Finally, It Looks Like the Beaufort Real Estate Market is Back!!!
Posted by Todd Covington on Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 at 12:04am.
Back at the height of Beaufort's real estate boom, around 2004 and 2005, people were in a genuine rush to buy homes and land in the Lowcountry.
Buyers were afraid that if they waited to long, they would be priced out of Beaufort's real estate market. I remember helping a gentleman purchase a homesite on Harbor Island, one of Beaufort's two gated beach communities, and the buyer lamenting his lost opportunity from a few years before to purchase a similar property for half of what he was about to pay. He told me he was not about to miss his opportunity again.
It was a really fun time to be a part of the Beaufort real estate market. There was lots of excitement, and eagerness to buy. People from around the country traveled to the Lowcountry in anticipation of buying. People flew their private planes into the Lady's Island Airport in the morning, viewed property, and flew out later in the day. People visited Beaufort with the idea of looking around for a couple of days, and would end up with a deep-water homesite on Polowana Island, or a home in Beaufort's Historic District.
We all know what happened next. The market began to stall in 2006, and home and land prices began to decrease after that. Buyer's disappeared, and, like other areas of the country, Beaufort neighborhoods became top-heavy with home sellers.
That seems to be changing of late. For the first time in a few years, I sense that real estate enthusiasm returning to Beaufort. I believe that many buyers are convinced we are at or near the bottom, and there is only one way for prices to go.
In recent weeks, I have written contracts and offers for buyers living overseas, from the Northeast, and from down south in Florida.
There appears to be safety in numbers. Back in 2004 and 2005, when prices in Beaufort were spiking, it seemed a safe time to invest in the real estate market, because everybody was doing it. Then came a lull, when very few people were buying real estate, and nobody wanted to step out on the limb alone.
That seems to be changing. We have seen some very high-end homes go under contract, in places like Distant Island and Fripp Island, and we have seen more modest started homes in the downtown Beaufort and Port Royal areas sell as well.
Buyers were afraid that if they waited to long, they would be priced out of Beaufort's real estate market. I remember helping a gentleman purchase a homesite on Harbor Island, one of Beaufort's two gated beach communities, and the buyer lamenting his lost opportunity from a few years before to purchase a similar property for half of what he was about to pay. He told me he was not about to miss his opportunity again.
It was a really fun time to be a part of the Beaufort real estate market. There was lots of excitement, and eagerness to buy. People from around the country traveled to the Lowcountry in anticipation of buying. People flew their private planes into the Lady's Island Airport in the morning, viewed property, and flew out later in the day. People visited Beaufort with the idea of looking around for a couple of days, and would end up with a deep-water homesite on Polowana Island, or a home in Beaufort's Historic District. We all know what happened next. The market began to stall in 2006, and home and land prices began to decrease after that. Buyer's disappeared, and, like other areas of the country, Beaufort neighborhoods became top-heavy with home sellers.
That seems to be changing of late. For the first time in a few years, I sense that real estate enthusiasm returning to Beaufort. I believe that many buyers are convinced we are at or near the bottom, and there is only one way for prices to go.
In recent weeks, I have written contracts and offers for buyers living overseas, from the Northeast, and from down south in Florida.
There appears to be safety in numbers. Back in 2004 and 2005, when prices in Beaufort were spiking, it seemed a safe time to invest in the real estate market, because everybody was doing it. Then came a lull, when very few people were buying real estate, and nobody wanted to step out on the limb alone.
That seems to be changing. We have seen some very high-end homes go under contract, in places like Distant Island and Fripp Island, and we have seen more modest started homes in the downtown Beaufort and Port Royal areas sell as well.