‘Abnormal and crazy’: Here’s why Myrtle Beach saw a nearly 20% rent increase in 2021

Renters in Myrtle Beach are likely paying almost 20% more in housing costs than they did at this time last year, a new report found.

The firm Apartment List, which analyzes the rental market across the country, found a 19.7% year-over-year difference in rent prices in Myrtle Beach.

“A 19.7% increase in prices is abnormal and crazy,” said Rob Warnock, senior research associate at Apartment List. “I can say that with confidence about a lot of places I’ve never been to just because of the crazy year that we had.”

The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment is $905 in Myrtle Beach, where two-bedroom apartments cost $1,150 on average, according to the report. The two-bedroom cost falls just below the national average of $1,282.

After the rental market was severely disrupted with the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, one may have expected it to stabilize in 2021. But that’s not what happened.

“The really high rates of occupancy in places like Myrtle Beach made it so that even though people could move around again, suddenly there were very few apartments to pick from and the only rentals were going to go to people who could offer the most money,” Warnock said.

The Myrtle Beach area is growing substantially, and has been identified as one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. When occupancy rates are high and vacancy rates are low, landlords are able to charge more for rent because the demand is higher, Warnock said. Rentals become hard to find at times, and can drive prices up even more.

Myrtle Beach specifically is part of a region where the rental market is hottest, Warnock said, highlighting South Carolina, Georgia and Florida as states that are seeing increases in rent, potentially due to remote workers flocking to warmer climates.

Myrtle Beach’s cost of living increased nearly 15% over the last decade, a different report found, though the minimum wage has stayed the same. For many workers in the hospitality and tourism sectors in the area, the cost of living in Myrtle Beach can cause financial stress, despite it being a bargain compared to some other parts of the country.

For example, with remote jobs becoming the norm due to the pandemic, a person could make a New York-level salary but pay Myrtle Beach housing prices, again increasing competition for rentals in the area.

“There’s a sort of imbalance between affordability in terms of how locals feel versus affordability in terms of how remote workers from other parts of the country might feel,” Warnock said. “It’s going to keep places like Myrtle Beach attractive, I think.”