Horry (SC) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

Investors hold a significant 22.4% share of the Single-Family Residential market in Horry County, controlling 28,692 properties. This highlights a substantial investor presence in the local housing ecosystem, influencing both sales and rental market dynamics.

The investor landscape is overwhelmingly dominated by individuals rather than corporations. Individual landlords own 24,326 properties, constituting 84.8% of the investor-owned portfolio, while companies own the remaining 4,626 properties (16.1%). This composition challenges the narrative of a market controlled by large, corporate entities.

A clear preference for cash transactions is evident, with 18,590 properties owned outright, nearly double the 10,102 properties that are financed. This indicates that a majority of investors in the area possess high liquidity and may be less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.

The data confirms these holdings are actively managed as investments. Of the 28,692 investor-owned properties, 28,397 are rented, representing a 99.0% rental or non-owner-occupied rate. This underscores the portfolio's role as a key component of the county's rental housing supply.

The market structure is composed of 36,208 landlord entities, of which 32,468 are individuals and 3,740 are companies. The prevalence of individual owners reinforces the 'mom-and-pop' character of Horry County's real estate investing scene.

In Q1 2026, landlords demonstrated a distinct pricing advantage, acquiring properties for an average of $420,367 while traditional homeowners paid $450,325. This represents a 6.7% discount, saving investors an average of $29,958 per property.

The pricing dynamic between landlords and homeowners has been highly volatile, reversing a recent trend. In Q3 2025, landlords paid a $27,125 premium (6.2%) over homeowners, and a smaller $4,035 premium (0.9%) in Q2 2025. The return to a significant discount in the new year suggests a strategic shift or changing market conditions favoring investors.

This price gap volatility indicates that the negotiating power between buyer types is fluid. While landlords typically find off-market deals or distressed assets, the premium paid in mid-2025 suggests they were competing fiercely for limited inventory, a pressure that appears to have eased in the most recent quarter.

The average landlord acquisition price in Q1 2026 ($420,367) is notably lower than the prices recorded throughout 2025, which ranged from $422,030 to $465,434. This could signal a broader market cooling or that investors are targeting lower-priced assets to maintain margins.

Landlords were a formidable force in the Q4 2025 market, purchasing 208 of the 612 total SFRs sold, which translates to a 34.0% market share. This high level of activity underscores their impact on local housing demand.

The acquisition activity was almost entirely driven by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) purchased 207 of the 208 properties, or 96.7% of the total investor volume. This highlights the grassroots nature of investment in the county.

New entrants flooded the market, with the single-property tier being the most active. This group alone acquired 191 properties (89.3% of all landlord purchases), indicating a healthy influx of first-time landlords.

There was a complete absence of institutional buying activity. Investors in the 1,000+ property tier made zero purchases in Q4, signaling a retreat from the market or a focus on other regions. This stands in stark contrast to the aggressive acquisition by smaller players.

Mid-size investors (11-50 properties) also showed some activity, purchasing a combined 7 properties. While small, this segment's participation adds another layer to the diverse investor landscape in Horry County.

The ownership structure of investor-held properties in Horry County is overwhelmingly dominated by small landlords. Those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively control 97.4% of the entire investor-owned SFR portfolio, cementing their role as the foundation of the local rental market.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone account for 24,093 properties, or 82.1% of all investor holdings. This demonstrates that the typical real estate investor in this market is an individual with one rental property, not a large corporation.

In sharp contrast, institutional investors with portfolios exceeding 1,000 properties have a negligible presence. They own just 29 properties, representing a mere 0.1% of the investor market. This finding directly refutes any narrative suggesting a large-scale corporate takeover of Horry County's housing.

Mid-size investors (11-1,000 properties) occupy a small niche, collectively owning the remaining 2.5% of the portfolio. This group, while not dominant, represents a segment of more experienced, professionalized landlords who have scaled beyond the initial mom-and-pop phase.

This distribution reveals a highly decentralized ownership landscape, where market power is spread across tens of thousands of small operators rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few large firms.

A distinct pattern emerges when analyzing ownership by entity type across portfolio sizes. Individual investors are the primary owners in smaller tiers, holding 89.1% of single-property portfolios and 76.6% of two-property portfolios.

