By Rachel Pleasant
Staff Writer

For a handful of local marinas, 2005 was the year of the boat slip sale, and it was a good one.

At Bohicket Marina on Seabrook Island, where slips became available for purchase about a year ago, around 30 of the 194 slips are still available for purchase.

“It’s going very well,” said Lane Jefferies of Atlantic Island Properties, who is handling boat slip sales for the marina.

The remaining slips range from 30 to 55 feet long and range in price from $138,000 to $219,000.

Those who have become the owners of their own little bit of waterfront property have primarily been homeowners who intend to keep their own watercraft in the slip.

But, Jefferies said, there has also been a significant number of investors purchasing the slips, either to rent out to boaters or simply to add value to their homes.

“There are a fair amount of people who recognize that it adds value to their homes,” Jefferies said. “There are thousands of upscale homes on Kiawah and Seabrook (islands) and on south Johns Island, but there are only 194 boat slips. People are buying them to tie into their property.”

Whatever the reason for purchasing a slip, owners have been anything but disappointed in the investment, Jefferies said.

The largest slips at the marina, he said, were sold for $115,000 when they first became available last year. Since then, the value has appreciated to nearly $220,000.

“What the developers of the marina did is they weren’t greedy. They didn’t say, ‘How much can we get for these slips?’ They said, ‘How much do we need to make the project work?’” Jefferies said, adding that the marina has undergone extensive upgrades, including new landscaping and installation of new docks and boardwalks.

“What they found was that the prices were more than reasonable, and people were more than happy to pay them. Now there’s reduced supply and huge demand.”

Though the sales have been successful, there is still a place for slip renters at Bohicket Marina, Jefferies said.

“For the foreseeable future, there will be the ability to rent,” Jefferies said. “The developers of the marina bought some slips for themselves, so they could rent them on a short-term transient basis.”

Plus, many of the slip owners are part-time residents and may rent the slips out while they are not in the area.

The Harborage at Ashley Marina, which began pre-selling slips in January, has experienced similar success.

The marina, formerly Ashley Marina, was recently purchased by Atlantic Marina Holdings and has undergone extensive renovations.

Of the 230 slips at the marina, 40 remain available for sale. Prices range from $85,000 to $180,000, with some larger slips going for $500,000.

“We knew it was going to be good and demand would be high because no one else downtown offered it,” said Joe Miller of Atlantic Marina Holdings. “We didn’t expect how quickly they would sell. The biggest thing that was so interesting was that people are buying them to lease out.”

Of the slips that have been purchased, about half are owned by investors and half owned by pleasure boaters storing their own craft.

In a few months time, boat slips at The Harborage have also appreciated significantly.

Though marinas say they have few slips left to sell, the “dock-ominium” craze may not be done.

At Buzzard’s Roost Marina on Johns Island, employee Drew Middleton said that if an impending sale of the marina goes through, it is likely that in the next year or two it will begin selling its slips.

Rachel Pleasant is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at rpleasant@charlestonbusiness.com.

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