Around town
Remodel or Move? Why So Many Beaufort County Owners Are Staying Put
Property tax rules, home values and a lot of residents past 65 all point the same way. What the numbers say about fixing the house you already have.
Here’s a number that explains a lot about Beaufort County: 31.2 percent. That’s the share of residents 65 and older, according to the Census Bureau, against 21.1 percent for South Carolina as a whole. (US Census QuickFacts)
People come here to stay. And more and more, when the house stops fitting, they’re fixing the house instead of leaving it.
The County Keeps Growing
Beaufort County had an estimated 204,433 residents in mid-2025, up 9.3 percent from the 2020 count. Jasper County grew faster, by 33.7 percent, to 38,533. The median value of an owner-occupied home in Beaufort County is $455,600, against $259,000 statewide. (US Census QuickFacts)
Growth is good for property values and hard on anyone hoping to trade a house for a better one nearby. The next house costs more too.
The Tax Math
South Carolina rewards living in your own house. Your primary residence is assessed at 4 percent of fair market value. A second home or rental is assessed at 6 percent. (SC Code 12-43-220, SC Department of Revenue) Owner-occupied homes are also exempt from property taxes for school operations.
Then there’s the cap. At reassessment, the Department of Revenue says, increases are limited to 15 percent over a five-year period. Beaufort County’s assessor puts it this way: a property “may not increase more than 15% of its prior year’s appraised value at reassessment.” The last reassessment was in 2023 and the next is scheduled for 2028. (Beaufort County Assessor, FAQ)
Here’s the catch for movers. The cap applies while you own the house. When it sells, the state says, its value “will be adjusted by appraisal.” The new owner, who may be you in your next house, starts from today’s value. If you’ve been in your home a long time, that difference can be real money every year. Ask the assessor’s office or a tax professional what it means for you before you decide.
The Country Is Doing the Same Thing
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that homeowners 65 and older accounted for 27 percent of home improvement spending in 2023, up from 14 percent two decades earlier, and had lived in their homes an average of 26 years. The median owner-occupied home in the country is now 42 years old. (Harvard JCHS, Improving America’s Housing 2025)
AARP found that 75 percent of adults 50 and older want to stay in their current homes as they age, and nearly half expect to need modifications to do it. (AARP, December 2024) The National Association of Realtors says the typical seller is now 64, the oldest on record, after a median of 11 years in the home. (NAR, November 2025)
If You Stay
It’s rarely a gut job. The work that keeps people in their homes tends to be practical: a first-floor bedroom and bath, a walk-in shower, wider doors, better lighting, a stairlift, a kitchen that doesn’t require a step stool. Lowcountry Style & Living has written about making a Hilton Head home safe as you age and why Beaufort homeowners are choosing to stay.
If you’re weighing it, get two numbers: what the remodel would cost, and what moving would cost once you count the agent, the closing costs, the movers and the new tax bill. Then pick the house you’d rather wake up in.
Back to That 31.2 Percent
Nearly a third of this county is 65 or older, and most of them didn’t come here to pack boxes again. The tax rules reward staying, the next house costs more, and the work it takes to make a house fit you is usually smaller than it looks from the couch. If staying fits your plans, start with a good contractor and an honest quote. The house you know is often the best one on the market.