Knowing when the market is busy can help you achieve your real estate goals. Understanding the ebbs and flows of the market can give a competitive advantage to a buyer and seller. Having an experienced and knowledgeable real estate agent who can communicate these market forces is probably the greatest advantage of all.

Each real estate market has characteristics that are unique to that area. For example, if there's a military base near you, it's important to know PCS (Permanent Change of Station) season. It runs from May to September and that's when service members receive their orders to transfer. Our Air Force base closed in 1993 and PCS season is no longer a factor in our market.

The school year can impact the real estate market. Many families wait until school ends to move, so June through the end of August can be a busy real estate season.

Weather can certainly impact the real estate market, with people choosing to not move when there's a foot of snow on the ground.

Many folks have heard or read about the Spring market and assume March, April, and May are the busiest times of the year for real estate agents and their clients.

Here are a few things that make Myrtle Beach unique: we have a long buying and selling season. Our weather is nice almost the entire year. We have a huge influx of retirees who do not need to account for the school calendar.

Let's define "busy" in real estate and look at the last 3 years of activity:

New Listings- Properties Newly Added to the Market

If you're defining busy as new listings being added to the market because you're a buyer and you want to see more options: in 2023, the two months that added the most new listings were August and May. In 2024 and 2025, we experienced a classic Spring market with March, April, and May being the months that saw the most inventory added to the market. So far in 2026, March was historic — the most new listings added to the market (2,696) since the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors started tracking data.

Pending- Properties Going Under Contract

If you define busy as properties going under contract (pending), 2023's busiest month was March with 1,636 properties. The slowest month was December with 909 properties going under contract. March was the busiest month in 2024 and 2025 as well. Looking at the broader season, from March to October each of these years, total pending contracts consistently ranged between 1,300 and 1,650 — meaning the market stays active throughout that entire stretch. 2026 is historic in this category as well. Here are the last three months of pending contracts: March- 1,662, April- 1,705, and May- 1,808. April and May are the busiest months we've seen since the pandemic.

Closings- Sold Properties

This last measure of "busy" is closings. This is where you really learn not only the activity but the commitment. Properties are listed. Properties go under contract. But did they close? Were money and keys exchanged between two motivated parties? In 2023, the months with the highest number of closings were March, May, and August. In 2024, it was March, April, and July. In 2025, there was an incredible stretch from May through October where every single month saw more than 1,500 closings. May 2026 has been the busiest month for closings so far, with 1,606.

What does all of this mean?

It means having a guide who can help you navigate your goals and the market is critical. Most of the time, the right time to buy or sell is when you're ready to buy or sell. But having a strategy that allows you to time things with small adjustments can pay off. It also helps to have someone setting realistic expectations rather than pressuring you into a rushed decision based on timing.

Please let us know if you'd like to have a conversation about your real estate goals. We can break down the differences in timing with a condo versus a single-family home, or new construction versus resale. We can help you determine the best time to buy an investment property based on your goals. Don't hesitate to reach out, we're here to help!