SENECA — Apparently, Upstate lakes and mountains make a great buffer against an otherwise turbulent housing market in other parts of the state and the nation.

Sure, the housing woes — largely brought on by the subprime lending mess, weak economy and binge of foreclosures — are real and causing pain to many.

Yet, amid this doom and gloom background, the Upstate housing market continues to surprise with its resiliency. The latest market information put out by South Carolina Realtors (SCR) proves the point.

While May home sales in the area of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties continue to fall behind numbers put up last year, and the year before, homes are selling at a pace comparable to just before the start of the housing boom about three years ago.

More importantly, median home prices in the area have been holding steady and not free falling as in other regions.

Julie Allen, owner of Golden Corner Realty & Development in Seneca, said Thursday that homes are moving quickest in the $100,000 to $250,000 price range. She said homes priced higher tend to stay on the market longer periods.

SCR market confidence indicators show that homes priced right for condition and market sell within 30 days of listing, while overpriced homes linger for more than 90 days.

Regardless, Allen said real estate professionals are making money.

“People who are working on it every day are doing the same amount of business or maybe more,” Allen said.

According to SCR market results in May, 309 homes in the area were sold, which reflects a 22.9 percent drop from the 401 homes sold in May 2007. Home sales year-to-date totaled 1,244, which represents a 21 percent drop from the 1,577 sales reported during the same period in 2007.

At the same time, the area’s median home price in May climbed to $143,000, or 4.4 percent higher than in May 2007. The median price year-to-date is $134,000, or 3.2 percent higher than a year ago. The median price represents the midway mark between the least expensive and most expensive homes sold in an area.

Statewide, the median price of homes year-to-date is $154,000, or 3.8 percent less than a year ago.

Hilton Head continued to be the priciest market with a median price of $330,000, which is down 11.1 percent from the previous year. Cherokee County had the most affordable homes in the state with a median price of $76,000.

Allen said owning a home is still one of the best ways of getting ahead. She said the time to buy is now before mortgage rates start to climb.

“There’re plenty of homes available,” Allen said. “It’s silly not to buy.”

For a complete South Carolina housing market report visit www.screaltors.com.