Sell Your Commercial Property In Charleston, SC

Who rents in Charleston

Renters occupy 44.4% of Charleston's occupied housing units, per the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey. That is 30,211 of 68,027 occupied homes in Charleston. Charleston County's renter share is 36.1% and South Carolina's is 28.1% over the same period. Charleston holds 46.7% of Charleston County's 64,625 renter households.

Charleston's population was 154,338 in the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, within Charleston County's 420,264. Charleston city limits also reach into Berkeley County at Cainhoy, per the City of Charleston's annexation guidance, so every figure here uses Charleston County.

Three large payrolls anchor Charleston rental demand. South Carolina Ports moved 2.6 million twenty-foot equivalent container units in fiscal 2025, up 3%. Boeing employed more than 8,200 people at its North Charleston and Orangeburg campuses as of November 2025. Joint Base Lindsey Graham reports a supported total force above 90,000 across four installations.

Visitors add a fourth layer. Charleston County drew $30,393,140 of South Carolina's 2% accommodations tax in fiscal 2024-25, 25.9% of all county allocations, per the state tourism department. Charleston drew another $339,929 of that tax inside Berkeley County in the same year.

Charleston rents against Charleston incomes

Median gross rent in Charleston was $1,722 a month in the 2020-2024 American Community Survey. Charleston County's median gross rent was $1,620 and South Carolina's $1,180. Median household income in Charleston was $92,414, against $88,494 in Charleston County.

Cost burden is still wide. About 54.5% of Charleston renter households pay 30% or more of income on housing, per ACS 2020-2024 table B25070. Some 27.8% of Charleston renter households pay half or more. Charleston County's 30%-plus share is 53.4% and South Carolina's is 52.1%.

As of HUD's FY2027 fair market rents, effective October 1, 2026, the Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA covers Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties:

Source: HUD fair market rent history file. The FY2027 two-bedroom rent of $1,884 is up from $1,787 in FY2026. Charleston's median gross rent of $1,722 sits just above the FY2027 studio rent.

Inside the Charleston apartment stock

Charleston holds 27,447 housing units in buildings of five or more units, 35.5% of its 77,417 units, per ACS 2020-2024 table B25024. Buildings of 50 or more units hold 8,126 of those. Buildings of 5 to 9 units hold 7,956, 10-to-19 hold 5,670 and 20-to-49 hold 5,695.

Two-to-four unit buildings add 7,012 units in Charleston. Charleston holds 56.1% of Charleston County's 48,890 units in 5+ unit buildings. Detached houses are 47.7% of Charleston's stock against 58.0% in Charleston County.

Charleston's median year built is 1995, per ACS 2020-2024 table B25035. About 26.3% of Charleston units, or 20,379, date from 2010 or later. Roughly 34.4%, or 26,634 units, predate 1980. Only 4.1% of Charleston units, or 3,155, date from 2020 or later.

That split drives reserves. A 2015 lease-up and a 1925 Peninsula walk-up price differently on roofs and wiring. Vacancy is 12.1% of all Charleston units against 14.7% in Charleston County, per ACS 2020-2024 table B25002. Age mix is the first item we review when an owner asks what it takes to sell commercial property in Charleston, SC.

How Charleston County taxes an apartment building

Charleston apartment buildings held for income are assessed at 6% of fair market value, not the 4% owner-occupied ratio. S.C. Code Section 12-43-220(e) sets six percent for all other real property. Section 12-43-220(c)(1) reserves four percent for an owner-occupied legal residence. The Charleston County Auditor applies the district millage.

The Auditor's 2026 millage card puts the City of Charleston at a combined 300.8 mills. That total is 82.0 city mills plus 218.8 countywide mills for the 2026 tax year. The card's 145.2-mill school operating levy is relieved only for a legal residence, so a Charleston apartment owner pays it in full.

A $2 million Charleston apartment building carries $120,000 in assessed value at the 6% ratio. At 300.8 mills for 2026 the annual bill is about $36,100 before the credits shown on the card.

Neighboring districts differ. The same building runs about $37,200 in North Charleston at 310.3 mills. It runs about $34,200 in the Charleston County portion of Summerville at 284.8 mills. It runs about $28,200 in the Goose Creek district at 234.6 mills.

A sale resets that assessment. S.C. Code Section 12-37-3150(A)(1) treats a conveyance by deed as an assessable transfer of interest. Section 12-37-3140(B) states the 15% five-year reassessment cap does not apply in the year a transfer value is first taxed. Charleston County reappraises once every fifth year under Section 12-43-217(A).

South Carolina charges a deed recording fee of $1.85 per $500 under Section 12-24-10, or $7,400 on a $2 million Charleston sale. Our post on how Charleston, SC apartment property taxes are calculated walks the arithmetic.

South Carolina landlord rules that apply in Charleston

Charleston has no rent control, and S.C. Code Section 27-39-60 has barred local rent regulation since 1985. Section 27-39-60 bars any county or municipality from regulating the rent charged for privately owned residential or commercial rental property.

Charleston leases run under the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Title 27, Chapter 40. Section 27-40-410(a) sets no ceiling on a security deposit. It does require any deduction itemized in writing, with the balance due, within thirty days of termination and delivery of possession.

Section 27-40-410(b) exposes a landlord who misses that deadline to three times the amount withheld plus fees. Section 27-40-710(B) allows termination once rent is five days past due, after written notice of nonpayment and intent to terminate. Other lease breaches take fourteen days' written notice to cure.

Section 27-40-770 ends a month-to-month tenancy on thirty days' written notice and a week-to-week tenancy on seven days' notice. Charleston follows those statewide periods with no local override, so owners who sell commercial real estate in Charleston, SC pass on tenancies under state rules alone.

What this means if you own a building in Charleston

Charleston pairs a 44.4% renter share with no local rent cap and four large payrolls. The offset a buyer prices is tax: 6% of value at 300.8 mills for 2026, reset to the purchase price the year a deed records.

Owners who want to sell multifamily property in Charleston can model that swing in our cap rate calculator. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings, listed or off-market, across Charleston and around North Charleston, West Ashley, Summerville and Goose Creek.

If you are weighing whether to sell commercial property in Charleston, SC this year, our seller page sets out how we underwrite a building.