Commercial Real Estate on Hilton Head Island, SC

A town of small businesses

About 15 in 100 working residents of the Town of Hilton Head Island are self-employed (as of 2024), so many of the buyers and tenants of small shops, offices and restaurants are the owners themselves.

Where the offices are

Hilton Head Business Brokers and Gilleland Properties are each 1.0 mi from Coligny Plaza, and Golden Homes at 1 Lagoon Rd is 0.1 mi from it. Transworld Business Advisors is 2.1 mi from Shelter Cove, and SVN | GASC sits on the mainland side of the bridge on Fording Island Rd, 6.4 mi from Shelter Cove.

A seasonal economy

About 25 in 100 housing units (7,599 of 30,112) are held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use (as of 2024), which is why shops, restaurants and rental-support businesses plan around a summer peak.

Commercial tax rate

South Carolina assesses commercial property at 6% of its market value, against 4% for an owner-occupied primary home, and Beaufort County last reassessed in 2023 with the next reassessment set for 2028. The County Assessor’s office is at (843) 255-2400.

Town business license

The Town of Hilton Head Island requires a business license for a business on the island, the license year runs May 1 to April 30, and renewals are due April 30. The fee is based on gross revenue, and rental income from property counts. Town Hall is at 1 Town Center Court, (843) 341-4600.

Zoning decides what fits

The Town’s Community Development staff handle a zoning lookup, rezoning, variance and special exception requests, so the first question about any building is what its zoning district lets a business do there.

Free help for a new owner

The University of South Carolina Beaufort Small Business Development Center, at 1 Sand Shark Drive, offers free business counseling and can be reached at (843) 208-8259.

A commercial real estate broker sells or leases property that is used for business: a shop in a plaza, an office suite, a warehouse bay or a building with tenants. SVN | GASC lists sales, leasing, property management and tenant representation, and Golden Homes lists a commercial division and commercial properties for sale on Hilton Head and in Bluffton. Hilton Head Business Brokers also handles commercial real estate alongside business sales.

Commercial property is taxed differently from a home. South Carolina assesses commercial property at 6% of its market value, against 4% for an owner-occupied primary home, so ask for the last tax bill on any building you look at. Our page on Beaufort County property taxes explains how the bill is figured.

Many island businesses change hands through a broker who keeps the sale private, so staff and customers do not hear about it early. Hilton Head Business Brokers asks buyers for a confidentiality agreement and a buyer profile, with background, timing and financial limits, and then calls the buyer when a matching business comes up. Gilleland Properties posts restaurant listings with asking price, cash flow and gross revenue.

Ask each broker whether the sale includes the real estate or only the lease, because a restaurant sold with its building and one sold with a lease are different purchases. Gilleland Properties focuses on restaurants, Hilton Head Business Brokers lists retail, service, food and beverage and construction businesses, and Hilton Head Business Brokers also says it handles commercial real estate.

Before you sign a lease or a contract, check the zoning. The Town of Hilton Head Island’s Community Development staff can tell you what a building’s zoning district allows, and the Town has processes for a rezoning, a variance and a special exception. Call the Town at (843) 341-4600 with the address.

A business on the island also needs a Town business license. The license year runs May 1 to April 30, renewals are due April 30, and the fee depends on the business’s gross revenue. A landlord who rents out property is counted too. Your lawyer and accountant can tell you what applies to you: see island lawyers and insurance on Hilton Head.

The University of South Carolina Beaufort Small Business Development Center offers free business counseling at 1 Sand Shark Drive, (843) 208-8259, which is a good stop before you write an offer on a business. For a loan, see banks on Hilton Head. An owner who is selling to retire can read about South Carolina retirement taxes.

Planning to build or redesign commercial space? Vaccaro Architecture lists commercial buildings on our architects page, and storage units on the island can hold stock or equipment between a lease ending and the next one starting.