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.
Sullivan's Island is the beach town fifteen minutes from Broad Street that decided, decades ago, not to become anything else. The town caps the size of a principal building by lot area, requires that half of every property remain landscape, holds impervious coverage to 30 percent, and has prohibited short-term vacation rentals since about 2001. The result is a residential island of full-time and second-home owners with a thin inventory, which is why it posted the highest median sale price in the Charleston region in 2025: $4,200,000 across 31 closings.
The ceiling has risen with it. 2529 Atlantic Avenue sold furnished for $13,500,000 on April 10, 2025, an island record, and 2407 Atlantic Avenue followed at $13,000,000 on October 14, 2025. By mid-2026 the island's year-to-date median had reached $5,025,000, with about 25 homes for sale in June against a year-round population measured in the low thousands.
Buying here is a question of front beach versus back island, of elevation and of whether the house you want has been built under the current coverage rules or will have to be. Selling here is a question of reaching the small number of buyers, most of them from out of state, who will pay for a town that cannot be replicated.
What the address actually buys.
- 01
A beach town that refuses to grow
Building size tied to lot size, a landscape minimum of 50 percent and no vacation rentals. The constraint is the amenity: quiet streets, full-time neighbors and a price floor that the rest of the coast cannot match.
- 02
Fifteen minutes from the peninsula
Across the Ben Sawyer bridge and the Ravenel, the island is close enough to dine downtown and far enough that the day ends on the beach.
- 03
Middle Street
The island's short restaurant row and the social center of the town, a bike ride from every house.
- 04
The Intracoastal side
Back-island lots on the waterway trade the surf for deep water, docks and sunsets, often on larger parcels.
Front beach to back island.
Atlantic Avenue and the front beach
The oceanfront and second-row houses from the Fort Moultrie end toward Breach Inlet. Both island records, $13,500,000 at 2529 Atlantic and $13,000,000 at 2407 Atlantic, sit here.
Middle Street and the station streets
The numbered station streets running from Middle Street to the beach, with the restaurants, the post office and the town hall in walking distance. 3213 Middle Street, built in 2023, sold for $10,500,000 in 2025; 1749 Middle Street closed at $5,550,000 in April 2026.
Marshall Boulevard and the east end
Toward Breach Inlet, with views across to Isle of Palms. 2804 Marshall Boulevard sold for $4,200,000 in June 2026.
The Intracoastal and the back island
Lots on the waterway and the marsh, with docks and larger parcels, favored by boaters and by buyers who want water without the oceanfront insurance line.
Sullivan's Island in facts.
Only what we could verify. Where a number is missing, we would rather leave it out than guess.
| Type | Incorporated barrier-island town, residential, no vacation rentals |
|---|---|
| 2025 market | Median $4,200,000, 31 closed sales, 65 days on market (CTAR); the region's highest median |
| Year to date through May 2026 | Median $5,025,000 (+28.8%), average $5,840,000 (The Cassina Group) |
| June 2026 (monthly) | Median $3,787,500, 25 homes for sale, 101 average days on market |
| Record sale | 2529 Atlantic Avenue, $13,500,000, sold furnished, April 10, 2025 |
| Second-highest sale | 2407 Atlantic Avenue, $13,000,000, October 14, 2025 |
| Building size | Lots of 5,000 square feet or less: 2,400 square feet maximum principal building; larger lots add 10 square feet per 100 square feet of lot area |
| Coverage | Impervious surface capped at 30 percent; at least 50 percent of the property must remain landscape |
| Short-term rentals | Prohibited since about 2001; a February 2026 appellate ruling on a co-ownership home prompted the town to review its definitions |
Sources
| 2025 median, sales 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/ |
| Year to date through May 2026 | The Cassina Group, Market Report, May 2026 www.thecassinagroup.com/blog/market-report-may-2026/ |
| June 2026 monthly figures | The Cassina Group, Market Report, June 2026 www.thecassinagroup.com/blog/market-report-june-2026/ |
| 2529 Atlantic Avenue record | The Post and Courier, Apr 23, 2025 www.postandcourier.com/business/real_estate/sullivans-island-sc-million-waterfro |
| 2407 Atlantic Avenue sale | The Post and Courier, Oct 27, 2025 www.postandcourier.com/business/real_estate/sullivans-island-record-waterfront-h |
| 3213 Middle Street sale | 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 |
| 1749 Middle Street and 2804 Marshall Boulevard sales | William Means Real Estate, first-half 2026 top sales recap charlestonrealestate.com/blog/our-top-ten-sales-a-first-half-2026-recap |
| Building size and coverage rules | Town of Sullivan's Island, Lot Coverage Calculation Form sullivansisland.sc.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/Building%20Dept/Building%20 |
| Short-term rental history and the 2026 ruling | Handsome Properties, Aug 20, 2026, and The Post and Courier, 2026 handsomeproperties.com/blog/the-rule-that-built-sullivans-islands-price-premium- |
Sullivan's Island, answered.
Why is Sullivan's Island so expensive?
Scarcity by ordinance. The town limits the size of a house by the size of its lot, requires half of every property to remain landscape, caps impervious coverage at 30 percent and has prohibited short-term vacation rentals since about 2001. With few lots and no investor pool, the island posted the Charleston region's highest 2025 median at $4,200,000, and its year-to-date median through May 2026 reached $5,025,000.
Can I rent out a Sullivan's Island house?
Not as a short-term vacation rental; the town has prohibited them for roughly 25 years. A February 2026 South Carolina Court of Appeals ruling held that a co-ownership home was not a commercial rental under the ordinance, and the town's Planning Commission began reviewing its definitions. Long-term leases are a separate question. DHG reads the current ordinance with each buyer rather than relying on a summary.
What is the most expensive home sold on Sullivan's Island?
2529 Atlantic Avenue, which sold furnished for $13,500,000 on April 10, 2025. 2407 Atlantic Avenue followed at $13,000,000 on October 14, 2025, the second-highest sale on the island.
How is Damian Hall Group different from other Sullivan's Island agents?
Sullivan's has long-standing island specialists, and they are good. DHG brings the audience and the film: Southern Escapes reaches the out-of-state households who buy here, DHG Studios produces the cinematic tour that gets a Connecticut buyer on a plane, and Damian's Christie's Council seat places the listing with the advisors who represent that buyer at home. Fewer listings, the whole machine on each.
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.
Isle of Palms and Wild Dunes
Oceanfront, the Intracoastal and a gated resort at the north end, where a $15,000,000 sale reset the island in 2026.
Find your home in Sullivan's Island.
Tell us about the house, the timeline and what matters. Damian reads every message that comes through this page.