New build-to-rent housing planned for North Myrtle Beach. Here’s when it will open

With interest rates locking many home buyers out of the market, rent-based housing communities are a fast-growing alternative, and a Georgia-based developer that specializes in the model has made Horry County its newest focal point.

“What we have found is there’s been this unbelievable migration shift where everyone’s heading to Florida for climate, for lifestyle, for entertainment. Myrtle Beach has become a very interesting alternative where you’ve got a much, much lower cost of living but similar climate,” Trilogy Investment Company CEO Jason Joseph said.

His firm is overseeing construction of Reve Park Ridge, a 122-unit town home development in North Myrtle Beach, with rents between $1,599 and $2,700 a month for units between 787 and 1,407 square feet.

Construction is expected to wrap up by summer, but 16 units have already been built.

For the week ending Nov. 9, 30-year fixed mortgage rates were 7.5% according to a new Freddie Mac report.

Borrowing rates since August have sat above 7%, which has sent year-over-year home sales down by 15% in the region, a September outlook by the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors show.

The Sun News in June reported on the region’s burgeoning build-to-rent landscape.

Joseph said those economic conditions and the post-pandemic work-from-home trend continuing, makes built-to-rent properties more desirable than ever — especially for millennials.

“We call it redefining the American dream. Their equity is their flexibility. Now they’re renting a place here and it gives them the ability of being in a lower cost, maintenance-free environment,” Joseph said.

Similar to a traditional apartment complex or planned development where homes are purchased, Reve Park Ridge and other built-to-rent properties offer a range of amenities.

Reve Park’s offerings include:

• A community exercise room and fitness center
• Swimming pool
• On-site maintenance
• Stainless steel appliance packages
• Individual parking garages
• In-unit washing machine and dryer

In May, GlobeSt.com said completion rates for build-to-rent units nationwide jumped from 9,928 in 2021 to 14,500 last year, and Myrtle Beach was among the top 10 metro areas with the most finished single-family rentals in 2022.

This story was originally published November 10, 2023 at 12:00 PM.