The Myrtle Beach, SC housing market
Myrtle Beach is the center of gravity for the entire Grand Strand. The city holds the densest concentration of rentable oceanfront units on the coast, draws the bulk of the region's roughly 19 million annual visitors, and trades more inventory more often than any other submarket here. For an investor, that liquidity matters: it is easier to buy, easier to sell, and easier to find comparable sales and rental history than anywhere else on the Strand.
The market splits cleanly into two worlds. Along Ocean Boulevard, the Boardwalk corridor, and Kings Highway, the inventory is overwhelmingly resort condominiums built and operated for short-term vacation rental. Move a few miles inland to Carolina Forest, The Market Common, or Socastee, and you find conventional single-family neighborhoods that behave like a normal residential market with long-term tenants and owner-occupants.
Myrtle Beach property types and pricing
The entry point for most first-time investors is an oceanfront studio or one-bedroom condo inside an established rental program. These are the most liquid, most financeable, and most predictable units in the market. Two-bedroom oceanfront and resort condos step up in both price and revenue. Inland, single-family homes and townhomes serve the long-term rental and primary-residence buyer.
Pricing spans a wide band, from sub-$200,000 oceanfront studios to single-family and luxury oceanfront well past seven figures. Because the spread is so wide, the median list price and median nightly rate vary enormously by building and corridor. For current figures on a specific building or street, a licensed agent can pull live CCAR MLS and rental data. Weighing a condo purchase? Read our guide: Are Myrtle Beach condos a good investment?
Where investors are looking in Myrtle Beach
Within the city, investor demand concentrates in a few distinct pockets. The Ocean Boulevard high-rise corridor is the heart of the short-term-rental market, with the deepest pool of rentable condos and rental-program history. The Golden Mile holds single-family oceanfront for higher-budget buyers. The Shore Drive and Arcadian Shores area north of the strip mixes condos with strong rental demand and a slightly quieter setting. For long-term-rental and primary-residence plays, Carolina Forest is the dominant inland choice, with The Market Common offering a walkable, newer-construction alternative and Socastee providing the most approachable single-family entry.
The Myrtle Beach rental market
Short-term rental is the dominant strategy near the ocean, and revenue follows a sharp seasonal curve. Summer weeks command premium nightly rates and near-full occupancy, shoulder seasons soften, and winter thins out everywhere except the snowbird-friendly buildings. The single biggest driver of return is not the unit's finish level but the building's rental program and location: the right building can produce forty percent more revenue than a nearly identical unit a block away.
Short-term rental eligibility is not uniform. The City of Myrtle Beach concentrates vacation rentals in its resort and oceanfront zoning districts and restricts them in many single-family residential zones, and individual buildings layer their own rules through the master deed and HOA. The practical takeaway: confirm both the zoning and the building's rental rules for the exact address before you write an offer, never after.
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 19% |
| Feb | 22% |
| Mar | 39% |
| Apr | 52% |
| May | 69% |
| Jun | 84% |
| Jul | 90% |
| Aug | 85% |
| Sep | 63% |
| Oct | 51% |
| Nov | 29% |
| Dec | 21% |
Illustrative seasonal pattern for Grand Strand short-term rentals. Actual occupancy varies by building, corridor, and management. Ask for live revenue history on any specific unit.
Short-term rental data · Myrtle Beach
The strongest tenth of listings here gross $6,043 a month or more; the median listing makes $2,115. June is the strongest month and January the weakest. Averages cover every listing in the market, including part-time ones, so a well-run property can sit well above them. Compare all nine submarkets. AirROI, data through 2026-08-08.
How rental returns work in Myrtle Beach
On an oceanfront condo, returns start with gross rental revenue, but the number that matters is what is left after the building takes its share. Cleaning and turnover, the management split, HOA dues, accommodations taxes, and utilities commonly absorb 45 to 60 percent of gross before debt service. Estimate net operating income and a realistic annual occupancy, not the headline summer weeks, and deals that look average on gross often separate sharply on net. Cap rate and cash-on-cash return, run on conservative numbers, are the honest way to compare one building against another.
Financing an investment property in Myrtle Beach
Financing is where oceanfront gets specific. Many resort condos are classified as condotels, which means larger down payments, higher rates, and fewer willing lenders. Warrantability, owner-occupancy ratios, reserve health, and litigation status all affect whether a conventional loan is even available. A lender who has financed these buildings before can flag which ones close cleanly and which will cost you a deal, before you spend on an inspection.
Myrtle Beach rules and costs that move the numbers
Two cost levers move a Myrtle Beach pro forma more than buyers expect. First, South Carolina assesses non-owner-occupied property at a 6 percent ratio rather than the 4 percent applied to a primary residence, so the tax line on an investment condo runs materially higher. Confirm the current millage and ratio for the exact parcel. Second, short-term rentals collect and remit state and local accommodations and hospitality taxes, and the city requires a business license and a permit. Build both into the model from day one. Older oceanfront buildings also carry special-assessment risk, which is why the reserve study deserves as much attention as the rental history.
