Old Town Bluffton Homes for Sale

Much of Old Town is Bluffton’s local Historic District, which grew out of the National Register district along the May River. New construction, additions, renovations, site work and demolition there need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Town’s Historic Preservation Commission. The commission reviews the design, including the massing, porches, windows and materials, and it can attach conditions, such as protecting a large oak on the lot.

That shapes what you are buying. A cottage you plan to renovate and a lot you plan to build on both go through design review before a permit, so ask the listing agent whether the property is inside the district and whether plans are already approved. Not every address in the MLS’s Old Town Bluffton area is inside the district line, so confirm it with the Town’s planning staff before you rely on it.

Old Town is also where the Lowcountry’s past is easiest to see on the mainland. The Old Town guide covers the street-by-street history, and Bluffton history tells the story behind the houses.

Get the rental rules in writing before you make an offer. We could not find the Town’s short-term rental requirements for Old Town on a public page, and whether a house can be rented by the night, or by the month, decides whether it can earn income. Ask the listing agent and the Town’s planning staff what applies to the property in the Historic District, and whether any permit transfers to a new owner.

If rental income is the point, Bluffton real estate compares the other neighborhoods around town.

From a home in Old Town, the restaurants, the galleries on Church Street, the Heyward House and the town dock are on foot, and the Hilton Head bridge is about 20 minutes away. Parking is the one thing to check on a small lot.