Sell Your Commercial Property In Savannah, GA

Who rents in Savannah

The 2020–2024 ACS estimates Savannah's population at 147,898. Renters occupy 31,800 of the city's 58,192 occupied homes, or 54.6%, against 26,392 owner households. The median household income of $57,137 is modest, and the rent burden reflects it: 16,375 renter households, or 51.5%, pay 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 9,344, or 29.4%, pay half or more.

The port is central to the local economy. The Georgia Ports Authority reported that the Port of Savannah moved 529,523 twenty-foot equivalent units in August 2026, roughly flat with a year earlier, while exports rose 4.2%. The authority cites 40 ship calls and 42 double-stack trains a week and about 15,000 truck gate moves a day, and it plans nearly $5 billion of self-financed investment over ten years. It has also pledged $6 million to a Savannah-area workforce housing initiative that has helped more than 230 families repair, buy or build a home since September 2023.

Rents and affordability

Savannah's median gross rent is $1,382. HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the Savannah metro area run above that figure at every bedroom size, which matters for owners who accept Housing Choice Vouchers:

A two-bedroom FMR of $1,680 is about $298 above the city's median gross rent. Units that lease below the metro benchmarks may have room to move at turnover, but the share of cost-burdened renters limits how fast. FY2027 FMRs take effect October 1, 2026.

Over a year, the median rent comes to $16,584, about 29% of the citywide median household income, but that average hides a wide spread. The ACS income-to-rent distribution shows the split clearly: 6,231 renter households, or 19.6%, spend under 20% of income on housing, while 9,344 spend half or more. A building whose tenants sit at the lower end of that range has less room for increases than its unit mix alone suggests, and a buyer's underwriting will reflect that.

The apartment stock

Savannah is a city of houses and small buildings. Of 68,174 housing units in the ACS, 38,094 are detached single-family homes, and another 9,851 are in two- to four-unit buildings. Only 15,641 units, or 22.9%, are in buildings with five or more apartments: 5,990 in 5 to 9 unit buildings, 3,674 in 10 to 19, 2,375 in 20 to 49 and 3,602 in buildings of 50 or more. Buildings under 50 units hold about 77% of that apartment inventory, which is the segment where most private sellers operate.

The median unit was built in 1971, nearly two decades older than Atlanta's 1989 median. Half of all units are more than 50 years old. For an older building in Midtown Savannah or on the Southside, documented work on roofs, plumbing, electrical systems and HVAC carries real weight with buyers and their lenders.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Chatham County

Georgia taxes property on 40% of fair market value, set by the county board of assessors as of January 1 each year, according to the Department of Revenue. Owners have 45 days from the mailing of an assessment notice to appeal. The Department of Revenue's 2025 millage report lists Chatham County's levy for incorporated areas at 10.518 mills, the City of Savannah at 11.749 and the school district at 17.331. Combined, that is 39.598 mills, or about 1.58% of market value a year. The Chatham Area Transit district adds 0.940 mills where it applies. Pooler's city levy is much lower at 4.197 mills, which puts its county, city and school total near 32.0 mills.

The HB 581 floating homestead exemption limits assessment growth only on owner-occupied homes. Rental property has no cap, so an apartment building can be revalued to full market value each year.

Landlord rules and local compliance

Georgia preempts local rent control under O.C.G.A. 44-7-19. The 2024 Safe at Home Act, summarized in the Georgia Landlord-Tenant Handbook, caps deposits at two months' rent, requires their return within 30 days, and requires a written three-business-day notice before a dispossessory filing for unpaid rent. Savannah's own licensing is aimed at short-term vacation rentals, which pay a $400 application fee and $250 a year to renew; conventional long-term leases are not covered by that program.

What this means if you own a building here

Buyers will price a Savannah building on taxes at roughly 39.6 mills on 40% of their purchase price and on rents measured against the $1,382 city median and HUD's metro FMRs. The transfer tax is small, $1 per $1,000 of value under the Department of Revenue's rules, paid by the seller unless the contract shifts it. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings in Savannah, Pooler and across Chatham County. You can estimate value with our apartment building value calculator, plan a reinvestment with the 1031 exchange calculator, or read how we make offers on our sell your apartment building page.