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Commercial real estate Myrtle Beach beginning in 1975, western Horry County was primarily agrarian in
nature with some manufacturing, while eastern Horry County
(east of the Intracoastal Waterway), was a summer resort.
The resort season was primarily beach-oriented in nature and
was short lived, beginning on Memorial Day and terminating
on Labor Day. The area was frequented basically by North and
South Carolinians who desired to escape the hot, humid
inland summers to enjoy the cool breezes offered by the
Atlantic Ocean. With a permanent county population of 85,000
and gross retail sales of $500 million, Horry County was
making small incremental improvements and during the next
five years attracted relatively little attention from
outside the region.
Throughout the 1980's, rampant golf course construction and
real estate development introduced many people from the
Northeast and Midwest areas to our spring and fall markets.
As a result of the natural beauty, the favorable climate and
easy accessibility via car, Horry County became more heavily
colonized and became a vibrant, year-round area. Many of the
visitors from the 80's have permanently relocated and are
now calling Horry County home. The measurable, permanent
Horry County population is now 206,000 and gross retail
sales exceed $6 billion.
In 1992, the Commercial Real Estate Myrtle Beach area, known as the Grand Strand,
became a statistical market area (SMA) and the region became
more measurable for the national tenants that had previously
resisted the area. With over 120 championship golf courses,
many new shopping venues, live entertainment theaters and
consistent residential growth, Horry County is now an
established, fast paced market place which possesses many
ingredients for continued, sustainable growth.
Since 1995, Horry County has enjoyed new commercial
construction in excess of $1 billion. This growth has been
the direct result of satisfying the permanent and second
home residential growth as well as from the revenues
generated by the 13 million annual visitors. Myrtle Beach is
now a year round area. Names like Home Depot, Lowe's, Hard
Rock Cafe, Outback Steak House, Hampton Inn, and Ripley's
Aquarium dot the starlit business shoreline. Horry County
now supports three regional shopping malls, two value retail
(outlet parks) centers, and two festival/entertainment
centers that have been recognized nationally. Attesting to
this vibrant growth, Home Depot, Lowe's, TGI Fridays, Super
Wal-Mart's and others are building at least three facilities
to accommodate the region's needs. The Mall of South
Carolina, containing 1.3 million square feet, has been
announced with construction to commence in 2002.
The Commercial Real Estate Myrtle Beach Area is more user driven than investor
driven. The major property owners control regional office
and retail markets. Tenant demand has outpaced supply,
thanks to strong national and local economy. Low single
digit vacancy rates demonstrate just how vibrant our market
is. New construction coming on-line during the last six
months and future development planned for the near future
are not expected to offset tenant demand. Heightened
activity has pushed rental rates higher across the board.
Rental rates for neighborhood shopping centers range from
$14 to $16 per square foot. Regional centers and festival
centers are yielding $30 - $35 per square foot rents. Office
rental rates for 5000 - 10,000 square foot free standing
properties are in the $15 - $17 per square foot range, and
first class office properties are enjoying effective rents
of $25 - $35 per square foot.
Flex space and limited industrial space exist in specialty
areas of Horry County. Units in the western portion of the
county have blended rents in the $4 - $6 per square foot
range and units east of the Intracoastal Waterway enjoy 30%
higher rents based on acute land prices and scarcity of
supply. From 1995 to 2000, vacant flex and light industrial
spaces generally were nonexistent. This market has
stabilized over the past year, with a generous supply being
created for commercial real estate Myrtle Beach.
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