Will the new Short-Term Rental Ordinance change the Downtown Charleston Real Estate Market?

As of July 10, 2018, the City of Charleston's new short-term rental ordinance goes into effect. After a proliferation of illegal rentals marketed via platforms like AirBnB and HomeAway, the City and neighborhood groups decided a set of rules and a structure to manage and monitor them would be beneficial to most who live here. I for one am glad. The term illegal seems a bit harsh, but the truth is, only a handful of properties in Downtown Charleston have been legally permitted for short-term rentals for years -

Want to buy a lot and build your dream home in Charleston? Here’s what it will cost you.

I’ve been dreaming up my dream house for decades. Do you do that? My current daydreams swirl around a home with Contemporary Lowcountry architecture, L-shaped with a long view across something beautiful. And a pool. I must have a pool. So with these imaginings and my personal research, coupled with my experience working with developers and architects, I know what...

Incredible Income Producing and Short-Term Rental Opportunity in Downtown Charleston

I can’t tell you how many calls I receive asking the question, “Where can I buy a place where I can do short-term rentals” or “What can I buy that has the potential to cash flow?” And always, for the most part, I have to disappoint. Positive cash flow is tough because of high insurance and taxes on historic buildings...

We’ve got Behemoths on the B.A.R. Agenda June 3

Update June 5 – The BAR ruled as follows: Jasper – DENIED. Apartment Building – WITHDRAWN. Hotel – APPROVED. _____________________ Three Behemoths to be precise. Three projects so large, so complex and so controversial, they had to have their own separate meeting happening June 3 at 4:30PM in the Charleston Museum Auditorium (because many many many people will be attending)....

Charleston’s About to Get Taller and Techier

Tuesday night the Charleston City Council unanimously approved the City of Charleston’s request to change the height zoning on a particular area of Morrison Drive from 55 feet to 85 feet. Why does this matter?? 1. Because that rarely happens, and 2. Because it was done so to enable the construction of new 76-foot tall buildings up to 350,000 square...

Spring Sales Stats from the Sweetest of Southern Cities – Charleston

Spring has sprung, it’s sunny and seventy-six, the skies are cerulean, and glee is in the air (as well as lots of pollen). It just makes me feel a bit giddy so please forgive my Fun-with-Alliteration. 🙂 But let’s get serious about the spring real estate market in Downtown Charleston. Have we been hampered by the Polar Vortex? By the sometimes...

Luxury Home Sales in Historic Charleston are WAY Up (or are they?)

Well, some of the homes in the $960,000+ range in Historic Downtown Charleston might not be considered luxury like the one above. Maybe they are small in a great location, or fixer uppers, or just not up to your own particular definition of ‘luxe’, but I think we can all agree that most would consider homes starting just under $1,000,000...

New on the Market: A Beautiful Condo at 21 George Street – $474,500

Thanks to my long time blog readers, Dorrie and Mike, for giving me the opportunity to sell their beautiful condo! Just in time for Festival Season in Charleston, I am please to put this gorgeous condo at 21 George Street on the market. If you don’t know already, 21 George (or XXI George) is a newer construction building, just off...

The Charleston Slant – or Why We Sometimes Walk Uphill in Our Houses

I frequently work with clients who are not from Charleston, who have never set foot inside an historic Charleston home until they have done so with me. One of the first things they notice once inside, besides the gorgeous fireplaces or detailed molding, is that occasionally, and sometimes dramatically, the floors slant. Slanting floors?? Ack! Alarm sets in. “Could the...

Houses in Charleston are in High Demand – A Good Home is Hard to Find

You all know I like to use numbers to tell a story…And the story is this. There are very few homes to choose from in the Charleston metro’s most popular neighborhoods – both ON the Peninsula, and in the surrounding areas. If you are interested in buying a home in one of these neighborhoods in one of the ‘hot’ price...

Great 1BR Condo for Sale in Historic Downtown Charleston – 114-D Beaufain Street

I am happy to be listing this truly rare property overlooking Colonial Lake in Harleston Village. It’s a great one-bedroom condo at 114-D Beaufain Street with tons of great features like light-filled rooms, eat-in-kitchen with granite counters, and heart pine floors. But the best things about it is the gorgeous 10X20 piazza (that’s a porch to you non-Charlestonians 😉 .)...

Downtown Charleston