September 2011

It is so easy to be fall in love with Habersham, one of Beaufort, SC's most sought-after communities. As much as any other community in Beaufort, Habersham has the ability to reach out and really grab you.

Habersham features a river-front pool with viewing tower, a fabulous tennis center, a children's play area constructed of salvaged Redwood trees, oak-lined boulevards, a bustling town center with thriving businesses, and old-style architecture which hearkens back to Beaufort at the turn of the 20th Century.

And yet, many real estate observers predicted doom for Habersham's development team when the neighborhood broke ground in the late-1990s. The reasons among naysayers were --

• Habersham is just too far from Historic Downtown Beaufort.
• Nobody wants to

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Extreme Makeover: Home Edition brought a lot of national attention to Beaufort, SC's own Mossy Oaks community, just minutes from Beaufort's historic downtown district. The Extreme Makeover crew, with the help of hundreds of volunteers from the Beaufort area, stormed into the area in early January, and built a brand-new home for a deserving family. Construction was completed in about 96 hours.  The episode was broadcast earlier this year on ABC.

Although this area of Mossy Oaks is home to very modest, single-story residences built mostly in the 1960s, the mammoth, double-porched Extreme Makeover structure would look at home in any of Beaufort's best waterfront neighborhoods, from Newpoint and Coosaw Point, to Habersham, Distant Island, and Polawana Island.  

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While researching land opportunities for a buyer-client, we have really been turning up some 5-star opportunities. In addition to our own research, we solicited ideas from members of the Beaufort Country Association of Realtors, and were really blown away with some of the opportunities which have surfaced.

Take Lady's Island, for instance. Waterfront homesites overlooking Factory Creek and the Intracoastal Waterway sold in the $300,000 just a few years ago. Now, there is one available which can be had for $199,000, and this would include 53 feet of slip space at the Lady's Island Marina, right across the Intracoastal Waterway from downtown Beaufort. Although located on Lady's Island, this property is a leisurely walk to Bay Street in downtown Beaufort, and…

A drive to the oceanfront community of Fripp Island is a drive like few others you will ever take. Once you leave charming, historic downtown Beaufort, SC,  you can be at this seaside paradise on the Atlantic Ocean in about 30 minutes. During this very pleasant trip, you will pass over the Intracoastal Waterway, two swing bridges, historic Frogmore, SC, tomato farms, roadside produce stands, stunning water vistas, and Hunting Island, the state's most visited and unique park.

Fripp Island is a true original. Located 18 miles due east of Historic Downtown Beaufort, SC, Fripp Island has more than three miles of beachfront, and is Beaufort's top spot for those seeking a primary or vacation home in an oceanfront community.

Once on Fripp Island, you are never…

When many would-be buyers consider purchasing a home in downtown Beaufort, their thoughts tend to turn to older, historical homes.

And, to be sure, historic downtown Beaufort has homes which date to the early 1700s. But there is much more to the downtown Beaufort, SC real estate market, whether you are looking for a Antebellum mansion, or a condo.

There are currently more than 100 homes on the market in the downtown Beaufort area, from a $38,295 home which needs work, to a completely renovated, 4000-square-foot plus mansion in the Old Point that is listed for more than $3.2 million. The Old Point is the most historical area of downtown Beaufort.

The city of Beaufort's limits wind several miles outside of what most consider to be the "downtown"…

Those seeking waterfront property in the Beaufort area probably want to spend some time looking on St. Helena Island.

St. Helena Island is all about water. St. Helena Island is bordered by St. Helena Sound and Port Royal Sound on two sides, and Cowan Creek and Harbor River on the other two sides. Creeks and tributaries thread the island, creating waterfront real estate opportunities at ever turn. St. Helena Island is a largely rural barrier island between historic Downtown Beaufort and the beach islands of Harbor, Hunting and Fripp Island.

Although largely rural, St. Helena Island has a number of very distinct communities, including several gated neighborhoods -- Dataw Island, Polawana Island, Bermuda Bluff, and Bermuda Inlet.

Although developed by the same…