Murrells Inlet, South Carolina Short-Term Rental Market
Murrells Inlet, SC STRs averaged $467/night at 71.5% occupancy in June 2026 across roughly 2,800 listings, with no county STR permit required.
Quick Answer: Murrells Inlet, South Carolina is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 71%. average monthly revenue is $8,237. average daily rate is $467. the top operator is The Litchfield Company with 403 listings. market score is 53/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the Pawleys Island/Georgetown regional market, which includes Murrells Inlet. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Murrells Inlet.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Murrells Inlet’s short-term rental market, an unincorporated Georgetown County coastal village on South Carolina’s Hammock Coast, comprises roughly 2,800 active listings: 440 Airbnb-only, 742 Vrbo-only, and 1,618 listed on both platforms. In June 2026, the average daily rate was $466.63 with 71.5% occupancy, down 1.16 percentage points year over year. ADR fell 1.19% year over year, yet average monthly revenue of $8,237 rose 4.58%, pointing to a modest occupancy or booking-mix improvement offsetting the softer rate. Listing type mix is almost entirely entire-place: 2,747 entire-place listings versus 52 private-room and 1 shared-room listing. Bedroom mix skews toward larger units: 3-bedroom (724 listings) and 5-plus bedroom (562 listings) lead, followed by 2-bedroom (679), 1-bedroom (443), and 4-bedroom (390). Property type drives a wide revenue spread: houses average $10,596/month, well above entire-place listings at $8,329/month and apartments at $6,183/month, a roughly 71% gap between houses and apartments. Market-score data shows high investability (88.2/100) and solid rental demand (75.2/100), but a weaker seasonality score of 47.5, reflecting a market built around waterfront dining and outdoor recreation with a defined summer peak. Nearby anchor attractions Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington Beach State Park pull regional and out-of-state tourists to the area, branded the Seafood Capital of South Carolina.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29% | $254 | $2,094 |
| Feb | 51% | $228 | $2,420 |
| Mar | 58% | $255 | $3,251 |
| Apr | 57% | $292 | $3,946 |
| May | 58% | $329 | $4,598 |
| Jun | 73% | $383 | $6,669 |
| Jul | 76% | $347 | $6,528 |
| Aug | 61% | $316 | $4,820 |
| Sep | 50% | $287 | $3,718 |
| Oct | 46% | $269 | $3,231 |
| Nov | 37% | $270 | $2,539 |
| Dec | 34% | $253 | $2,306 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Murrells Inlet
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Litchfield Company | 403 | 1,924 | ★ 4.34 |
| 2 | Tidelife Vacation Rentals | 196 | 3,965 | ★ 4.70 |
| 3 | DeBordieu Rentals | 145 | 1,811 | ★ 4.51 |
| 4 | Dune Beach Home Rentals | 142 | 326 | ★ 4.58 |
| 5 | The Dieter Company Vacation Rentals | 112 | 323 | ★ 4.76 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Murrells Inlet?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 443 |
| 2 bed | 679 |
| 3 bed | 724 |
| 4 bed | 390 |
| 5 bed | 562 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $471 |
| Luxury | $721 |
| Professionally Managed | $571 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $6,183 |
| Entire Place | $8,329 |
| House | $10,596 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 15.7% |
| vrbo | 26.5% |
| both | 57.8% |
Investment Analysis
Tiered ADR data shows the market-wide average of $466.63/night rising to $471.45 for entire-home listings, $570.77 for professionally-managed listings (about 22% above average), and $721.32 for the luxury tier (about 55% above average). Revenue grew 4.58% year over year even as ADR slipped 1.19%, suggesting occupancy or booking-mix gains, not rate, drove the increase. At $8,237/month in average revenue ($98,842 annualized) against a typical home value of $395,794, that computes to a gross STR revenue yield of about 25.0% before expenses, permits, taxes, and management, an exceptionally high figure among the markets in this dataset, reflecting Murrells Inlet’s combination of strong coastal ADR and comparatively affordable housing. On the buy side, Murrells Inlet’s median sale price is $345,333 against a $396,200 median list price (a sale-to-list ratio of 0.872), homes pending in a median of 48 days, and a relatively large for-sale inventory of 527 homes, all signs of a buyer-favorable housing market. Regulation is a real advantage here: Georgetown County treats STRs as a residential use and does not require a special STR permit, with no caps on rental nights and no owner-occupancy requirement, making Murrells Inlet comparatively investor-friendly versus incorporated South Carolina coastal cities like Charleston or Mount Pleasant, though hosts must still confirm their specific parcel’s zoning allows transient rental and check for HOA or community covenant restrictions.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Murrells Inlet’s average booking lead time is 90.9 days, roughly three months, the longest of the markets processed in this batch, consistent with travelers planning South Carolina coastal vacations well ahead of the summer season. The average length of stay is 4.40 nights, a week-adjacent trip typical of a coastal beach vacation. That long lead time gives operators substantial advance-booking pricing visibility, letting hosts adjust rates as summer dates fill in months ahead of check-in. A roughly 4.4-night average stay keeps turnover moderate relative to short weekend-trip markets, which can help spread cleaning and restocking costs across a longer booking window.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Murrells Inlet is unincorporated, so short-term rental regulation falls to Georgetown County (the bulk of the community) and, for a small slice, Horry County. Georgetown County treats short-term rentals (stays under 30 days) as a residential use and does not require a special STR permit, making it relatively investor-friendly compared with incorporated cities like Charleston or Mount Pleasant. There are no county-imposed caps on rental nights and no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement, though rentals are not allowed in all residential zones, so hosts must confirm their parcel’s zoning permits transient rental, and HOA, PUD, or community covenants may impose their own restrictions independent of county rules. Operators must still register and remit lodging taxes: roughly 12% combined between South Carolina’s state sales tax on accommodations (including a 2% state accommodations tax) and Georgetown County’s 3% local accommodations tax, plus a South Carolina retail/sales tax license and accommodations tax registration. Enforcement is rated minimal. Georgetown County reported a record tourism year with over $3.3 million in accommodations taxes collected, and from tax year 2023 forward, furnished residential rentals are filed as Business Personal Property (PT100) with the SC Department of Revenue rather than the prior County Auditor process. No new STR permitting ordinance for unincorporated areas was identified as of mid-2026. (Regulatory data current as of June 29, 2026.)
Market Comparison
Murrells Inlet’s June 2026 occupancy of 71.5% runs well above the roughly 55% national STR occupancy benchmark, and its ADR of $466.63 sits well above the roughly $220 national median ADR benchmark, reflecting strong demand for South Carolina Hammock Coast vacation rentals. Among property managers active in the market, The Litchfield Company leads with 403 listings and 1,924 reviews (4.34 average rating), followed by Tidelife Vacation Rentals (196 listings, 3,965 reviews, 4.70 rating) and DeBordieu Rentals (145 listings, 1,811 reviews, 4.51 rating). Combined, the top three managers operate about 744 listings, roughly 26.6% of the market’s 2,800 total active listings, a moderately consolidated operator base typical of established coastal vacation-rental markets.
Frequently Asked Questions About Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
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