...the selling of the Maisons-Sur-Mer, the first successful Grand Strand condo project in what has become a booming industry in Horry, Georgetown and other counties up and down the coast. The story is that to the surprise of real estate salespeople and developers, the people who vacationed next door in a campground were among the first buyers of the sophisticated, posh Maisons-Sur-Mer.While the story can’t be confirmed today, the fact is that some of those campers back in 1973 were driving pretty darned expensive recreational vehicles, suggesting they could afford to buy whatever condo they wanted to. But whether the story is fact or merely apocryphal, there’s one incontrovertible — the condo industry on the Grand Strand leaped out of the Maisons-Sur-Mer experience with all the alacrity of Jack-jumping-over-the-candlestick.

Thirty plus years later, the popularity of “condos on the beach” has never been stronger. Perhaps the impetus for this recent surge was the January 2000 Kiplinger Management newsletter predicting that Myrtle Beach properties would increase in median value by 71 percent by 2010. The Kiplinger prediction was based on studies by DRI/McGraw-Hill.

The increasing value of condominium properties in and around Myrtle Beach,
according to David Stradinger, the former city manager of Myrtle Beach, has to do with the fact that almost all the successful condo developments have been built on the oceanfront. “Not many condo buildings further inland have initially been financially successful,” he says.

Mary Finney, Condo Sales Manager with Myrtle Beach Resort Vacation Services, agrees with Stradinger. “Since there are hundreds of condos at The Myrtle Beach Resort, there are always several for sale. Those with the best ocean views are only staying on the market for a few days. I actually have a waiting list for some types of condos. People love looking at the beach!” To get on Mary’s waiting list or to see just what is for sale, Myrtle Beach Real Estate.