Once my old pal, Pete, heard that it’s a great time to start flipping houses in South Carolina, that pretty much sealed the deal in his book. We’d grown up in a suburb of Columbia together and, while I’d stuck around to start investing in real estate at a young age, he’d taken off for the first job offer he received after college. Tired of climbing the corporate ladder and looking for a way to get into flipping houses, like me, he’d been thinking about returning home.

Of course, it wasn’t until he read online somewhere that South Carolina had grown into an investment hot spot that he admitted how he’d been secretly wanting to head home to start his new career for years. I laughed a little when I heard that. I could have helped him get started long before now. But, like I always say, better late than never. And, anyway, as far as Pete’s timing is concerned, flipping houses in South Carolina right now is where it’s at. I’ll tell you why.

Why You Should Start Flipping Houses in South Carolina

I was happy to hear flipping houses in South Carolina was making the rounds online as a viable way for investors to make a living. Of course, I’ve been successfully doing it for years. But, until recently, I don’t think we’d gotten much attention as an ideal place for buying homes to rehab and sell.

It looks like that’s going to change—and it should. Unemployment is down statewide, potentially placing more people in the position of buying a home. And, homeownership in South Carolina already hovers close to 70%. So, there is a good chance that the homes you flip could sell to existing homeowners who want to move up or to first-time homeowners. Together, they make a pretty large pool of potential buyers.

The rise in median home sales prices already reflects significant growth in demand, too. That makes the probability of making decent returns on the homes you rehab and sell pretty strong, provided you keep your costs low. And, as more people generally migrate to the southeast in search of a higher standard of living at a lower cost, demand for housing across the state is likely going to rise, too. That could keep pushing sales prices even higher—especially in three key cities.

Columbia

With the surge in population that the state’s capital has experienced in the last couple of years alone, the demand for housing has shot up, too. As a result, median home list prices increased significantly between January 2018 and 2019. That has helped to land Columbia on Realtor.com’s most recent top ten list of strongest housing markets.

Since taxes and the cost of living are low in Columbia compared to many regions in the country, the lure of people to South Carolina’s largest city is expected to continue. Families who need to stretch their dollars further and upstart Millennials who want to live in a big city without paying big bucks to do it, in particular, are drawn to moving here. As long as you buy low and perform upgrades that are appealing to your target market, then selling your investment property quickly and at better-than-average returns should be easy.

Greenville

Flipping houses in Greenville is a strong choice, too. If you take a look, you’ll see that median home sales prices have maintained an upward trajectory in recent years despite occasional ebbs and flows. Likely bolstering the local housing market is Greenville’s growing reputation as one of South Carolina’s most powerful, and diverse, cities in which to do business.

Whereas the manufacturing of textiles once ruled the day, you can now find financial, health, and technology-based firms springing up everywhere. Some corporations, like Michelin North America, have made Greenville their headquarters. Where there are diverse industries strengthening local economies, there are opportunities for you to provide housing for new and established employees who want, and can, buy a house that you rehab.

Charleston

Of course, we can’t talk about investing in South Carolina without mentioning Charleston. Named as one of Travel and Leisure’s top 15 cities to visit in the world for the fifth year in a row, the tourism climate—and its positive impact on the economy—merit reason to flip houses here. For one, unemployment in the area is an impressive 2.5%, which is far below the national average. And, that’s helped to enable more than 60% of residents to own their own homes.

But, the tourism industry can’t take all the credit for Charleston’s strong housing market. Job and income growth in multiple sectors are up. The automotive industry alone has invested in excess of $1.6 billion dollars in the area and that has helped the population of highly skilled, highly-paid workers grow. It’s helped the demand for housing—and the prices for those homes—go up, too.

Charleston’s rapid growth, however, has started to push home prices higher than what many people can afford—including some investors. That makes buying at the lower end of the market to ensure you can realize potentially good returns more critical for this area than some others. Plus, though fewer in number these days, there are still communities, like North Charleston’s south-end neighborhood, where the transition into up-and-coming status has been slow going. By flipping homes in these areas, you could potentially earn a decent ROI by selling to Charleston buyers who are priced out elsewhere in town.

Obviously, location matters to a degree when you’re flipping houses in South Carolina, as do the local market forces at play. But, there are investment opportunities throughout the state, not just in the big cities. When it comes to repeatedly realizing solid returns so that you can make a good business out of flipping houses, however, you can’t even get started without access to quality leads on fixers to flip. And, the best lead-generating strategies find off-market deals at a below-market value so that you can do just that—almost anywhere in this great state you want to.

Find the Best South Carolina Deals With Better Marketing Resources

I’m certainly glad I had the foresight to start investing in real estate as young as I did. But, technically, it wasn’t the best time for flipping houses in South Carolina—not if I’d paid attention to market forces alone. But by becoming an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee, I got access to qualified leads to ensure I could buy enough deals to make a decent living, no matter what the market was doing. It’s what helped me get started on the right foot.

And, while there are more lead-finding strategies around today than when I first started investing, nothing comes close to the well-known “We Buy Ugly Houses®” national ad campaign that I still rely on. So, if you want to start a professional real estate investing career “flipping houses” in South Carolina, like Pete, I suggest you join the team with some of the most reliable marketing tools and resources, too.

Find the best investment deals in South Carolina with qualified leads. Contact HomeVestors® to learn more about a professional real estate investing career “flipping houses” in South Carolina today!

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