Cost to Build a House in South Carolina Per Square Foot 2026 — Hereda Team at Carolina Crafted Homes

New ConstructionMyrtle Beach Real EstateBuilding Process

June 29, 2026

TL;DR: Building a new home in South Carolina in 2026 starts with one number buyers want most: cost per square foot. According to NAHB's 2024 Construction Cost Survey, the national average hit $162 per square foot for construction costs alone — the highest ever recorded. In the Grand Strand and Horry County market, where new construction accounted for nearly 34% of all 2025 closed sales, understanding what drives that number matters before you break ground.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a House in South Carolina Per Square Foot in 2026?

If you've searched for a simple answer to this question, you've probably found a wide range — and for good reason. The cost to build a house in South Carolina depends heavily on what you're actually counting. Are you looking at sticks-and-bricks construction only? Or the all-in number including permits, lot, design, and builder overhead?

Let's break both down.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Construction Cost Survey (January 2025), the average cost of construction for a typical single-family home reached $428,215 in 2024, based on an average finished area of 2,647 square feet. That works out to roughly $162 per square foot in pure construction costs — the highest figure ever recorded in NAHB's survey series.

To put that in context: the same figure was $153 per square foot in 2022, $114 in 2019, and just $80 in 2011. The climb has been steady and significant.

What does $162 per square foot actually include? The NAHB breakdown shows eight major construction stages:

Interior finishes (cabinets, flooring, drywall, paint): 24.1% of construction cost
Major system rough-ins (HVAC, plumbing, electrical): 19.2%
Framing (including roof and trusses): 16.6%
Exterior finishes (roofing, windows, siding): 13.4%
Foundations (excavation, concrete, retaining walls): 10.5%
Site work (permits, impact fees, water/sewer, engineering): 7.6%
Final steps (landscaping, driveway, porch): 6.5%
Other costs: 2.1%

That $162 covers everything from the concrete footer to the last coat of paint. It does not include your lot, builder profit, overhead, or financing.

What Does a Complete New Home Cost Per Square Foot in South Carolina?

When buyers ask about the cost to build, they usually mean the total all-in price — not just the construction line item. The NAHB survey helps here too.

In 2024, the average total sales price for a newly built single-family home surveyed by NAHB was $665,298 — again based on a 2,647 sq. ft. home. That works out to approximately $251 per square foot when you account for everything on the builder's ledger.

Here's how the full sales price breaks down:

Table: Where Your New Home Dollar Goes (NAHB 2024 National Survey)

  
       Cost Category Average Amount Share of Sales Price 
  Total Construction Cost $428,215 64.4% 
 Finished Lot Cost $91,057 13.7% 
 Builder Profit (pre-tax) $72,971 11.0% 
 Overhead & General Expenses $38,248 5.7% 
 Sales Commission $18,955 2.8% 
 Financing Cost $10,220 1.5% 
 Marketing Cost $5,633 0.8% 
 Total Sales Price $665,298 100% 
  
  

Cost Category	Average Amount	Share of Sales Price
Total Construction Cost	$428,215	64.4%
Finished Lot Cost	$91,057	13.7%
Builder Profit (pre-tax)	$72,971	11.0%
Overhead & General Expenses	$38,248	5.7%
Sales Commission	$18,955	2.8%
Financing Cost	$10,220	1.5%
Marketing Cost	$5,633	0.8%
Total Sales Price	$665,298	100%

Source: NAHB Construction Cost Survey (January 2025). National averages based on a 2,647 sq. ft. home. Figures are not adjusted for inflation and represent a national sample — local costs in South Carolina will vary.

Why South Carolina Costs Can Run Below the National Benchmark

The NAHB survey data is national in scope. South Carolina — and the Grand Strand / Horry County market specifically — has historically offered a cost advantage over high-cost coastal metros, driven by land availability, lower labor costs in certain trades, and a more streamlined regulatory environment compared to larger urban markets.

A few factors that affect where your per-square-foot number lands in the Myrtle Beach area:

Lot costs vary significantly by submarket. The NAHB national average puts finished lot cost at 13.7% of the sales price — about $91,000 on average. In Horry County's inland submarkets like Loris/Longs and Aynor, where new construction was especially active in 2025 (64% and 49.4% of all closed sales were new construction, respectively, per CCAR MLS 2025 Annual Report), land costs trend well below coastal-market norms. Compare that to oceanfront or inlet-proximate lots, where land represents a much larger share of the total build budget.

Permitting and fees are a real line item. The NAHB survey reports that site work — covering building permit fees, impact fees, water and sewer inspections, and engineering — accounts for 7.6% of total construction cost, or roughly $32,719 on a national-average home. Of that, building permit fees average $7,640 and impact fees average $6,367 nationally. In Horry County, buyers should confirm current fee schedules directly with Horry County Government, as these figures can shift with county budget cycles.

