Myrtle Beach ranked as the nation’s top performer for apartment occupancy growth in the past year. During the 12-month period ending May 2021, occupancy in Myrtle Beach climbed 570 basis points (bps) to 96.9%, a three-year high. Out of the nation’s 150 largest apartment markets, none other saw such aggressive growth in the past year. Honolulu logged the nation’s second-strongest performance, with occupancy increasing by 490 bps. Under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic slowdown, smaller, less pricey markets like Myrtle Beach reaped advantages as renters left high-rent urban markets. With a strong apartment occupancy performance, operators in Myrtle Beach also pushed effective asking rents up 13% during the past year. This was a top 10 performance among the nation’s biggest markets. Despite this sizable increase, average rents in Myrtle Beach were $1,193 per month as of May, still affordable compared to rates of nearly $1,300 in nearby Charlotte.
