Is Myrtle the next Charleston? Horry County housing market top destination for mid-sized cities. [The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)]

May 18—MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Coming out of the pandemic, Myrtle Beach’s housing market was so strong that some industry analysts likened it to other southern real estate giants like Bradenton, Fla. or Charleston as mortgage loan applications for homes within the city jumped by nearly 18 percent between 2019 and 2020.

But current conditions — namely rising interest rates — may be cutting into the trend. .

Findings from a newly released study issued by Inspection Support Network — a leading manufacturer of software for property inspection companies — meant Myrtle Beach boasted the 15th largest year-over-year increase in mortgage applications nationwide among cities of similar sizes between 2019 and 2020, putting it just behind other real estate hot spots including Bradenton, Fla., and the Charleston area.

But in its April market report, the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors says rising home costs and climbing interest rates has affected purchasing power.

Fixed mortgage rates are currently sitting at 5.3 percent, according to Freddie Mac. That’s the highest level since 2011.

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“We kept thinking interest rates were going to push buyers to get off the fence. But we’ve also seen quite a few sellers get off the fence” as interest rates fluctuate. “We didn’t think we would see that much urgency,” said Jamie Broadhurst, a Myrtle Beach-based agent and the association’s incoming president.

Cole Williams, a broker at Myrtle Beach-based Revolution Mortgage, said the Grand Strand region will always be attractive to home buyers, even as momentum slows at times.

“Rates and homes prices are up across the country so everyone is feeling the same. One thing we have in Horry County s a tremendously low tax rate that is going to continue to drive a lot of new homeowners from the Midwest and Northeast,” he said. “If you live in one of those places you may be paying $1,200 per month or more for taxes and that would be your yearly insurance in Horry County.”

Across the Grand Strand, median home sale prices have jumped by nearly a quarter since April 2021 — from $274,920 to $342,500.

“Interest rates are only one contributing factor to the overall market slow down. Inventory issues are leading to discouraged finance buyers,” Williams said. “There seem to be multiple offers on every home under contract, and cash is king.”

Home availability in South Carolina’s fastest growing county is dwindling. Between April 2021 and this year, inventory dropped by more than quarter, while available houses are on the market by five fewer days.

“Do I see it (inventory) coming back to what we were pre-COVID? Absolutely not,” Broadhurst said.

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