Charleston keeps showing up on lists. This time, it's Forbes calling us out as one of just four U.S. cities where wealthy buyers are snapping up second homes.
The others? Salt Lake City. Naples. Scottsdale. Good company.
Why Charleston?
According to The State, Forbes points to the usual suspects — Lowcountry lifestyle, centuries-old architecture, Michelin-starred dining, walkability, beach access — but also something harder to quantify: soul.
And that's exactly the point. Buyers arriving from New York, the Midwest, Texas, and the Mountain West aren't feeling like they're giving anything up. Charleston punches above its weight culturally and culinarily — a city that competes with major metros on food, music, and art, without the noise and cost that come with them.
The New Second-Home Buyer
This isn't your grandfather's vacation home play.
Sotheby's International Realty reports that 28% of luxury home sales worldwide are now second-home purchases. And the buyers driving that number look different than they used to. Younger. More intentional. Often founders, executives, and global entrepreneurs in their 30s and 40s.
These aren't occasional escapes. They're lifestyle infrastructure — part-time primary residences, remote work bases, and long-term investments rolled into one.
Legacy markets like Aspen, Miami, and the Hamptons? Still in the mix. But a new generation is looking elsewhere.
Record Money, Real Proof
Need a data point? Last October, 51 East Bay Street — the historic Casper Christian Schutt House, built around 1800 — sold for $21.575 million, a new record for the city. The property had been owned by businessman and philanthropist Wayland H. Cato Jr., whose late-1990s purchase actually saved it from being converted into condominiums. He spent years restoring it. Four structures. Over 15,700 square feet. An indoor pool. And a pair of chandeliers from the set of Gone with the Wind.
That's not just a big sale. That's a signal.
What It Means for Charleston
More affluent part-time residents means more demand, more pressure on inventory, and more eyes on the Holy City from markets we haven't always competed with.
The National Association of Realtors already named Charleston a top housing hotspot for 2026. Forbes just told the world's wealthy buyers why.
The question isn't whether Charleston is on the map. It's whether the city — and its housing market — is ready for what comes next.
This is a summary of an article published in The State. Click here if you'd like to read that article.
