Myrtle Beach realtors sold billions more in homes in 2024 compared to 2023. What to know
In 2024, Myrtle Beach real estate agents shook off a difficult 2023 by selling $2.3 billion more in homes than the previous year.
The complete reversal in fortune comes as some home buyers change their buying patterns due to the climate and extreme weather events elsewhere in the country.
The Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, which covers the Grand Strand, released its annual report for the previous year, finding that purchasing increased.
CCAR reported that realtors sold nearly seven billion dollars in homes in 2024, compared to $4.6 billion in 2023. Home prices rose from a median of $360,000 in 2023 to more than $385,000 in 2024.
Blake Sloan is a realtor in the Myrtle Beach area who operates Sloan Realty Group. He said 2024 was a good year compared to the previous one, as dropping interest rates proved favorable for the real estate market. He added that most of his clients are from the northeast United States and are looking to re-locate due to the influx of new residents.
It represented a strong rebound from a difficult 2023. The drive for some Myrtle Beach residents or newcomers to buy their dream homes was weaker than in previous years.
Some blamed high interest and mortgage rates for scaring people away from purchasing homes and cooling the Myrtle Beach real estate economy.
While 2024 proved a turnaround from a difficult 2023, realtors did not match their success from previous years like 2022. CCAR reported that realtors sold $7.2 billion in homes in 2022, $300 million more than agents did in 2024.
Sloan added people moving to Myrtle Beach also created a trend of some grandparents selling their homes and either downsizing or moving back home.
“The grandchildren obviously drive them back. I think our number one call in lately of people that are re-locating out is they have grandchildren back home,” He added. “We all see a lot of relocation, transplants that come here, and their family doesn’t visit as much as they want to, will typically sell.”
While home buying rose in 2024, some indicators were less positive for the market. Redfin reports that while average home prices in Horry County rose about four percent compared to last year, homes stayed on the market longer.
Redfin’s data showed that it takes an average of 114 days to sell a home in Horry County compared to 92 days the year before. Sloan said that the days on the market have risen since 2022-23, which he said was due to interest rates higher than in previous years.
Some realtors have also recently noticed a trend of homebuyers looking for homes safe from the effects of natural disasters. Some homebuyers have also changed their purchasing habits based on events outside the Myrtle Beach area.
It’s not new that some home buyers outside the Grand Strand are from Florida. Many want to move closer to their families or escape the extreme weather events that have impacted the Sunshine State in recent years. Sloan said some home buyers switched to picking a home in the Myrtle Beach area because they feared hurricanes damaging their property in Florida.
Some buyers take this fear of flooding a step further. Traci Miles is a Myrtle Beach area real estate agent who’s been in the area for 38 years. She added that the extreme weather events in Florida shape how some Myrtle Beach area home buyers select properties. Some buyers seek homes away from flood-prone areas.
With extreme weather events becoming more commonplace, Miles said many don’t want to take a chance when selecting their home.
“I’ve gotten more requests than I ever have for people wanting to not be in a flood zone,” Miles said. “I have had more people concerned coming from up north (and) coming from out west. “
However, many of the most expensive homes on the Grand Strand are near the ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway. While Sloan said not everyone is afraid to buy a home near the ocean or close to water, this is a noticeable trend.
He added that this concern often peaks before hurricane season, then abates afterward, and buyers start looking at listings again.
“We have had some buyers from the Northeast who do not want to be too close to the ocean or too close east of the waterway,” Sloan said. “There’s some newer challenges with flooding, for sure, especially around the Intercoastal Waterway.”
The five most expensive homes in the North Myrtle Beach area are near the ocean or along the Intracoastal Waterway in Little River. Several homes are also new, built in 2024 or 2023.
Three of them are on the same street. Here’s the most expensive for sale on Zillow:
The most expensive for-sale home in North Myrtle is along the Intracoastal Waterway
At 2715 Ships Wheel Drive along the Intracoastal Waterway, the more than 6,000-square-foot home features a brick driveway with a fountain. Zillow shows the five-bed and eight-bath home was built in 2007 and has an asking price of $5.8 million.
The home also comes with a dock and a boat slip.
The home’s asking price has risen sharply in recent years, more than doubling since it last sold on the open market more than a decade ago.
Zillow listed the property selling for less than a million dollars in May 2013, a more than 485 percent increase.
One of Little River’s most expensive homes was built last year
At 129 Serenity Point Drive near the North Myrtle Beach RV Resort and Dry Dock Marina, the At 129 Serenity Point Drive near the North Myrtle Beach RV Resort and Dry Dock Marina, the more than 5,600 square foot home has a pool and dock next to the Intracoastal. Zillow lists the asking price as about $4.5 million for the six-bed and eight-bath home.
The new home was built in 2024 and listed and removed from Zillow several times before listing for sale in July 2024. It was last listed for sale at about $3.8 million in July 2023 and removed from Zillow in October 2023.
Built in 2023, this Little River home is neighbor of the second most expensive home in the North Myrtle Beach area
A stroll from the second most expensive home on sale on Zillow in North Myrtle Beach, a five-bed and six-bath home is almost as expensive as its neighbor. At 133 Serenity Point Drive, the asking price is about $4.3 million for the more than 4,500 square foot home.
The home features a pool and a view of the Intracoastal Waterway. It was listed on Zillow for $3.5 million in March 2023 before being removed later that year in October.
One of Little River’s newest homes is also one of the most expensive on Zillow
North Myrtle Beach’s fourth most expensive home is a neighbor of the second and third abodes with the highest asking price on Zillow. More than 3,700 square feet with six beds and five baths, the asking price on Zillow for the property at 125 Serenity Point Drive in Little River is about four million dollars.
Built in 2024, the home has a pool next to the Intracoastal Waterway and had an asking price of about $3.3 million in 2023 before the owner removed the listing.
An oceanfront home with a pool and walkway to the beach
At 1006 North Ocean Blvd. on the oceanfront, the fifth most expensive home in North Myrtle Beach listed on Zillow has an asking price of nearly $3.7 million. Built in 1995, the house has six beds and seven baths.
Almost 4,400 square feet, last sold for $2.6 million in May 2021 for $2.6 million.
