Sell Your Commercial Property In Greenville, SC

Who rents in Greenville

Renters occupy 58.9% of Greenville's occupied homes, per the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey. That equals 20,898 renter households out of 35,482 occupied homes in Greenville. Greenville County has a 31.1% renter share over the same period.

Greenville's population was 72,935 in ACS 2020-2024, per table B01003. Greenville renter households grew from 16,724 in ACS 2015-2019 to 20,898, a 25.0% rise. Median household income in Greenville was $71,472 in ACS 2020-2024, per table B19013.

Upstate population growth feeds that demand. Greenville County grew from 451,225 residents in the 2010 Census to 525,534 in the 2020 Census, a 16.5% gain. Greenville itself grew 21.1% over that decade, from 58,409 to 70,720 residents.

Jobs moved the same way. The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce counts 282,927 employed Greenville County residents in 2025, up 13.0% from 250,275 in 2019. Its list of the county's 20 largest employers includes Prisma Health, Michelin North America, GE Gas Turbine Greenville and Lockheed Martin.

Greenville rents against Greenville incomes

Median gross rent in Greenville was $1,312 a month in ACS 2020-2024, per table B25064. Greenville County's median gross rent was $1,262 and South Carolina's was $1,180. Greenville's median rent was $984 in ACS 2015-2019, so it rose 33.3% between the two surveys.

Rent burden runs high in Greenville. Some 47.7% of Greenville renter households paid 30% or more of income on housing, per ACS 2020-2024 table B25070. About 20.4% paid half or more, and Greenville County's 30%-plus share was 48.1%.

Under HUD's FY2027 fair market rents, effective October 1, 2026, Greenville sits in the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC HUD Metro FMR Area:

Source: HUD fair market rent documentation. The FY2027 two-bedroom rent of $1,507 is $168 above the FY2026 figure of $1,339, a 12.5% rise. Greenville's median gross rent of $1,312 sits $195 below that two-bedroom benchmark.

Inside the Greenville apartment stock

Greenville counts 16,788 housing units in buildings of five or more units, 42.6% of its 39,373 units. That comes from ACS 2020-2024 table B25024. Buildings of 50 or more units hold 5,302 of them, and 20 to 49 unit buildings hold 4,397.

That density stands apart in the Upstate. Greenville County's 5+ unit share is 16.3%, and South Carolina's is 12.9%. Buildings of 5 to 9 units hold 3,302 Greenville homes, and 10 to 19 unit buildings hold 3,787.

Greenville's median year built is 1987, per ACS 2020-2024 table B25035. Roughly 41.8% of Greenville units predate 1980, per table B25034. Another 8,950 units, or 22.7%, were built from 2010 to 2019.

Rental vacancy in Greenville was 8.0% in ACS 2020-2024, per profile table DP04. Rental vacancy was 7.4% in Greenville County and 8.3% statewide. Owners who plan to sell commercial property in Greenville, SC are pricing against that newer supply.

Property taxes on Greenville apartments in Greenville County

Greenville apartment buildings held for rent are assessed at 6% of fair market value. S.C. Code Section 12-43-220(e) sets six percent for all other real property. Section 12-43-220(c)(1) limits the 4% ratio to an owner-occupied legal residence.

The Greenville County Auditor's 2025 millage sheet lists 331.5 total mills for City of Greenville tax district 500. That total combines 60.1 county mills, 189.7 Greenville County Schools mills, 81.4 City of Greenville mills and 0.3 arena mills. Seven other city districts on the sheet, including 511 and 517, carry the same total.

A $2,000,000 Greenville apartment building carries $120,000 in assessed value at the 6% ratio. At 331.5 mills, the 2025 tax bill is about $39,780, or 1.989% of value. Of that, $22,764 goes to Greenville County Schools and $9,768 to the City of Greenville.

A sale resets that value. S.C. Code Section 12-37-3150(A)(1) lists a conveyance by deed as an assessable transfer of interest. Section 12-37-3140(B) limits reappraisal increases to 15% within five years, except in the year a transfer value is first taxed.

Owners who sell commercial real estate in Greenville, SC should expect the buyer's value to follow Section 12-37-3140(A)(1)(b). It uses fair market value as of December 31 of the transfer year. Section 12-37-3140(E) makes that new value taxable in the following tax year.

Owners can object in writing within ninety days after the assessor mails a notice, under Section 12-60-2510(A)(3). South Carolina's deed recording fee is $1.85 per $500 of value under Section 12-24-10, or $7,400 on a $2,000,000 sale. Section 12-24-90 credits $2,200 of that to the county.

South Carolina landlord rules that apply in Greenville

Greenville cannot cap rents. S.C. Code Section 27-39-60 bars any county or municipal corporation from regulating rent on privately owned residential or commercial rental property. That covers single family and multiple unit buildings alike.

Greenville leases follow the South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Title 27, Chapter 40. Section 27-40-410 requires an itemized written notice of deposit deductions within thirty days after termination and delivery of possession. A landlord who wrongly withholds a deposit can owe three times that amount plus attorney's fees.

Section 27-40-710(B) allows termination when rent stays unpaid five days after its due date, following written notice. A conspicuous clause in a written lease can satisfy that notice. Other lease breaches get fourteen days' written notice to cure, and Section 27-40-770 ends a month-to-month tenancy on thirty days' notice.

Deposits matter at closing. Under Section 27-40-450, a seller stays liable for deposits unless they pass to the buyer and tenants get written notice. Section 27-40-420 makes the owner and agent disclosure duty enforceable against any successor landlord.

What this means for a Greenville apartment owner

Greenville pairs a 58.9% renter share with 8.0% rental vacancy and no local rent cap. The cost a buyer underwrites first is tax: 6% of value at 331.5 mills, reset by the transfer.

If you plan to sell your apartment building in Greenville, our cap rate calculator shows how a reset tax bill changes value. A rent roll, the trailing operating statement and the Greenville County tax bill are enough to start.

Demand reaches past the Greenville city line. BMW's Plant Spartanburg in Greer employs more than 11,000 people on a 10-million-square-foot campus. Skyline Capital Investments buys 5+ unit buildings in Greenville, Greer, Mauldin, Easley and Spartanburg.

Owners ready to sell commercial property in Greenville, SC can start on our seller page, which explains how we review a building. We buy listed and off-market buildings alike.