Affordable housing remains elusive in Myrtle Beach. What are the creative solutions?

Despite dramatic wage increases in Myrtle Beach, getting affordable housing remains one of Horry County’s number one issues.

The City of Myrtle Beach is making efforts to combat this issue by working with nonprofits as well as putting pressure on state legislators to aid in the process of building more affordable housing.

Chad Charles, assistant executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Horry County said that the Myrtle Beach Workforce Advisory Board is looking into “creative ways” and “out of the box thinking” to combat the housing crisis.

One effort as such is creating mixed-income communities.

Amy Barrett, president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance, explained that mixed-income housing communities would appeal to a broad spectrum of home buyers and renters. A mixed income housing community would include a spectrum of houses that could meet the needs of a whole lot of different home buyers.

This is just one effort the City of Myrtle Beach is looking at, and it could be some time before residents see this change.

“The city of Myrtle Beach really wants to make sure that this is right,” Charles said. “When they do it, they want to make sure it’s the right way.”

Incomes for Horry County residents are in fact a changing dynamic and have been over the past two years. The South Carolina Department of Employment of Labor and Workforce reported a 20% increase in the Myrtle Beach, Conway, and North Myrtle Beach areas.

Horry County Council also recently gave approval to a spending plan that includes a 5% to 15% no tax increase raise. This budget gave the highest raises to police officers and firefighters, and a bonus to all full-time employees for the County, which is one of the top employers.

On the private sector side, many businesses have had to offer performance raises and increase their hourly rate in order to meet the demand for workers. However, with inflation being at an all time high of 8.6% in the U.S. as of May, the wage increases do little to help workers afford to live.

“Employers have done a really good job of meeting the demand wages to take care of their employers,” Charles said. “However, the wages just aren’t keeping up. It’s nothing against them, that’s the way it is across the country. It is putting a strain on housing affordability across all income brackets.”

Barrett agreed.

“I have a sense that housing prices are going up a lot faster, and a lot more significantly than wages,” Barrett said. “It’s great that wages are increasing and employees are getting paid closer to a living wage, but it’s not necessarily going to get us out of the housing problem.”

The average household income in Myrtle Beach is about $68,000 a year, meaning they can afford about $190,000. However, the median listing home price in the Myrtle Beach area is $289,000.

“There’s a huge gap between the average household income and what they can afford, and what’s actually on the market,” Charles said.

Wages in Myrtle Beach is just one aspect of a massive issue.

“It’s a fairly complicated issue, but it’s something that is fundamental to how we live together in a community,” Barrett said.