Kiawah Island
Ten miles of beach, a gate, world-ranked golf, and a billion-dollar year on the books.
The most private address in the Lowcountry, and the one with the most data.
Kiawah Island is a private, gated barrier island about 45 minutes from the peninsula: roughly ten miles of beach, 30 miles of trails, seven golf courses including the Ocean Course that hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships, and about 2,850 homes. Because the island's dominant brokerage publishes quarterly numbers, Kiawah is also the most transparent luxury market in the region.
The numbers describe a market that has moved up a tier. Sales volume reached a record $1,070,000,000 in 2024 and $851,000,000 in 2025, the third-highest year on record. The second quarter of 2026 produced 99 closings and $278,300,000, with two single-family sales above $10,000,000 and sixteen between $5,000,000 and $10,000,000, and the first-half 2026 single-family median reached $3,975,000, up 24 percent. At mid-year, 54 homes were for sale, about 1.9 percent of the island.
The membership question comes first for every buyer. Kiawah Island Club membership is available through the purchase of select qualifying properties; owning a home does not include it, and it cannot be added later to a property that was not offered with it. In Cassique and The Settlement it is mandatory and transfers at closing. Which side of that line a house sits on is often the single largest variable in its value.
What the address actually buys.
- 01
The beach
About ten miles of it, wide at low tide, with oceanfront lots along Surfsong, Eugenia and Flyway that produced the island's highest sales: $16,500,000 at 25 and 57 Surfsong Road in 2025 and $18,800,000 at 133 Flyway Drive in 2024.
- 02
The Kiawah Island Club
Cassique by Tom Watson, the River Course by Tom Fazio, the Beach Club, the Cape Club, Sasanqua Spa, the Sports Pavilion and the Marsh House. Membership comes with select properties and defines the island's social life.
- 03
The Ocean Course and the resort
Pete Dye's 1991 design on the east end, host of a Ryder Cup and two PGA Championships, with the Sanctuary hotel and the resort's dining open to the island.
- 04
Privacy with a town at the gate
Freshfields Village sits just outside the gate with groceries, restaurants and services, so the island itself stays residential.
The island, by section.
The oceanfront: Surfsong, Eugenia, Flyway
The highest-priced streets on the island. 25 Surfsong Road sold for $16,500,000 in May 2025 (listed at $18,500,000), 57 Surfsong Road at $16,500,000 in 2025, 39 Eugenia Avenue at $16,000,000 in 2024. In May 2026, 88 Surfsong Road came to market at $25,000,000.
Cassique and The Settlement
The club communities where Kiawah Island Club membership is mandatory and transfers with the property. Cassique surrounds the Tom Watson course on the river side of the island.
The Ocean Course side
Ocean Course Drive and the east end, near the Ocean Course and the Sanctuary. 36 Ocean Course Drive sold for $9,000,000 in May 2025.
The Kiawah River side and Vanderhorst
Governors Drive, where the Vanderhorst Mansion on about 16.5 river acres sold for $20,500,000 in 2021 and held the regional record until 2025.
Kiawah Island in facts.
Only what we could verify. Where a number is missing, we would rather leave it out than guess.
