Callawassie Island

Beaufort, South Carolina

Name of Project:

Callawassie Island

Community details:

Total units: 716

Homes from: mid $300s – $1,000,000+

Community highlights:

River Club & tennis center

27 holes of Tom Fazio golf

Nature trails

Four community docks

Clubhouse

Wellness facility

Destination:

Beaufort, South Carolina

Overview

Callawassie Island is a private, gated community between Hilton Head and Bluffton, South Carolina. This established community attracts many early retirees with its beautiful Tom Fazio golf course, excellent tennis facilities, marsh kayaking opportunities, and close proximity to both the pristine beaches of Hilton Head and the festivals, boutique shops, and historic downtown of Beaufort, South Carolina.

The Challenges

The club and amenities of this mature community were in the hands of multiple property owner boards, who were left with a void when the developer turned over the amenities during the recession. To take care of resales, the Property Owners Association had turned to a series of traditional real estate firms that proved ill-equipped to maintain sales momentum in a market facing pressure from multiple new communities. Additionally, the marketing budget set forth by the Property Owners Association was not able to compete with large developer spending in the competing communities. Sales dwindled to all-time low numbers; just nine properties had closed in the year prior to Catalyst’s involvement.

Enter Catalyst

Callawassie Island engaged Catalyst in 2012. A business plan commensurate with Callawassie’s existing marketing budget was quickly put together, and a dedicated sales force was recruited and given a customized training program. Catalyst also put together a realtor referral program that successfully increased referrals and tours from realtors in surrounding markets. In addition, a higher sales conversion rate was realized once these leads were distributed to the newly trained sales team.

Results

In the first two years, sales skyrocketed 180%, despite the very limited marketing budget, as Catalyst leveraged its expertise in the marketplace to generate the best return with cost-effective solutions. Sales have increased an average of 20% year-over-year since. Through Catalyst’s ongoing assistance, Callawassie Island has continued to reassert itself in the local market as a desirable community with a club on sound financial footing, popular with the local realtors.

“We were very happy we hired Catalyst and were pleased with the work they did. Catalyst created a very good program and did it on a very tight budget. I would not hesitate to recommend Catalyst for any high end real estate challenge.”

- Joe Tatarski, Callawassie

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