Northerners are flocking to the Myrtle Beach area. But why do some stop in Florida first?
It doesn’t have the Magic Kingdom or a NASA rocket pad, but Horry County could very well be the next Florida.
Crushing property tax bills, swelling home prices and huge insurance market hikes are driving Sunshine State residents into South Carolina’s fastest growing county at a pace that could have major impacts to the area’s real estate.
Broker Jerry Pinkas said his firm closed deals last year with around 25 clients who moved up from Florida, with dozens of other potential buyers in the pipeline.
“The Florida that was in people’s minds from years past may have been what everybody wanted to get to, you know. You have this picture in your mind of what you want before you get there,” Pinkas said.
“I think what’s happened is, it’s not just the traffic, it’s not just a high insurance bill. It’s the compound of all that that is not the dynamic they thought they were getting into.”
According to real estate tracking site Redfin, three of the state’s top 10 biggest metropolitan areas with the fastest growing sales prices are in the Grand Strand: Carolina Forest, North Myrtle Beach and Little River.
Median home prices statewide are up nearly 11.5% year-over-year, currently selling on average for $370,500.
Within the Pee Dee region, performance has been even more robust: Single-family homes were priced 16.5% higher on average last month compared to December 2021, at $375,000.
Horry County also has oceanfront property available where many coastal cities in Florida are tapped out, said Brie Bender, president-elect of the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors.
Bender is also licensed in Florida and works territory along an 80-mile stretch of its Gulf Coast region from Clearwater to Venice.
“There’s not a lot of oceanfront left there, and the oceanfront that is available is definitely going at a premium,” Bender said. “Our prices are still slightly inflated from where they were at the end of last year.”
Many of Horry County’s largest developments are also heavy on hospitality and amenities - another potential draw for potential home buyers.
“We’ve got a lot of really good communities that come in over the last few years, and I think that’s been very popular,” Bender said.
Pinkas said it’s not just home prices that are giving Floridians fits, especially since many of its retirees are the ones moving across state lines.
For example, a Jan. 4 Insure.com analysis found Florida had the most expensive car insurance rates, with an average annual premium of $2,560 —compared to $1,894 for Palmetto State drivers.
“We’re one of the least expensive beach towns in the United States, and we have a big population who is retiring right now,” he said. “People are not attached to their jobs anywhere and they’re moving, and Horry County is experiencing exactly that migration.”