| Type | Private gated barrier island, about 2,850 homes and 391 homesites; 2,013 full-time residents (2020 Census) |
|---|---|
| Beach and trails | About 10 miles of beach, 30 miles of trails, seven golf courses |
| 2025 market | Median $2,690,000 (+16.8%), 56 closed sales reported by CTAR, 49 days on market; island-wide $851,000,000 across 332 transactions (third-highest year on record) |
| 2024 market | Record $1,070,000,000 across 447 properties; single-family average $3,880,000; more than 20 homes sold above $5,000,000 |
| Q1 2026 | $232,000,000 (+59%), 79 closings, median single-family $3,780,000 (+20%) |
| Q2 2026 | 99 closings, $278,300,000; 48 single-family sales including 2 above $10M and 16 at $5M to $10M |
| First-half 2026 | Single-family median $3,975,000 (+24%); 54 homes for sale, about 1.9 percent of the island |
| Highest sales | 133 Flyway Drive $18,800,000 (Nov 2024); 25 and 57 Surfsong Road $16,500,000 each (2025); Vanderhorst Mansion $20,500,000 (2021) |
| Club membership | Available through purchase of select qualifying properties; mandatory and transferable in Cassique and The Settlement; tiers Golf, Sports and Social |
| Community association | KICA 2026 assessments rose 3.3 percent over 2025, about $100 per household on average |
Sources
| Island facts, Ocean Course history | Wikipedia, Kiawah Island, South Carolina (retrieved Oct 21, 2026) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiawah_Island,_South_Carolina |
| 2025 CTAR median and days on market | The Post and Courier, Jan 16, 2026, 2025 CTAR year-end by submarket www.postandcourier.com/business/real_estate/charleston-sc-homes-price-sale-2026/ |
| 2025 island volume and transactions | The Post and Courier, Jan 31, 2026, Stats and Facts (Charles Sullivan, Carriage Properties) www.postandcourier.com/stats-and-facts-what-do-the-numbers-reveal-about-the-char |
| 2024 record volume and single-family figures | The Post and Courier, Feb 8, 2025 www.postandcourier.com/business/kiawah-island-south-carolina-home-sales-buy-mill |
| Q1 2026 figures | Kiawah Island Real Estate, May 21, 2026 www.kiawahisland.com/?p=32571 |
| Q2 and first-half 2026 figures, homes for sale | Pam Harrington Exclusives, Kiawah Island Q2 2026 report pamharringtonexclusives.com/kiawah-island-q2-2026-real-estate-market-report/ |
| 25 Surfsong, 57 Surfsong and 36 Ocean Course Drive sales | The Post and Courier, Jul 14, 2025, 10 most expensive homes sold in Charleston County in 2025 www.postandcourier.com/business/real_estate/charleston-county-luxury-home-sale-k |
| 88 Surfsong Road listing at $25,000,000 | Kiawah Island Real Estate, May 27, 2026 www.kiawahisland.com/?p=32642 |
| Vanderhorst Mansion sale | The Post and Courier, 2021 www.postandcourier.com/business/real_estate/kiawah-mansion-fetches-20-5m-setting |
| Club membership structure | Kiawah Island Real Estate, Understanding Memberships (updated Jun 24, 2026) www.kiawahisland.com/island-life/understanding-memberships/ |
| Mandatory membership in Cassique and The Settlement | Pam Harrington Exclusives, Apr 27, 2026 (third party; confirm with the Club) pamharringtonexclusives.com/blog/kiawah-island-club-membership/ |
| KICA 2026 assessments | Kiawah Island Community Association, Nov 12, 2025 kica.us/news/board-approves-2026-assessment-rates/ |
Kiawah Island, answered.
Does buying a Kiawah home include club membership?
Not automatically. Kiawah Island Club membership is available through the purchase of select qualifying properties, and it cannot be added later to a property that was not offered with it. In Cassique and The Settlement, membership is mandatory and transfers at closing. Tiers are Golf, Sports and Social. The Governor's Club is a separate, optional resort program. Which category a house falls into is often the largest single variable in its price, so DHG confirms it with the Club before an offer.
What is the median price on Kiawah in 2026?
The first-half 2026 single-family median was $3,975,000, up 24 percent, following a first-quarter median of $3,780,000. The CTAR-reported 2025 median for the island was $2,690,000. At mid-2026 about 54 homes were for sale, roughly 1.9 percent of the island's 2,850 homes.
What is the most expensive home sold on Kiawah Island?
The Vanderhorst Mansion on Governors Drive, on about 16.5 acres along the Kiawah River, sold for $20,500,000 in 2021 and held the Charleston-region record until 51 East Bay Street surpassed it in October 2025. On the oceanfront, 133 Flyway Drive sold for $18,800,000 in November 2024 and both 25 and 57 Surfsong Road sold for $16,500,000 in 2025. 88 Surfsong Road came to market in May 2026 at $25,000,000.
How is Damian Hall Group different from other Kiawah agents?
Kiawah's own brokerage handles a majority of island volume, and several excellent independent specialists work the island. DHG brings a different buyer: the Christie's International Real Estate network and Council, the collector audience that comes with the auction house, and a national relocation readership through Southern Escapes. For a seller whose buyer lives in Greenwich, Chicago or London, that reach is the point.
Other submarkets we work.
South of Broad
The oldest addresses in the city, from Broad Street to the Battery, where the regional record was set.
The Historic Peninsula
Everything north of Broad that still has a cobblestone, a courtyard or a harbor view.
Sullivan's Island
The highest median in the region, by design: a town that capped house size, banned short-term rentals and kept the island small.
Find your home in Kiawah Island.
Tell us about the house, the timeline and what matters. Damian reads every message that comes through this page.