Hilton Head Island Condos

MORE THAN 2 MILLION PEOPLE VISIT THE AREA EACH YEAR, and a large number of them are return visitors who enjoy the beach, world-class golf and tennis and subtropical climate. For many, however, the lure of Hilton Head never goes away, and for them, the decision to buy a condo on the island is an easy one. Condos often are more affordable than single family homes, and they offer a variety of amenities not available to other homeowners.

With the full-time population of Hilton Head expected to nearly double over the next 15 years, from 35,000 to 60,000, housing on the island is at a premium. Beaufort County’s population is expected to swell to about 220,000 by 2020.

Nearby Bluffton, once a sleepy one-square-mile town, is growing even faster than Hilton Head. After several recent annexations, the city now encompasses more than 20,000 acres and, according to Beaufort County offi cials, an estimated 47,000 people will call Bluffton home by the year 2020.

“There’s such a demand to live where the weather is nice,” says Rick Saba, president of the Hilton Head Area Association of Realtors. “Condos are an easy purchase for out-of-town buyers.”

While some realtors predict that the exponential growth of real estate sales will level off over the next year or two, condo sales are still hot in Beaufort County. In 2005, 1,968 units were sold at an average price of $356,454. The most expensive condo in Hilton Head, located in Somerset Villas in Palmetto Dunes, went for $2.7 million.

New condos and villas are in high demand, but even older units can command high six-figure and even seven-figure price tags.

“It’s almost scary,” says Hutch Hutchinson, who, in two decades as a realtor on the island, has seen his share of market ups and downs.

He adds, however, that the growth trend over the past five years has been steadily on the rise, and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight any time soon. Condos are snatched up almost as fast as they come on the market in Hilton Head, says Hutchinson, a realtor with Sea Pines Real Estate.

Condo shoppers must consider the amenities offered, as well as the property’s rental history to determine whether an investment is viable, Hutchinson says. One way developers are trying to keep up with the demand, in addition to building new condo communities, is by converting apartment complexes.

“Condo conversions are happening all over the country, but it’s a fairly new movement in this market,” Saba says.

Within the past few years, a handful of apartment complexes, including The Legends on Hilton Head, Brighton Bay and The Preserve at Indigo Run, all on Hilton Head, as well as Old South Apartments in Bluffton, have been converted from apartments to condos.

Condo sales continue to soar throughout the Southeast, and Hilton Head Island is no exception.