The strategic crossover point occurs in the 6-10 property tier (Tier 04). At this level of scale, companies become the majority owners for the first time, controlling 54.0% of the properties compared to individuals' 46.0%.

This trend toward incorporation accelerates as portfolios grow. In the 11-20 property tier, company ownership jumps to 81.1%, and it holds steady at 81.4% for the 21-50 property tier. This suggests that incorporation is a key strategy for managing liability and operations as investment portfolios expand.

The data illustrates a typical investor lifecycle: individuals start with one or a few properties, but as they scale, the operational and financial benefits of a corporate structure become more compelling.

This tiered analysis provides a nuanced view beyond the aggregate numbers, showing that while individuals form the base of the market, corporate entities are the vehicle of choice for portfolio growth and professionalization.

Investor activity in Horry County is not evenly distributed but is instead highly concentrated in specific geographic pockets. The 29582 zip code stands out as the epicenter, leading both in absolute volume with 4,988 investor-owned properties and in market penetration, where investors own 46.0% of all SFRs.

The top five zip codes by investor holdings (29582, 29579, 29577, 29526, 29575) collectively contain 16,594 properties, which accounts for 57.8% of the total investor portfolio in the county. This clustering indicates targeted investment strategies, likely driven by factors like tourism, rental demand, or zoning regulations.

High penetration rates are also seen in other areas, making it clear that some neighborhoods have a much higher proportion of rental housing. In zip codes 29575 and 29581, for instance, investors own 33.9% and 32.1% of the SFR stock, respectively, meaning nearly one in three homes is an investment property.

Conversely, zip code 29579 has a high raw count of investor properties (3,272) but a more moderate ownership rate (17.3%). This distinction between high-count and high-rate areas is crucial for understanding different market dynamics within the county.

This geographic analysis, possible through detailed assessor data, is critical for identifying submarkets where investor behavior has the most significant impact on home prices and rental availability.

The overall investor market in Horry County is in a strong accumulation phase. In Q1 2026, landlords were aggressive net buyers, purchasing 297 properties while only selling 34, resulting in a net gain of 263 properties and a buy-to-sell ratio of 8.7 to 1.

This net-buyer behavior is a consistent, long-term trend. In 2025, landlords added a net 2,860 properties to their portfolios, and in 2024, they added a net 2,670 properties. This sustained buying pressure demonstrates strong confidence in the local market.

A striking divergence appears when isolating the largest investors. Institutional players (1,000+ tier) were net sellers in 2024, the most recent year with complete data for this cohort. They sold 6 properties while acquiring only 3, signaling a strategic divestment from the area.

This reveals a critical market dynamic: while thousands of smaller landlords are expanding their holdings, the largest, most capitalized players are reducing their exposure. This could indicate differing views on the market's future growth or a strategic reallocation of capital to other regions.

The market's transaction liquidity is therefore being driven by mom-and-pop and mid-size investors who are actively growing their portfolios, absorbing inventory from homeowners and, to a smaller extent, from exiting institutional owners.

Investors were a major driver of market activity in Q1 2026, participating in 32.6% of all transactions. They acquired 297 of the 911 SFR properties sold during the quarter, highlighting their significant role in overall market demand.

Transaction volume was heavily skewed towards the smallest investors. The single-property tier alone accounted for 271 transactions (91.2% of all landlord purchases). This surge of activity from new entrants is a primary force shaping the current market.

A wide pricing disparity exists across different investor tiers, suggesting varied acquisition strategies. While new landlords in Tier 01 paid an average of $415,078, investors in the 11-20 property tier paid a much lower average of $150,625, indicating they may be targeting distressed assets or properties requiring significant renovation.

Institutional investors were entirely absent from the transaction market in Q1, recording zero purchases. This continues the trend of institutional inactivity and divestment seen in previous periods, cementing the market as a domain for smaller operators.

Inter-landlord trading was minimal for new buyers. Only 6.6% of properties bought by single-property landlords were purchased from other investors. This shows that new market entrants are primarily acquiring their properties from traditional homeowners, not from other investors churning inventory.