Lady's Island

For a Realtor, there are few things as satisfying as a golf cart ride through one of Beaufort, SC's thriving new community, on a cool December evening, just before the sun dips below the horizon.

I had a blast showing property the other night at Somerset Point, a terrific neighborhood along the Coosaw River. Somerset Point has been one of 2011's true real estate success stories in Beaufort. According to statistics provided via the Beaufort Multiple Listing Service, there have been 17 homes which have either sold, or gone "under contract," since Jan. 1 of this year. Demand has been so great for homes in the neighborhood that the development team is adding additional inventory of "spec" homes, so that buyers will be able to move into their new homes

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We are seeing more and more properties in the Beaufort and Lowcountry area that have that wow factor. A home or homesite possesses the wow factor when it is listed -- or sells for -- a price which you just wouldn't have imagined a few years ago.

For instance, earlier this week, a 3000-plus square foot tidal creek home on Lady's Island, one of Beaufort's best residential areas, went under contract for less than $525,000. Just a short while ago, this Pleasant Point home would have been likely listed in the mid-$700,000-range. And it is very easy to envision this home valued in that same price range when the market strengthens again. And, friends, bear in mind that $525,000 was merely the asking price. At that price, it already had the wow factor, but who

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One of the gratifying aspects of selling real estate is helping really nice people buy a perfect new home. It's particularly gratifying when the really nice people get a whale of deal.......and when they are newlyweds!

We were fortunate enough to be able to help just such a couple a week or so ago, as they purchased a super, like-new home in Walling Grove, a terrific neighborhood on Beaufort's Lady's Island. This 2524 square-foot-home, located at 229 Green Winged Teal Dr. in the heart of the neighborhood, is yet another example of the seemingly endless array of incredible real estate opportunities available in today's real estate market.

The home had originally been listed at $450,000 way back in 2009. After two years of chasing the market, the sellers

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Once in a while, a property comes along that captures all of the elements many buyers seem to be looking for when they begin searching for homes in Beaufort, SC.

137 Sunset Boulevard is one of these special homes. Located on Lady's Island, this home offers the proximity to downtown Beaufort that most buyers seem to desire. The home is a mere 3 miles from the bridge connecting Beaufort's Historic Bay Street with Lady's Island.

137 Sunset Boulevard also offers the water access that is so appealing to prospective Beaufort real estate buyers. The property has a desirable, short pier head, and a floating dock, which allows the owners easy access to Factory Creek, and then the Intracoastal Waterway. Via boat, Historic Downtown Beaufort can be reached as quickly

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Pleasant Point is a neighborhood on the ascendency, and 2 Piccadilly is a very well-priced home within the community.

I recently toured 2 Piccadilly, and its assets are too numerous to list here. The home has a terrific lifestyle element, with views of the Intracoastal Waterway in the distance, and two lakes. The outdoor covered patio and deck allow the homeowners to enjoy the Lowcountry lifestyle on a daily basis.

Inside, the home has been smartly renovated, with wood floors throughout much of the house, and Mexican Saltillo Tile in the living and dining area, creating an atmosphere which is at once both formal, and relaxing.

This 4 bedroom/3.5 bath home has more than 3000 square feet of living space, and a two-car garage.

2 Piccaddilly is offered at…

A few years ago, if you put the words "deep-water homesite" in the same sentence with "Lady's Island,"  you were generally talking about a property which would cost a minimum of $600,000, maybe more.

Not so, anymore.

Like every other segment of Beaufort's real estate market, the Lady's Island deep-water market has responded to the sluggish sales of recent years, and prices have been reduced. It's now possible to purchase a homesite with spectacular views of downtown Beaufort, with deep-water access, for under $200,000. Please note that this particular property comes with an asterisk, since this $175,000 property, overlooking Factory Creek and the Beaufort River, can possibly be purchased with a slip at the adjacent marina. Without the slip, which the owner…

It seems that every week I am reminded how quickly home buyers have to act if they are going to capitalize on some of the tremendous real estate opportunities in Beaufort, SC. When these properties are reduced beyond a certain price threshold, buyers are going to move, and they often move in masse. And these are going to move lightning quick.

The latest example can be found at a tidal creek home in Walling Grove, a deep-water neighborhood on Lady's Island. Homes in Walling Grove range in price from $305,000 up to $749,000, for something on the water.

The home in question had been on the market more than 500 days, and was reduced on March 31 to $350,000. Almost immediately, a buyer snatched up the property. I am going to go out on a limb and say that the…

Beaufort, SC, and the surrounding area has a varied, bustling, and exciting real estate market, from the oceanfront mansions of Harbor Island and Fripp Island, to 200-plus year old homes in downtown Beaufort's "Old Point" neighborhood.

But, for many Beaufort Realtors and real estate observers, the backbone of Beaufort's real estate market are the five "main areas," which are comprised of Beaufort, Mossy Oaks, Port Royal, Burton, and Lady's Island.

These five areas create the geographic heart of Beaufort's real estate market, which sits between the farther flung real estate areas of Fripp Island and Harbor Island to the east, Northern Beaufort County to the west, and South of the Broad River to the south.

Beaufort's five main areas represented about half of…

It is amazing what can be accomplished by injecting a little value into a neighborhood. Do not ever underestimate the importance of "value." Take Somerset Point on Lady's Island, which is one of Beaufort, SC's main residential hubs.

Somerset Point languished for several years as the very unsuccessful Coosaw River Estates, a neighborhood which attempted to exploit the $350,000 to $400,000 price point, which was riding high in the early to mid-2000s. As the real estate market slowed, one of the most severely affected areas was this critical price point, which was popular in neighborhoods like Walling Grove, Coosaw Point and Coosaw River Estates.

In 2010 the existing Somerset Point development team re-assessed the neighborhood, the existing real estate

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Anyone who has ever read a Pat Conroy novel has probably imagined what it would be like to live in Beaufort, SC -- The smell of the marsh, gentle tidal creeks meandering throughout the area, quiet summer evenings, heron gliding overhead, fishing opportunities galore.

Conroy, who still owns a home on Fripp Island, tells the story of his childhood through the fictional characters of The Prince of Tides, The Water Is Wide, The Great Santini  and Beach Music. All of these stories take place in Beaufort, although Conroy always changed the name of the town.

In Red Bluff Estates on Lady's Island, you can enjoy the quintessential Beaufort lifestyle from your back yard. 18 East River Drive sits on a tidal creek, and has just been reduced from $449,000, from

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