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Permit-issuing place

Beaufort County Unincorporated Area

Beaufort County · Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC · South Carolina

Permits through August 2026Yearly permits since 1995Beaufort County index 1975–2025
FHFA house price index for Beaufort County, which contains Beaufort County Unincorporated Area, 1975 to 2025Recession 1973–75Recession 1980Recession 1981–82Recession 1990–91Recession 2001Recession 2007–09Recession 202005001,0001,50019801990200020102020United States2025: 1,003
Beaufort County (100 = first year)United States, rebased to the same startNBER recession
House prices are indexed by county, not by city: this is Beaufort County's FHFA index, with the national index rebased to the same start.

Census Bureau notes: building permit figures cover new privately owned housing units authorised by permit-issuing places; permits do not mean the units were started or completed, and places that report less often than monthly are imputed in monthly totals. FHFA notes: The FHFA HPI is a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices. The FHFA HPI is a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties.

In the 12 months to August 2026, building permits in Beaufort County Unincorporated Area, South Carolina, covered 332 housing units (−27.0% year on year); the place lies in Beaufort County.

332 of those units were single-family houses (100%), 0 were in two- to four-unit buildings and 0 in buildings of five or more units.

Since 1995 the place has authorised 34,003 units, with the busiest year 2005 (3,842 units). Beaufort County's FHFA house price index rose +121.6% over the ten years to 2025.

332units permitted, 12 months to August 2026−27.0% on the previous 12 months
332single-family units100% of the total
0units in 5+ unit buildings0% of the total
—units per 1,000 residentsBeaufort County 4.7 · South Carolina 8.3

Permits by month and structure type

Housing units authorised in Beaufort County Unincorporated Area by month, latest 24 months0204060Sep 2024: 50 units (45 single-family, 5 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2024Oct 2024: 51 units (51 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2024: 42 units (42 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024: 44 units (44 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2024Jan 2025: 35 units (35 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2025: 35 units (35 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025: 33 units (33 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2025Apr 2025: 28 units (28 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)May 2025: 41 units (41 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025: 24 units (24 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2025Jul 2025: 50 units (50 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2025: 22 units (22 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025: 30 units (30 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Sep 2025Oct 2025: 15 units (15 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Nov 2025: 22 units (22 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025: 25 units (25 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Dec 2025Jan 2026: 15 units (15 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Feb 2026: 35 units (35 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026: 32 units (32 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Mar 2026Apr 2026: 35 units (35 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)May 2026: 19 units (19 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026: 31 units (31 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Jun 2026Jul 2026: 41 units (41 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)Aug 2026: 32 units (32 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)

Housing units authorised in Beaufort County Unincorporated Area by month, latest 24 monthssingle-family2+ unit buildings

Units, 12 months to August 2026Beaufort County Unincorporated AreaBeaufort CountySouth CarolinaUnited States
All housing units33296346,4391,418,086
Single-family (1 unit)332 (100%)947 (98%)39,742 (86%)888,241 (63%)
2 units0418834,814
3–4 units01216917,298
5 or more units0 (0%)0 (0%)6,340 (14%)477,733 (34%)
Units per 1,000 residents—4.78.34.1
Change on previous 12 months−27.0%−43.4%+1.3%−0.1%

Permits by year since 1995

Housing units authorised in Beaufort County Unincorporated Area by year, 1995–202502,0004,0001995: 1,050 units (930 single-family, 120 in multi-unit buildings)19951996: 1,684 units (1,212 single-family, 472 in multi-unit buildings)1997: 1,516 units (1,185 single-family, 331 in multi-unit buildings)1998: 1,654 units (1,422 single-family, 232 in multi-unit buildings)1999: 2,092 units (1,678 single-family, 414 in multi-unit buildings)2000: 1,975 units (1,445 single-family, 530 in multi-unit buildings)20002001: 1,362 units (1,282 single-family, 80 in multi-unit buildings)2002: 1,876 units (1,850 single-family, 26 in multi-unit buildings)2003: 2,345 units (2,345 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2004: 2,259 units (2,259 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2005: 3,842 units (3,505 single-family, 337 in multi-unit buildings)20052006: 2,971 units (2,923 single-family, 48 in multi-unit buildings)2007: 1,612 units (1,534 single-family, 78 in multi-unit buildings)2008: 1,198 units (885 single-family, 313 in multi-unit buildings)2009: 191 units (191 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2010: 144 units (144 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)20102011: 231 units (163 single-family, 68 in multi-unit buildings)2012: 209 units (209 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2013: 255 units (255 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2014: 343 units (343 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2015: 476 units (436 single-family, 40 in multi-unit buildings)20152016: 452 units (343 single-family, 109 in multi-unit buildings)2017: 630 units (437 single-family, 193 in multi-unit buildings)2018: 305 units (305 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2019: 309 units (309 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2020: 375 units (375 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)20202021: 491 units (491 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2022: 761 units (741 single-family, 20 in multi-unit buildings)2023: 601 units (591 single-family, 10 in multi-unit buildings)2024: 434 units (434 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2025: 360 units (360 single-family, 0 in multi-unit buildings)2025

Housing units authorised in Beaufort County Unincorporated Area by year, 1995–2025single-family2+ unit buildings

34,003 units since 1995; the busiest year was 2005. Annual figures include units imputed for months a place did not report.

Home prices in Beaufort County

FHFA's index for Beaufort County rose +121.6% over the ten years to 2025 (+8.3% a year) and +4.1% in the latest year, against +104.3% and +3.5% for South Carolina. Full county page: decade table, peak-to-low declines, every ZIP code and every permit-issuing place in the county.

Questions and answers

How many homes are being built in Beaufort County Unincorporated Area, SC?

332 housing units were authorised by building permits in the 12 months to August 2026, against 455 in the previous 12 months.

What kind of housing is being permitted in Beaufort County Unincorporated Area?

332 single-family units, 0 in two-unit buildings, 0 in three- and four-unit buildings and 0 in buildings of five or more units.

How does Beaufort County Unincorporated Area compare with its county and state?

No population estimate is attached to this permit-issuing area, so a per-resident rate is not shown; Beaufort County runs at 4.7 units per 1,000 residents and South Carolina at 8.3.

How have home prices moved in Beaufort County?

FHFA's index for Beaufort County rose +121.6% over the ten years to 2025 and +4.1% in the latest year; the county page has the full series.

What does a permit count?

A housing unit authorised by a building permit for new privately owned residential construction, as reported to the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey by the permit-issuing office. Permits are not completions; some permitted units are never built, and places that report only annually are imputed in monthly figures.

Provenance

Permits: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, place-level monthly and annual files through August 2026 (permit office 041000); county and state comparisons from the county and state files. Population: Census Bureau vintage 2025 estimates for incorporated places, matched on FIPS place code where the permit office is one. House price index: Federal Housing Finance Agency. Public domain. Corrections · Building Permits Survey.