The Myrtle Beach investor thesis
- 01Oceanfront studios and one-bedrooms inside an established rental program are the lowest-friction entry to Myrtle Beach short-term rental investing.
- 02Building-level rental history matters more than unit-level finishes. Analyze the building, then the unit.
- 03Confirm City of Myrtle Beach zoning and the building's master deed before you offer. Not every address is short-term-rental eligible.
- 04Inland single-family in Carolina Forest and The Market Common offers a steadier long-term-rental alternative when you want less seasonality.
What a first Myrtle Beach deal looks like
A realistic first Myrtle Beach deal is an oceanfront studio or one-bedroom in a building with a documented rental program. The work happens before the offer: pull two or three years of the building's rental revenue, read the HOA budget and reserve study, confirm the unit's short-term-rental eligibility under both city zoning and the master deed, and verify condotel status with a lender so financing is locked. Buyers who do that homework can compare two similar-looking units and know which one actually nets more. The ones who skip it inherit a special assessment or a soft rental program they never priced in.
What to watch before you buy in Myrtle Beach
- Condotel financing. Many oceanfront condos are classified as condotels, which means larger down payments and a shorter list of willing lenders. Line up financing before you shop.
- Special assessments. Older oceanfront buildings face salt-air maintenance, elevator and balcony repairs, and reserve shortfalls. Read the budget and reserve study, not just the listing.
- HOA rental rules. Some buildings cap rental frequency or require you to use the on-site program. That changes your numbers materially.
Where Myrtle Beach sits, and how it is governed
Myrtle Beach is the hub of the Grand Strand, an incorporated city of roughly 35,000 residents in Horry County anchoring about 60 miles of Atlantic coastline. Myrtle Beach International Airport sits inside the city, which is unusual for a beach town and a real convenience for out-of-state owners. Because it is an incorporated city, the City of Myrtle Beach sets its own zoning and short-term-rental rules, which are stricter than the surrounding unincorporated county.
The Myrtle Beach market right now
Myrtle Beach is a condo-heavy market, so a single median can mislead. City-wide figures land anywhere from the high $180,000s to the mid $310,000s depending on the source, because condos pull the number down and single-family homes push it up. As a reference point, Zillow put the city home-value index near $315,000 in early 2026, down about 3 percent year over year, while single-family homes commonly run in the $330,000s to high $380,000s and the ZIP codes range from about $275,000 in 29577 to about $354,000 in 29579. The condo segment carries the most inventory and the most negotiating room. For an accurate figure on the exact segment you want, we pull the Coastal Carolinas MLS.
Short-term rental rules in the City of Myrtle Beach
This is the single most important thing an investor needs to know about Myrtle Beach, and most get it wrong: the city prohibits short-term rentals in nearly all traditional residential neighborhoods. Every zoning district beginning with R is off-limits for rentals under 90 days, with the lone exception of the RMV (Residential Multifamily Visitor) zone, and fewer than 30 grandfathered houses exist citywide. The city defines short-term as under 90 days (not the state 30) and treats STRs as a commercial use, requiring a business license and a 10 percent lodging tax. See the City of Myrtle Beach short-term rental guidance. If your plan is nightly rental income, you must buy in an STR-eligible zone (tourist-commercial or RMV) or a designated resort building, not a random R-zoned house. Every jurisdiction's licenses and taxes: short-term rental rules by city.
What it costs to own in Myrtle Beach: the 4 percent versus 6 percent property tax rule
South Carolina assesses an owner-occupied primary residence at a 4 percent ratio with the owner-occupant school-operating credit, and a second home or investment property at 6 percent with no credit, so the effective property tax on the same home can run close to double when it is not your primary residence. After Horry County millage, effective rates typically land in the roughly 0.35 to 0.53 percent of market value range depending on use and location. See the South Carolina Department of Revenue for the assessment-ratio rules. Full county math, with a calculator: Horry County property taxes.
Flood zones and insurance in Myrtle Beach
Flood exposure depends heavily on how close a property sits to the ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway, or low-lying inland pockets. Homes inside a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area generally require flood insurance on a federally backed loan, and coastal wind coverage has gotten more expensive across the Grand Strand. Chapter3 will pull the FEMA flood map for the specific address before you assume anything. What the three coastal policies cost: coastal home insurance costs.
Myrtle Beach lifestyle and amenities
Myrtle Beach is the entertainment core of the Strand: the oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade, the SkyWheel, Broadway at the Beach, Market Common (a walkable town-center district built on the old air-force base), Grande Dunes on the Intracoastal, and one of the densest concentrations of golf in the country. Everyday retail, healthcare, and dining are more built-out here than anywhere else on the Strand, and the airport is minutes from most neighborhoods.
Schools serving Myrtle Beach
Public schools in the city fall within the Myrtle Beach attendance area of Horry County Schools, including Myrtle Beach Elementary, Middle, and High, along with other schools serving specific neighborhoods. Assignment is by address, and Chapter3 will confirm the exact schools for any property against the district attendance-boundary map.
