South Carolina Real Estate Markets

South Carolina has the country's lowest effective property tax paired with strong in-migration and a permit pipeline running ahead of the Sun Belt average. Price-to-income 3.42, cap rate proxy 4.4%, median home $247,663, across 5,212,774 residents and 10 metros. 0.49% effective property tax is the United States' lowest. 6.40% top state income tax (progressive, first $3,460 exempt) is the trade-off against Tennessee's zero and North Carolina's declining rate.

The FHFA HPI is up 64.0% over five years and 3.2% last year — among the strongest Sun Belt runs. Builders pulled 45,026 permits TTM at 8.6 per 1,000 residents — the cohort's highest. Net migration at +0.38% leads the regional peer set. Unemployment sits at 5.1% (notable — higher than most Sun Belt states) with median household income at $67,568.

The 10 metros sort by coastal-vs-inland economics. Greenville-Anderson ($243K median, 4.30% cap, 931K pop) is the Upstate manufacturing anchor — BMW plant, Michelin, GE Aviation, diversified automotive/advanced manufacturing. Columbia ($213K, 4.66% cap, 832K) is the state capital + University of South Carolina. Charleston-North Charleston ($345K, 4.04% cap, 803K) is the coastal premium — Boeing 787, port, tourism. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach ($261K, 4.39% cap, SC-NC straddle) is the tourism/STR economy. Hilton Head Island-Bluffton ($393K, 3.60% cap) is the luxury resort market. Deep value: Florence ($159K, 5.49% cap) and Sumter ($160K, 6.24% cap). Spartanburg ($208K, 4.45% cap) rounds out the Upstate.

Against North Carolina, SC wins on property tax (0.49% vs 0.72%) and migration trend; NC wins on metro scale and income tax direction. Against Tennessee, SC loses on income tax (0% vs 6.4% top) but wins on coastal access and higher migration. Against Georgia, SC has stronger HPI and permit pace; GA has the deeper Atlanta labor anchor.

Operating environment is fast. 14-day eviction timeline, no rent control, no deposit cap. 71.5% homeownership (highest in Sun Belt cohort), 13.1% vacancy. Insurance averages $1,278/yr. 6.40% top state income tax.

So what does an investor do?

• Cash flow: Sumter and Florence clear 5.5-6.2% cap rate proxies at sub-$165K — the strongest Southeast cash-flow math outside the Texas border metros. Greenville-Anderson and Spartanburg anchor the Upstate manufacturing cash-flow cluster. The 0.49% property tax compounds everywhere — model it as the cohort's biggest structural advantage.
• Appreciation: Charleston on Boeing + port economics. Greenville on advanced manufacturing (BMW, Michelin). Hilton Head on luxury/resort. Myrtle Beach on tourism + STR demand (verify local STR regulations per coastal county).
• Out-of-state: South Carolina's 0.49% property tax is a compounding structural advantage over 30-year holds that outweighs the state income tax in most underwriting scenarios. Compare Sumter/Florence directly against NC's Rocky Mount/Goldsboro — SC usually wins on the carrying-cost math.