Build-to-Rent Communities Multiply Across Upstate SC as Renters Outpace Would-Be Buyers

SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. — A wave of build-to-rent housing is spreading across the Upstate as developers bet that more South Carolina families will keep renting single-family homes rather than buying them, adding a new layer of supply to a market still working through an inventory glut on the for-sale side.

Tricon Simpsonville, a 93-unit build-to-rent townhome community along Hunter Road east of the city, is on pace for completion in September after Toronto-based Tricon Residential — a portfolio company of Blackstone Real Estate — broke ground in partnership with Florida homebuilder Dream Finders Homes. The three-bedroom, two-car-garage units are aimed at families who want single-family space without a mortgage, and the project includes a pool, dog park, pickleball and tennis courts, and an amphitheater. “This project reflects our shared vision of making single-family living more accessible and affordable,” Blackstone Real Estate managing director David O’Neill said when the community broke ground.

The rental push is landing alongside a separate expansion in multifamily supply. In Mauldin, City Council last year approved rezoning for Cottage Green, a mixed-use community from developer HMF Americana that will bring up to 527 residential units — a mix of cottages, duplexes and garden-style apartments — to roughly 43 acres near Fork Shoals and Ashmore Bridge roads, alongside commercial parcels for retail and dining.

The build-to-rent and multifamily growth comes as traditional homeownership remains out of reach for a growing share of Upstate renters. A full-time South Carolina worker needs to earn a “housing wage” of $25.91 an hour to afford the state’s average two-bedroom rent without spending more than 30% of income on housing, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. In the Spartanburg metro area, nearly half of renters — 49.9% — are considered cost-burdened, among the highest shares of any South Carolina metro.

Meanwhile, the resale market keeps loosening. The Greater Greenville Association of Realtors’ most recent monthly report shows active inventory climbing 21.6% year over year to 6,006 units, with new listings up 16% and pending sales up 9.9%. Median sales price held flat at $315,000, suggesting sellers are competing harder for buyers even as more homes sit on the market — a dynamic that makes professionally managed rental product an increasingly attractive alternative for both renters and institutional investors.

For developers, the calculus is straightforward: build-to-rent and multifamily projects can be delivered and leased faster than they can be sold in a softening resale environment, while renters priced out of ownership get access to newer housing stock. For buyers, the rising resale inventory offers more negotiating leverage than the Upstate has seen in years. And for local governments in Simpsonville, Mauldin and beyond, the wave of rezoning requests signals that population growth is still outpacing the region’s existing housing stock, regardless of whether that growth shows up as owners or tenants.