Village at Wild Dunes
Isle of Palms, South Carolina
Name of Project:
Village at Wild Dunes
Community details:
250 units
Condominiums from $400,000 — $2.75M
Community highlights:
Tennis center
Minutes to Charleston
Expansive ocean views
Two Tom Fazio golf courses
Destination:
Isle of Palms, South Carolina
Overview
The Village at Wild Dunes, developed by Lowe Destination Development and managed by Destination Hotels & Resorts, is a luxury oceanfront pedestrian village built within the established Wild Dunes Resort, located minutes from Charleston, South Carolina, on Isle of Palms.
The Challenges
When Lowe Destination Development, a diversified national real estate organization, decided to pre-sell units at the Village at Wild Dunes, they knew they needed the right partner to identify, inspire, and motivate the best prospects, and to bring results specifically for their multi-building development without hurting the already-established real estate presence of the surrounding community. Catalyst rose to that challenge by using our extensive expertise to develop and market an engaging yet complimentary brand, while being sensitive to the needs of the on-site Wild Dunes Real Estate Office, which managed home resales for the island community.
Enter Catalyst
Catalyst brought to life an engaging brand that complemented the Wild Dunes brand but could stand alone. The existing Wild Dunes sales office was transformed to a showplace for the new offering and was staffed with a dedicated sales team, all personally directed and trained by Catalyst, while national marketing efforts produced an astounding 7,000 leads. A reservation sales program was customized for the changing market conditions of the time. The program converted each reservation into a firm contract involving a significant, nonrefundable deposit as a way of mitigating developer risk and accounting for the needs of existing Wild Dunes homeowners.
Results
Despite the project coming to fruition in the days leading up to the Great Recession, Catalyst helped generate more than 1,000 reservations and $108 million in sales in just 12 months. While presales ended in mid-2007 with three buildings reserved to capacity, 99% of contracts were closed at the completion of construction in 2009 due to the wisdom of Catalyst to insist on a 20% deposit. Today the Village at Wild Dunes is a jewel in the community’s rental program and a rewarding asset for its owners.
“I highly recommend them! They sold 105 of 115 units in 11 months and did a great job of getting the sales closed.”