The global buyer is already here and a lot of them landed in Charleston, per new NAR Report
A new report on global real estate from the National Association of REALTORS® shows the impact foreign investment has made on South Carolina.
The Palmetto State has long been attractive to international buyers, and the report shows that their investment doesn’t stop with the initial purchase. For every new plant investment, the company’s executives will need housing; their contractors will need offices; and their supplier chain will pull new families into our four counties.
Economic development in South Carolina by the numbers:
- 800+ international companies operate in South Carolina, employing 162,900 people — nearly 9% of the state’s private-industry workforce.
- More than 30% of all announced capital investment in the state in 2024 came from foreign sources. India, Canada and Japan led.
- 1,100+ international firm operations call South Carolina home. More than 20 shipping lines connect our ports to 150 countries.
How Charleston stacks up with global real estate:
- The port is the main driver. The Port of Charleston is one of the busiest container ports on the Southeast and Gulf coasts. It’s the reason the rest of the numbers exist.
- One of three Foreign Trade Zones in the state is in the Charleston region, (The others are Greenville-Spartanburg and Columbia). FTZ status lets companies skip duties on goods moving in and out.
- Roughly 1 in 10 business owners in the Charleston metro area is an immigrant. Statewide, immigrant entrepreneurs make up 11% of the self-employed and generated $986.5 million in business income.
- Charleston’s origin mix doesn’t match the state’s. Statewide, Mexico dominates. In Charleston, Brazil ranks #3, behind Mexico and the Philippines — and China cracks the top five.
How foreign-born citizens buy housing in South Carolina:
Here are three data points that should make you pay attention to foreign-born buyers:
- They own at higher rates than we do. Naturalized foreign-born citizens in South Carolina post an 81.25% homeownership rate. Native-born citizens are at 73.19%.
- They buy more expensive housing. Nationally, the median price paid by foreign buyers was $494,400 versus $408,500 for all existing homes. Nearly half paid cash.
- They buy the coast. South Carolina ranks in the top 10% of states for the share of foreign buyers arriving from India, Canada and Mexico, drawn to 2,876 miles of coastline for second homes, retirement and investment.
