Understanding the Market
Calculating Absorption Rate & Inventory
Determining a buyer's, seller's, or balanced market condition.
The Absorption Rate and Current Inventory are good indicators of whether we are in a buyer's or seller's market — and that determines whether your home should be priced slightly high or competitively.
How Much Inventory Signals Which Market
Seller's Market
Under 3 monthsBuyers have a lack of selection, so you have the luxury of pricing slightly high.
Balanced Market
3 to 6 monthsNeither side holds a clear advantage. Pricing follows the comparables closely.
Buyer's Market
Over 6 monthsBuyers have many options, so it makes sense to price competitively.
Calculating Absorption Rate & Inventory
Absorption Rate = # Sold Homes / # of Months
Absorption Rate is the average number of sold properties per month.
Months of Inventory = # of Properties on the Market / Absorption Rate
Inventory is how long it would take for all current properties to sell, given the current Absorption Rate.
Who Is Buying in Myrtle Beach Right Now
The buyer pool here is deeper and broader than it was a decade ago.
The U.S. Census Bureau's March 2026 estimates put Myrtle Beach–Conway–North Myrtle Beach second among the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, at 3.2% growth between July 2024 and July 2025. South Carolina ranked first among all fifty states, adding close to 80,000 residents in a single year.
Horry County is now estimated at 427,551 residents, up from 351,036 in 2020.
Myrtle Beach built its reputation as a retirement destination, and that has not gone away — it remains one of the fastest-growing metros in the nation for residents 65 and older. But the people buying here now also include families escaping northern winters, remote workers who can live anywhere they like, and second-home buyers who eventually make the beach their primary address.
Steady in-migration is why inventory here behaves differently from markets that are not growing. Demand keeps absorbing supply, which is what a low months-of-inventory figure is actually measuring.
Let Me Be Your Guide
I am a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist. The upper end of the Myrtle Beach market moves on its own timeline, and a countywide average tells you very little about what is happening in it.
Selling in Myrtle Beach is rarely one story.
You might have outgrown a starter home and be ready to move up. You might be trading yard work for a low-maintenance condo. Or you might be ready to let go of the beach place you bought a few years back. Each of those is a different sale, with its own timeline and its own definition of a good outcome.
Whatever brought you here, the person you meet is the person who handles your sale. No team. No assistants. No handoff to someone you have never met. In 12 years I have personally sold more than 360 homes, and I have never passed one off.
You will know when yours is shown and what buyers said about it. You will get an honest number, even when a higher one would be easier to say. And you will hear from me long before there is an offer to discuss.
Let me be your guide to selling your home in Myrtle Beach. My Selling page goes into greater detail about how I get you the highest possible price.
Frequently Asked Questions About Market Conditions
What is absorption rate?
Absorption rate is the average number of properties sold per month in a given market. It is calculated by dividing the number of sold homes by the number of months in the period being measured.
What does months of inventory mean?
Months of inventory is how long it would take for every property currently on the market to sell at the current absorption rate. It is calculated by dividing the number of properties on the market by the absorption rate.
How do I know if it is a buyer's or seller's market?
Generally, less than three months of inventory indicates a seller's market, more than six months indicates a buyer's market, and anything between three and six months is considered balanced.
How do market conditions affect my asking price?
In a seller's market, buyers have limited selection, so pricing slightly above the comparables is possible. In a buyer's market, buyers have many options, so competitive pricing is necessary to attract attention.
Is Myrtle Beach still growing?
Yes. The Census Bureau's March 2026 estimates ranked the Myrtle Beach metro second in the nation for population growth at 3.2%, with South Carolina first among all states. Horry County is now estimated at 427,551 residents, up from 351,036 in 2020.
Let's work together.
Want to know what the current absorption rate and inventory look like for your neighborhood? Ashley DeLong can run the numbers for your specific property.
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