The City of Beaufort on Port Royal Island is part of South Carolina's "Crystal Coast." According to publications like "Outside," "Fortune" and "Coastal Living," Beaufort is rated one of America's "Top Ten Places to Live." Temperatures average 50 degrees Fahrenheit in winter to 80 degrees in summer. Scenes in several major films including "Forrest Gump," "The Big Chill" and "The Prince of Tides" were shot here.
A waterfront community in Beaufort, Battery Point is close to local marinas. Houses and apartments are available for sale and rent. Sizes of homes in this area range from 1,400 to 3,000 square feet. Housing prices begin around $150,000, while construction-ready waterfront lots cost around $70,000. Some residents of Battery Point live on houseboats. This is a popular option for singles and retirees who want to live by the water at an economical price.
Several residential areas are on Battery Creek. A favorite, Broad Street, is within walking distance of elementary and middle schools. Cottage Farms is a friendly area close to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, the local technical college and the community dock. Mossy Oaks and Royal Oaks are within walking distance of downtown. All of these neighborhoods are tight-knit communities. Home prices start around $100,000. Most houses are built in Charleston-style architecture, consisting of one-and-a-half or two stories with open floor plans.
Some of Beaufort's many golf courses are associated with gated housing communities. One is at Callawassie Island, with new homes and a 27-hole golf course. Prices here start around $200,000. Picket Fences is a gated community featuring waterfront, wooded, lakeside and marsh-view home sites.
For families on a budget who are interested in Beaufort homes for retirement or perhaps a change of scenery, some neighborhoods offer moderate prices. Iron Gate, a new community, has homes priced around $100,000; homes here are three-bedroom, two-bath and are VA- and FHA-qualified. In Pine Wood, home prices range from $90,000 to $150,000. In the Seabrook and Grays Hill region, 40 percent of the nautical-style homes cost under $90,000; they are older single-family dwellings. All of these communities are within a short driving distance of public schools and downtown Beaufort.
