BUYING A HOME    SELLING A HOME   CHARLESTON MLS   AGENT / CONTACT INFORMATION 

CHARLESTON INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE

return to Charleston Real Estate Listings

Surrounding historic Charleston, S.C., waterfront communities at Folly Beach, Edisto Island and Awendaw/McClellanville offer outstanding investment opportunities.

Folly Beach is a pristine barrier island 15 miles from downtown Charleston, with magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean along its six miles of beachfront. Nicknamed "The Edge of America" for its scenic location and low-key lifestyle, Folly Beach is primarily a residential community nestled among a breezy oak and palmetto-shaded interior, with miles of inland frontage along river, tidal creek and salt marsh estuary.

Current active property values on Folly Beach are 25-30 per cent lower than those in the nearby sea island communities of Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms, yet have appreciated steadily in recent years and show no indication of slowing down. In 2001, for example, residential properties sold along Folly's beachfront brought an average price of $504,000, after averaging 231 days on the market. So far in 2006, Folly's beachfront residence sales have averaged $1.8 million after an average of 134 days on the market. Inland residential properties sold on Folly in the same five-year period have shown an average increase in value of 39 per cent, while the average days on market have decreased by 46 per cent, according to the figures from the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

Edisto Island, 45 minutes south of downtown Charleston, is an historic barrier island featuring elegant antebellum plantation homes, quaint country churches and modern beachfront homes. Largely uncomericialized, without a single traffic light, the island borders the Atlantic Ocean and the intracoastal waterway, with golf and tennis clubs and deep-sea boating charters well-situated in a natural setting of moss-covered oaks, tidal creeks, and sandy beaches.

Beach property at Edisto is quickly becoming more popular and valuable, but still a bargain compared to other sea island communities in the area. For example, in 2001, sale of residential properties four-bedrooms or more number only four at an average of $680,000, while in 2006, fifty-one such properties have sold at an average of $783,000.

The Awendaw/McClellanville area is 35 miles north of downtown Charleston, surrounded by 350,000 acres of the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, the Santee Coastal Reserve, and the Francis Marion National Forest. A combination of modern gated communities such as Romain Retreat and Bulls Bay Overlook, as well as the historic fishing village of McClellanville, the pristine, uncongested area offers magnificent vistas of sea islands, tidal estuaries, oak-lined marshes and creeks, and open bays.

Waterfront residential properties sold in the Awendaw/McClellanville area in 2001 averaged $721,000, while in 2006 have averaged $971,000. Twenty-two waterfront lots available in the last quarter of 2006 range from $275,000 to $1.5 million, such as the 12 one-acre lots in the new Broadmoor neighborhood. Priced at $785,000 each, they are situated along McClellanville's historic Jeremy Creek, all with deep water access and grand views of oaks, marsh and Silver Hall Plantation.