Grand Strand Real Estate News - January 2024

January 2024

Volume 2024 Issue 1

Dear Gene Carter Team,

Summary

We have completed our Closed Sales Histories for 2023. For those of you not familiar with these, they consist of spreadsheets showing detailed closing info for every closed sale (per MLS) for over 190 resorts along the Grand Strand - all the way back to 2009. Here is a sample: Crescent Shores Closed Sales List. We update these a few weeks into each new year. To receive these, you can sign up on our website, BeachProTeam.com  or click on the link below:

www.grandstrandclosedsaleslist.com

Sales activity increased dramatically in January. My team has 8 new contracts and 7 new listings already. Don’t take this current hot streak for granted if you are thinking of buying or selling. Last year the pace for sales and listings started fast and then slowed to a crawl after April.

Oceanfront and Resort Condo Market Conditions

Overview: Lots of buyers are shopping for condos right now and they seem to be optimistic about the coming year. We’ve also seen a surge in new listings.  Buyers and sellers are on the move! Remember that mid-January through the end of April is typically the busiest time of any given year for both sales and listings.

The number of active oceanfront condo listings increased for the 10th month in a row. There were 815 active listings in January compared to 775 in December. The number of active condo listings off the beach also increased again for the 10th month in a row, from 1270 to 1405. (See chart in Newsletter)

For oceanfront condos, there was a big month-over-month increase in every measure of activity except closed sales (which is understandable since the January closings reflected the slow pace of new contracts in December). Average selling price was up 14.5%. The number of new listings increased by 37.6%. Pending sales increased 34.8%. As previously mentioned, the number of active listings increased 7.7% to 835. (See chart in Newsletter) 

New Homes and Resales for Single Family Homes

New construction sales once again dominated with 365 closed sales versus 305 resales. This month, however, there were more new resale listings, 620, versus 558 new listings for new construction. By the way, this represents a big jump in listings for both over previous months. There are lots of great house listings at the moment. (See chart in Newsletter).

New Oceanfront Hotels and Their Impact On Resort Condos

Even though there have been no new oceanfront condo towers completed on The Grand Strand in 15 years, new oceanfront hotels keep popping up - and not just in Myrtle Beach. Although these do not directly impact our local real estate, each new hotel brings hundreds of shiny new vacation rental units for our visitors. Most are being built with multi-room suites with full kitchens - not traditional hotel “rooms.” In other words, they look and feel just like condos.

This new competition is one of the factors driving the “bulk upfits” proposed by onsite rental companies as well as all the many different strategies that rental management companies are using to incentivize owners to renovate their properties. Most of the resort condos on the Grand Strand are 15 to 50 years old. They look tired and dated. Vacation guests will choose updated accommodations if they have a choice (Wouldn’t you?), and, with each additional hotel, they have more choices.

One consequence of renters enjoying lots of nice accommodation choices (along with the proliferation of rental management choices) is that we are now seeing huge differences in rental incomes between condos with the same floor plans in the same buildings, largely because of the furnishings combined with good management and marketing to take advantage of this. I’ve seen condos with identical floor plans and views in the same building with gross incomes varying from $16K to $60K. 

Buyers don’t behave so differently than vacation rental guests. They will pay a premium for an updated property. It’s not just an economic decision. It’s an emotional one as well. They want a property that excites them.

New/Proposed Oceanfront Hotels - MB and NMB

Several of the proposed hotels mentioned below are still awaiting final approvals from various government entities. 

The Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort by Holiday Inn Club Vacations is planning to open in April. It’s located at the far south end of Ocean Blvd. There will be 152 one, two and three bedroom villas ranging from 746 HSF to 1900 HSF. 

At The DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, also on the far south end of Ocean Blvd, a $30M renovation is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2024.   

A Margaritaville–themed hotel is slated to start construction soon at 17th Ave. N. in Myrtle Beach. The 267-room, 17-story hotel tower for this development will be on the second row across the street from the ocean. The water park and amenities, as well as a large restaurant/entertainment complex, will be on the oceanfront. The two will be connected by a pedestrian overpass over Ocean Blvd.

A Margaritaville-themed hotel is planned for North Myrtle Beach at 1717 S Ocean Blvd. with around 150 rooms.

A Hampton Inn Hotel has been proposed for the lot next to Prince Resort in the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach for several years. About 150 rooms in a 7-story building. To my knowledge, construction has not started on this development. 

The Springhill Suites/Courtyard by Marriott is a recent addition. The 26-story oceanfront hotel tower opened in 2022 next to The Breakers Resort on 20th Ave. North in Myrtle Beach. 

What Are Sellers and Buyers to Do

New hotels are going to keep coming as long as more and more vacationers visit the Myrtle Beach area. However, at this time, I don’t know of any new oceanfront condo towers even under consideration. 

