeat-sales index
A repeat-sales or same-home index tries to control for changes in the properties sold. The MLS local market update is a transaction summary. It does not say that the same set of homes gained 28.9%.
Monthly and year-to-date mix can both shift
The year-to-date median rose from $880,000 to $1,350,000 across 235 and 209 sales, respectively. The larger count reduces some monthly volatility, but the underlying mix may still change across waterfront status, community, property type and price band.
What to ask before using a median
- How many sales are included?
- What geography and property types are included?
- Did the share of high-value properties change?
- Is the metric a median, average or modeled index?
- Does the source include concessions?