What it is like to live in Myrtle Beach
Living in the city itself, day-to-day life is more built-out than anywhere on the Strand: walkable town-center living at Market Common (a district built on the old air-force base), the oceanfront Boardwalk, Broadway at the Beach, and dense retail, dining, and healthcare. Myrtle Beach International Airport is minutes from most neighborhoods, which is unusual for a beach town. The tradeoff is summer traffic and crowds near the oceanfront core.
For a live-in buyer, the R-zoned residential neighborhoods (where short-term rentals are not allowed anyway) tend to be quieter and more year-round, while the tourist corridors stay busy in season. Check the flood zone and insurance for the exact address, and on a condo, the regime fees and reserve study.
Buying in Myrtle Beach to live, not just to rent
Myrtle Beach is written about as an investor market, but plenty of buyers want a primary residence or a walkable second home here, and for them the STR ban in residential zones is a feature, not a bug: it keeps R-zoned neighborhoods residential. Weigh Market Common versus a resort community versus an established inland neighborhood, and remember a primary residence is taxed at 4% with the owner-occupant credit while a second home is 6% without it.
Read the Myrtle Beach HOA rules before you commit to a house
In a market with this many associations, the covenants matter as much as the house. Before you make an offer, read the HOA bylaws and rules, because they can restrict short-term and long-term rentals, pets, parking, golf carts, fences, and exterior changes. The classic trap: you have spent years training your dog to walk off leash, then buy into a community with a strict leash rule and lose the thing you valued most. Read the documents before you make an offer, not after.
Ask us and we will get you the governing documents for any Myrtle Beach community, from our own files if we already have them or by requesting them for you if we do not. It is also why a Chapter3 agent asks a lot of questions about how you actually live: we would rather spend the time up front than match you to a home with a rule or an HOA that blocks what you enjoy or turns out to be a poor investment.
Myrtle Beach community stats
Official figures from government sources, with no interpretation added. Each links to its source so you can read the full data yourself.
Population & income · U.S. Census Bureau
Cost, taxes & risk · government sources
How to pull the crime numbers yourself: on the FBI Crime Data Explorer, choose South Carolina, then select the local agency (the county sheriff's office or the city police department) to see reported offenses by year. On SLED, open the current "Crime in South Carolina" report and find the county and agency tables. Chapter3 will pull the current figures for a specific address with you.
Myrtle Beach school stats
Public schools in the city fall within the Myrtle Beach attendance area of Horry County Schools. Figures are from the South Carolina Department of Education report card and federal education data, with no interpretation added.
Myrtle Beach High School · SC report card
For the elementary and middle schools that feed it, and for any exact address, read the full report cards at the South Carolina Department of Education. The report card also publishes SAT and ACT averages, Advanced Placement and dual-enrollment participation, college-and-career readiness, dropout rate, and chronic absenteeism. Ask your Chapter3 agent and we will pull the report card for the school an address is zoned to.
Who Myrtle Beach suits
Myrtle Beach rewards two very different buyers. The first is a condo or resort investor who buys specifically in an STR-eligible zone and runs nightly rentals with the amenities and foot traffic the core provides. The second is a primary resident or second-home owner who wants walkable town-center living (Market Common) or an amenity-rich resort community and is not counting on STR income from an R-zoned house. If you want a single-family house to Airbnb, the city is usually the wrong target and an unincorporated oceanfront submarket like Garden City is the right one. We will steer you to the correct zone rather than let you buy a rental you cannot legally rent.
Myrtle Beach is the core of the Grand Strand and carries its deepest tourist demand. Inventory ranges widely, from oceanfront and resort condominiums to single-family neighborhoods further inland, which gives investors the broadest set of price points and strategies in the region.
Common Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can you short-term rental (Airbnb) a house in Myrtle Beach?
Usually not. The City of Myrtle Beach prohibits rentals under 90 days in all R (residential) zoning districts except RMV, and treats STRs as a commercial use. You generally need a property in an STR-eligible tourist or RMV zone, plus a business license and the 10 percent lodging tax.
What counts as a short-term rental in Myrtle Beach?
The city defines a short-term rental as any stay under 90 days, which is stricter than South Carolina's general 30-day threshold.
Is Myrtle Beach a buyer's or seller's market?
It leans toward buyers in early-to-mid 2026, especially in the condo segment, where inventory sits around seven to eight months of supply and gives buyers negotiating room.
What are property taxes on a second home in Myrtle Beach?
Higher than on a primary residence. South Carolina assesses primary homes at a 4 percent ratio with a school-tax credit and second homes or investments at 6 percent with no credit, so the effective tax on the same home can be close to double.
Which schools serve Myrtle Beach?
Public schools fall within the Myrtle Beach attendance area of Horry County Schools. Assignment is by address, and Chapter3 will confirm the exact schools on the district boundary map.
Is Myrtle Beach good for short-term rentals?
It has the region's deepest tourist demand, especially near the oceanfront, though performance and short-term-rental rules vary by area and building.
What property types are common in Myrtle Beach?
A broad mix, from oceanfront and resort condominiums to single-family neighborhoods inland.