The additional competition may impact rental incomes - if it hasn’t already. Most condo rental incomes have drifted down since they peaked in 2021. Rental incomes affect prices. An unanswered question is whether or not demand from vacationers will increase fast enough to fill both the shiny new hotel rooms and the existing rental condos. 

So, for the foreseeable future, it looks like the number of oceanfront condos will remain the same as it’s been for the past 15 years. Meanwhile, competition for the vacationer’s business will continue to increase with the addition of new hotels. The most up-to-date, best-looking, best-managed properties (hotels or condos) will command an increasing share of the vacation rental market - and the highest rental and sales prices!

That’s all for now. Check out all our usual Grand Strand Market Reports, Sales and Listing Updates, my Best Buys, and new Beach Pro Team reviews.

Please Contact The Beach Pro Team If:

You are thinking of buying or selling an oceanfront or resort condo in our area

                                                                  Or

You are considering moving to our area or know someone else who is

                                                                   Or

You are an agent who has clients thinking of moving here or buying or selling in our area

                                                                   Or

You currently own a condo in our area and want a permanent home here

Greetings from The Grand Strand,

Wow, what a difference a month makes!  After a sleepy December, sales activity surged in January. My team has worked out 8 new contracts since the beginning of the year. I have spoken to a number of other agents who are experiencing the same upswing. I have also picked up 7 new listings. Please don’t take this current hot streak for granted if you are thinking of buying or selling any time soon. I hope this activity level stays strong but last year the pace for sales and listings started fast and then slowed to a crawl after April.

We have completed our Closed Sales Histories for 2023. For those of you not familiar with these, they consist of spreadsheets showing detailed closing info for every closed sale (per MLS) for over 190 resorts along the Grand Strand - all the way back to 2009. We update these a few weeks into each new year. Here is a sample: Crescent Shores Closed Sales List. To receive these, you can sign up on our website, BeachProTeam.com  or click on the link below:

www.grandstrandclosedsaleslist.com

This month, I want to take a look at the upcoming oceanfront hotel developments and the impact these may have on vacation rentals for condos and condotels. But first, here’s this month’s market report.

Oceanfront and Resort Condo Market Conditions

Overview: Lots of buyers are shopping for condos right now and they seem to be optimistic about the coming year. We’ve also seen a surge in new listings. Most of the sellers for my new listings are planning to buy again almost immediately, either in our area or some other. Buyers and sellers are on the move!

I’ll repeat what I said a month ago - if you’re thinking of selling or buying, now is the time. Mid-January through the end of April is typically the busiest time of any given year for both sales and listings. More listings for buyers and more buyers for listings!

As can be seen in the chart below, the number of active oceanfront condo listings increased for the 10th month in a row. There were 815 active listings in January compared to 775 in December. The number of active condo listings off the beach also increased again for the 10th month in a row, from 1270 to 1405.

The next chart shows month-to-month metrics for oceanfront condos. Basically, there was a big increase in every measure of activity except closed sales (which is understandable since January closed sales reflected the slow pace of new contracts in December). Average selling price was up 14.5%. The number of new listings increased by 37.6%. Pending sales increased 34.8%. As previously mentioned, the number of active listings increased 7.7% to 835. 

New Homes and Resales

The chart below shows single-family home stats for January. New construction sales once again dominated with 365 closed sales versus 305 resales. This month, however, there were more new resale listings, 620, versus 558 new listings for new construction. By the way, this represents a big jump in listings for both over previous months.

New Oceanfront Hotels and Their Impact On Resort Condos

Even though there have been no new oceanfront condo towers built on The Grand Strand in 15 years, new oceanfront hotels keep popping up - and not just in Myrtle Beach. Although these do not directly impact our local real estate, each new hotel brings hundreds of shiny new vacation rental units for our visitors. Also, most are being built with multi-room suites with full kitchens - not traditional hotel “rooms.” In other words, they look and feel just like condos, and to vacation rental guests, they are at least as desirable as condotel units. Most also offer services equal or superior to those for condotels. 

This new competition is one of the factors driving the “bulk upfits” proposed by onsite rental companies as well as all the many different strategies that rental management companies are using to incentivize owners to renovate their properties. I’ve brought this topic up numerous times. Most of the resort condos on the Grand Strand currently look tired and dated. They are 15 to 50 years old and most of them have only had modest, infrequent renovations. Vacation guests will choose updated accommodations if they have a choice (Wouldn’t you?), and, with each additional hotel, they have more choices.