Interior finishes are the biggest swing factor. At 24.1% of construction cost, interior finishes — cabinets, countertops, flooring, appliances, lighting, and trim — represent more than any other single stage. Spec-level finishes versus upgraded selections can move a per-square-foot number by $15 to $30 or more. This is the single most controllable cost lever in a new build budget.

Labor remains a key pressure point. The NAHB study notes that ongoing shortages of construction labor have kept wage growth elevated in the homebuilding industry even as broader inflation has moderated. That dynamic is reflected in the 2022-to-2024 increase in the major systems rough-in category (HVAC, plumbing, electrical), which rose from 17.9% to 19.2% of construction cost over that period.

How the Grand Strand Market Prices New Construction in 2025–2026

For buyers weighing a custom or semi-custom build in the Myrtle Beach area, real transaction data from the CCAR MLS provides useful grounding.

According to the CCAR 2025 Annual Report (January 2026), the overall Horry County median sales price for all property types held at $310,000 in 2025 — flat from 2024. That figure spans resale and new construction combined, and includes the large condo segment that dominates the Myrtle Beach core.

Inland submarkets where ground-up single-family construction is most active show higher median prices that better reflect new-build activity: Carolina Forest came in at $398,944 in 2025 (up 3.6% from 2024), while Conway reached $306,472 (up 3.9%). These areas carry new construction shares of 42.4% and 20.1% of closed sales, respectively — meaning a meaningful portion of transactions in those submarkets are newly built homes.

New construction in Horry County accounted for 33.7% of all 2025 closed sales — more than one in three transactions. That's a meaningful share and underscores why understanding build costs matters even for buyers who thought they were only considering resale.

Closing Thoughts for Buyers Researching Costs in South Carolina

The $162-per-square-foot construction figure from NAHB is the most authoritative published benchmark available — but it's a national average, not a quote. Your actual cost per square foot to build in South Carolina in 2026 will depend on your submarket, your lot, your finish level, your builder's overhead structure, and the specific trades available when your home is scheduled.

What the NAHB data makes clear is that construction costs have more than doubled since 2011 — and that interior finishes, mechanical systems, and framing are the three largest cost centers in any new home. Understanding those categories before you sit down with a builder puts you in a much better position to evaluate proposals and manage your budget.

If you're exploring what a new construction home in the Myrtle Beach area might cost for your specific situation, we're happy to walk through it with you. Reach out to the team at Carolina Crafted Homes to start a straightforward conversation about what building on the Grand Strand actually looks like today.

FAQ

Q1: What is the average cost per square foot to build a house in South Carolina in 2026?
The most current published national benchmark comes from the NAHB Construction Cost Survey (January 2025), which found the average construction cost reached $162 per square foot in 2024 — the highest in the survey's history. That figure covers construction only and excludes lot cost, builder overhead, and profit. In South Carolina's Horry County market, costs can run below this national average in less land-constrained inland submarkets, though coastal and premium lots will push total all-in costs higher. Always get a site-specific quote from your builder.

Q2: Does the $162 per square foot figure include the lot, permits, and builder profit?
No. The $162 NAHB figure covers only the hard construction cost — everything from foundation through final finishes. When you add the finished lot (~13.7% of price), builder profit (~11%), overhead (~5.7%), financing (~1.5%), and other costs, the national average all-in sales price in 2024 was approximately $665,298 for a 2,647 sq. ft. home — closer to $251 per square foot on a total-price basis. In South Carolina, lot costs and builder structures vary, so your all-in number will differ.

Q3: What are the biggest cost drivers in a new home build?
According to NAHB (January 2025), interior finishes are the largest single construction category at 24.1% of total construction cost — covering cabinets, countertops, flooring, appliances, lighting, and trim. Major system rough-ins (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) come second at 19.2%, followed by framing at 16.6%. These three categories together account for roughly 60% of all construction costs, making them the most important areas to evaluate when comparing builder proposals.

Q4: How have construction costs changed in recent years?
The NAHB survey shows a significant climb: construction costs per square foot were $80 in 2011, $114 in 2019, $153 in 2022, and $162 in 2024. Much of the 2022 spike was driven by building material prices; the more recent trend has been driven by labor shortages and elevated wage growth in construction trades. That backdrop has persisted even as general inflation has moderated.

Q5: How active is new construction in the Myrtle Beach and Horry County market?
Very active. According to the CCAR MLS 2025 Annual Report, new construction accounted for 33.7% of all closed sales in Horry County in 2025 — more than one in three transactions. Inland areas like Loris/Longs (64.0% new construction share) and Aynor (49.4%) had especially high concentrations of new-build activity, reflecting continued residential expansion across the Grand Strand.

Q6: Are permit fees and impact fees included in the per-square-foot cost?
They're included in the NAHB construction cost figure under the "site work" category, which averages 7.6% of total construction cost, or about $32,719 nationally. Within that, building permit fees average $7,640 and impact fees average $6,367. In Horry County, these amounts may differ; buyers should confirm current schedules with Horry County Government directly, as fee structures can change.