Recession Brings Downtown Beaufort SC Real Estate within Reach
Posted by Todd Covington on Thursday, March 10th, 2011 at 12:45am.
Wander through Historic Downtown Beaufort, and you are walking some of the most hallowed historical ground in America. Ask anyone who lives in the Historic District, and they will likely tell you they would live nowhere else. There are few places like downtown Beaufort, with its spectacular mansions, incredible oaks, and historical significance.
Many prospective home buyers drive through Beaufort's Old Point and dream of living downtown, the land of Pat Conroy, one of Beaufort's best-known native sons. We dreamed of being able to walk downtown for dinner at the shops and restaurants of Bay Street, Beaufort's best-known thoroughfare. The Old Point, which sits in a bend in the Beaufort River, is at the heart of Beaufort's Historic District, is perhaps Beaufort's most sought-after real estate area.
If you've enjoyed movies such as The Grand Santini, The Prince of Tides, and the Big Chill, you've gotten a taste of life in downtown Beaufort, which is featured prominently in the films.
Because of the current housing slump, there are some pretty amazing opportunities to purchase real estate in this charming Historic District. These kinds of opportunities were not there a few years ago. For instance, right now, you can purchase a home just three blocks from the shops and restaurants of Bay Street, for under $80,000. This property certainly will require plenty of work, but so did some of the finest homes in the downtown area before they were rehabilitated.
Did you know you know you can purchase a condominium home in the Old Point available for less than $300,000? Both of these condos were purchased by the current owners for more than $350,000 just a few short years ago. From these condo homes you are able to leisurely walk to Bay Street. This is Opportunity with a capital "O."
In the mid 2000s, many of us in the Beaufort real estate industry felt there would never be homes available in the Old Point for under $400,000. Yet, here we are in 2010, and opportunities abound.