One consequence of renters enjoying lots of nice accommodation choices, along with the proliferation of rental management choices, is that we are now seeing huge differences in rental incomes between condos with the same floor plans in the same buildings, largely because of the furnishings - combined with good management and marketing to take advantage of this. For instance, condotel onsite rental programs generate similar incomes for similar units because their reservation systems are set up to try to balance out the incomes and because they try to keep the conditions of their condos as uniform as possible. However, in cases where there are no onsite rental management companies or an individual owner upgrades his condo and manages it well, I’ve seen condos with identical floor plans and views in the same building with gross incomes varying from $16K to $60K. 

Buyers don’t behave so differently than vacation rental guests. They will pay significantly more for an updated property. It’s not just an economic decision. It’s an emotional one as well. The buyer who purchases a property that’s not updated is usually “settling” and making an economic decision because they can buy it cheap rather than paying a premium price for a suitable property that actually excites them. Then they generally spend the money they saved on the purchase price to renovate. 

New/Proposed Oceanfront Hotels in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach

Please note that several of the proposed hotels mentioned below are still awaiting final approvals from various government entities. Hilton, Marriott, and Margaritaville (already with several restaurant locations) all seem to be particularly enamored with our area.

The Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort by Holiday Inn Club Vacations is nearing completion and planning to open in April. The new hotel is located at the far south end of Ocean Blvd in the downtown area, next to the South Beach Resort, which opened a couple of years ago. The new hotel will have 152 one, two and three bedroom villas ranging from 746 HSF to 1900 HSF. 

At The DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, also on the far south end of Ocean Blvd in Myrtle Beach, a $30M renovation is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2024.   

A Margaritaville–themed hotel is slated to start construction soon at 17th Ave. N. in Myrtle Beach. An unusual feature of this 267-room development is that the 17-story hotel tower will be on the second row across the street from the ocean. The water park and amenities, as well as a large restaurant/entertainment complex, will be on the oceanfront. The two will be connected by a pedestrian overpass over Ocean Blvd.

A Margaritaville-themed hotel is planned for North Myrtle Beach at 1717 S Ocean Blvd. This Compass by Margaritaville hotel will have around 150 rooms.

A Hampton Inn Hotel has been proposed for the lot next to Prince Resort in the Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach for several years. The most recent version of this would offer about 150 rooms in a 7-story building. To my knowledge, construction has not started on this development. Note that Hampton Inns are included in the Hilton organization.

The Springhill Suites/Courtyard by Marriott is a recent addition. The 26-story oceanfront hotel tower opened in 2022 next to The Breakers Resort on 20th Ave. North in the downtown section of Myrtle Beach.  

What Are Sellers and Buyers to Do

New hotels are going to keep coming as long as more and more vacationers visit the Myrtle Beach area. However, at this time, I don’t know of any new oceanfront condo towers even under consideration. Prices will have to increase quite a bit more for developers to be able to build and sell and make enough profit to justify the risk. As for condotels, I’m not sure if the whole “condotel” model will work anymore at any price because of the competition in the accommodations industry brought on by Airbnb, VRBO, Vacasa, and similar companies.

One thing to be aware of is that the additional competition may impact rental incomes - if it hasn’t already. Most condo rental incomes have drifted down since they peaked in 2021. In most cases, the decrease is only 5% or 10% and this could be due to a number of other factors as well. Still, it’s something to keep in mind. Rental incomes affect prices. An unanswered question is whether or not demand from vacationers will increase fast enough to fill both the shiny new hotel rooms and the existing rental condos. 

So, for the foreseeable future, it looks like the number of oceanfront condos will remain the same as it’s been for the past 15 years. Meanwhile, competition for the vacationer’s business will continue to increase with the addition of new hotels. One thing for sure is that the most up-to-date, best-looking, best-managed properties (hotels or condos) will command an increasing share of the vacation rental market - and the highest rental and sales prices!

That’s all for now. Check out all our usual Grand Strand Market Reports, Sales and Listing Updates, my Best Buys, and new Beach Pro Team reviews.

See you at the beach!

Please Contact The Beach Pro Team If:

You are thinking of buying or selling an oceanfront or resort condo in our area

                                                                  Or

You are considering moving to our area or know someone else who is

                                                                  Or

You are an agent who has clients thinking of moving here or buying or selling in our area

                                                                  Or

You currently own a condo in our area and want a permanent home

Here are some new reviews published on Google. 

• Gene handled the sale of our family condo at the Maisons-Sur-Mer and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Gene and his team were professional, knowledgeable about the market and quick to respond. I highly recommend Gene. Ken. Prince. Myrtle Beach.

• Gene and his team were a pleasure to work with. Very knowledgeable about the area and made the process of looking for a new home easy. Tim. Myrtle Beach.

We just started collecting Google reviews. At this time we have over 20 Google Five Star reviews and over 150 Zillow Five Star reviews which can be seen on our website Beach Pro Team reviews. 

Grand Strand Market Report - December 2023

OF/OV Homes Brochures:    Link to Listings 

OF/OV Homes Spreadsheet: