By Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association
Prior to the 2007 crash of both the economy and the housing market, Lady’s Island averaged 182 new homes each year for 10 years. Since that time the island has seen an average of 45 new homes each year.
As can be seen by the chart, in 2015 permits for construction of new homes on Lady’s Island jumped 90 percent from the preceding year. This year did see a slight drop in number but still indicated a strong market for new homes on the island.
The number of single-family residential permits issued in 2015 for Lady’s Island saw a significant jump from the previous year but the basis of the jump came from one source.
Of the total number of 2015 permits, 49 percent of the increase was directly attributable to national-level home builder D.R. Horton and its Tidewater Creek development on Little Capers Road.
In 2016 the total number of new home permits issued for single-family residences on Lady’s Island dropped 11 percent (13 permits) but D.R. Horton construction accounted for only 28 percent of the new homes.
Based on this it would appear that the demand for new housing on Lady’s Island is becoming more general in nature with a wider variety of homebuilders responding to the increased demand. For example, Manorhouse Builders and its Somerset Point community accounted for 12 housing permits in 2016.
In the unincorporated portion of Beaufort County the bottom in new housing starts was reached in 2011 when only 164 single-family permits were issued in the entire unincorporated portion of the county. This last year (2016) there was 343 permits issued by Beaufort County for construction of new homes. Worthy of note is the fact that 30 percent of those homes were built on Lady’s Island.
