Page 24 - Florence County, SC Florence County 2032: Connecting Our Past, Defining Our Future

Existing County | Housing

HOUSING

Providing and maintaining quality housing in Florence County remains a top priority as growth continues, the
population ages, and as affordability concerns increase. Ensuring high quality development standards are met and
coordinated with other County services was raised during early engagement efforts, along with maintaining the
integrity, affordability, and quality of existing housing and neighborhoods.

Note: At the time of this report, economists and real estate specialists were highlighting COVID era concerns
related to reduced housing construction, escalating costs, reduced inventories of new and resale homes, and
resulting dramatic increases in median homes prices, leading to even greater affordability challenges given the
relative pace of income growth. These trends were occurring nationwide and in South Carolina. This current reality
should be taken into account when reviewing this section, which includes best available Census estimates from
2019. Data on economic conditions and trends elsewhere in this report were likewise impacted later by pandemic
effects, so Florence County will need to monitor the newest available post-COVID data on population, housing
and economic indicators following the release of Census 2020 results for their 5-year plan review.

Housing Units in Florence

61,817
County

Florence County had an estimated 61,817 housing units in 2019. This was an over 20 percent increase from the
51,836 units that were observed in the 2000 Census. Florence County maintains monthly building reports and
residential is always a point of interest. While additions and renovations continue and have always been steady,
there was also a boom of housing in the mid 2000's before the national housing crisis. Florence County was
moderately affected by this similar to the rest of South Carolina. However, in recent years during national
economic recovery, the boom has continued. Adding nearly 10,000 housing units in less than 20 years is
significant considering the population has not grown by a similar percentage. It was noted in engagement efforts
and in County reporting that a variety of types of housing units, including townhomes, have been developed in
recent years due to market demand and continued affordability concerns.

Florence County, SC | Comprehensive Plan pg. 23