Bluffton SC Homes for Sale

Bluffton homes for sale cover far more ground than most visitors expect. The town was about one square mile until 1998; annexations since then took it past 50, and most of the area’s new homes have gone up here, from gated golf clubs on the Colleton and May rivers to streets of first homes off Bluffton Parkway. Our listings search covers the town and its eight named communities in one place. The rest of this page covers what the listings leave out: which community is which, who is building, and where the 55-and-over, gated and waterfront homes are.

Bluffton SC Real Estate by Community

The local MLS files most of Bluffton as one area, Bluffton/General, and gives each of the big planned communities an area of its own: Palmetto Bluff, Hampton Lake, Belfair, Rose Hill, Oldfield, Berkeley Hall, Hampton Hall and Colleton River. The Quick Searches above open each one. Our guides to each community cover the gate, the club and the dues; the ones below are live now, and the rest appear as they are finished.

Where the Rest of Bluffton’s Homes Are

Outside the named communities, the MLS splits Bluffton/General by road, which is also the simplest way to think about the town. The largest share sits along SC 46 on the May River side, from the edge of Old Town out past Palmetto Bluff. Next come the neighborhoods along SC 170 south toward Jasper County, including the New Riverside neighborhoods, then Buckwalter Parkway and the stretch between Burnt Church Road and Simmonsville Road. The homes nearest the island are between the Hilton Head bridges and Burnt Church Road, off US 278.

Old Town Bluffton Real Estate and Waterfront Homes

Old Town is the one part of Bluffton where you can walk to dinner: cottages and restored 19th-century houses on streets around Calhoun Street, a few steps from the galleries and the May River. It is a national historic district, so the town reviews changes to the outside of older buildings, and homes come up for sale a few at a time. The “Old Town Bluffton” pill above searches just this corner of the MLS.

Waterfront homes in Bluffton, SC, are on the May, Colleton, Okatie and New rivers and their creeks, and most of them sit inside the gated communities or along SC 46 and Alljoy Road. Alljoy, the neighborhood Bluffton also writes as All Joy, runs down to a small public beach and boat landing on the May River. Ask about the dock permit, the flood zone and the insurance before you compare a riverfront price with one a street back.

Gated Communities and Golf Communities in Bluffton SC

Most of Bluffton’s gated communities are also golf communities, and they are the reason many buyers look here. Belfair, Colleton River, Berkeley Hall, Oldfield, Hampton Hall and Palmetto Bluff each sit behind a gate with a club at the center; Rose Hill is gated around a public golf club; Hampton Lake is built around a lake instead of a course. Ask early whether club membership comes with the house or is a separate purchase: it varies by club. Every course has its own page in our Hilton Head and Bluffton golf courses guide, and the Bluffton golf page compares them.

Retirement Communities in Bluffton SC

Sun City is by far the largest of the 55-plus communities around Bluffton, SC. Del Webb’s Sun City Hilton Head, on the Okatie side, has thousands of homes, its own golf and dozens of clubs. Del Webb also built The Haven at New Riverside, about 500 homes with a clubhouse, pool and pickleball, and K. Hovnanian is building Four Seasons at Carolina Oaks, a 55-plus neighborhood of single-family homes in the 29909 zip code. Just over the county line in Hardeeville, Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head is the other big one. Many retirees skip the age-restricted route and buy in the golf communities instead.

New Construction Homes in Bluffton

Bluffton, SC, is where the area still has room to build, so new construction homes make up a real share of what is for sale. The national builders work in the planned neighborhoods along SC 46 and SC 170: Del Webb at The Haven, K. Hovnanian at Four Seasons at Carolina Oaks and The Lakes at New Riverside, and others in New Riverside Village. In the gated communities, most new homes are custom houses, built on a lot you buy first by a builder the community approves. Our guide to custom home builders in Bluffton lists the local builders with their reviews, and the Hilton Head home builders guide covers the island.

Callawassie Island, SC

Callawassie Island is a gated island community of about 880 acres between Bluffton and Beaufort, with the Colleton and Okatie rivers on either side. It has 27 holes of golf by Tom Fazio, docks for fishing and crabbing, and houses, villas and lots. Its homes carry an Okatie address and list in the MLS as their own area; the “Callawassie Island” pill above opens every Callawassie Island home for sale. The Callawassie Island guide covers the community, and Callawassie Island homes for sale has its own listings page.

Spring Island

Spring Island, next to Callawassie, is a private island of about 3,000 acres with only around 400 homesites and 1,200 acres set aside for good as a nature preserve. It was a cotton plantation before it was developed in the 1990s, and its golf course, Old Tabby Links, is an Arnold Palmer design laid through live oak forest with hardly a house in view. Spring Island homes for sale are few at any time; the pill above shows them.

Okatie SC Homes for Sale and Pritchardville

Okatie is the country north of Bluffton along SC 170, where the 29909 zip code runs. It takes in Sun City, Callawassie Island and Spring Island, and newer apartment and townhouse communities near Pepper Hall. On the other side of town, Pritchardville, SC, is an older crossroads community on SC 46 between Bluffton and Hardeeville, named for the Pritchard farms; its historic St. Luke’s Church is on the National Register.

Buying in Bluffton From Hilton Head

Many buyers compare the two sides of the bridges. Bluffton has more new construction and a shorter drive to Savannah; the island has the beach. Local agents sell on both sides, and our Hilton Head realtors guide lists them. For the island’s own market, see Hilton Head real estate, and for the town itself, our Bluffton guide.

Renting in Bluffton