Isle of Palms · Charleston County, South Carolina
Isle of Palms Custom Builder
Chris Eller holds a South Carolina real estate broker’s license and a South Carolina residential builder’s license. On Isle of Palms that combination matters: the same person who finds the lot writes the offer, runs the due diligence period, and then builds the house — so nobody hands the file off at the closing table.
Isle of Palms is a small island with a short supply of buildable lots, a permitting process that answers to both the city and Charleston County, and a flood map that decides most of your budget before an architect draws anything. The buyers who do well here are the ones who understand all three before they go under contract — not after.
Finding the Lot
Most of what trades on Isle of Palms is a teardown or a small older cottage on a lot worth more than the house standing on it. Public listings are only part of the supply. As a broker who has worked the island since 2003, Chris hears about a fair number of these before they hit the MLS, and he can tell you inside a phone call whether a lot will carry the house you have in mind — setbacks, lot coverage, tree protection and elevation all constrain the footprint long before design does.
The Due Diligence Period
On the coast, due diligence is not a formality. It is where a survey, an elevation certificate, a flood-zone determination, a soils and foundation review, an OCRM critical-line check on marsh-side lots, and a real construction budget either confirm the deal or kill it. Chris runs that period as the builder, not just the agent, which means the cost estimate is his own numbers rather than a placeholder you have to re-price after closing.
Elevation and Flood Zone
Isle of Palms sits in FEMA AE and VE zones, and the difference between them changes the structure, the insurance premium, and what you are allowed to enclose underneath. A VE lot needs open pile foundations and breakaway construction; an AE lot has more latitude. Building a foot or two above the base flood elevation costs very little at framing and pays back every year in premium, which is why every home we build here is elevated with the finished floor well above the minimum.
Permits and Timeline
Plan on twelve to eighteen months from lot to keys, and understand where the time goes: zoning and plan review, the building permit, utility and stormwater sign-offs, then roughly nine to twelve months of construction depending on pool, elevator and site work. Bridge access and a seasonal delivery window make island logistics slower than mainland Mount Pleasant. Anyone quoting you eight months has not accounted for the permit.
Builder and Broker, One Team
The usual arrangement puts an agent on one side, a builder on the other, and the buyer in the middle translating between them. Chris holds both licenses, so representation and construction sit under one roof and one point of accountability. Contracts are written cost-plus or fixed-price depending on which protects you better on that specific lot, and the allowance schedule is disclosed up front rather than discovered during framing.
Selling on the Island
If you already own here, the same construction knowledge works in reverse. Knowing what a renovation actually costs, what a buyer’s inspection will flag on a 1990s elevated home, and where the value sits between a full rebuild and a targeted update is the difference between pricing a house correctly and chasing the market down. Chris is a Broker Associate with The Cassina Group and a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist.
Isle of Palms Projects
6 29th Avenue
Elevated new construction with a pool and hot tub, steam sauna, media room, elevator and water views.
6 Bed · 6 Bath · 4,516 Sq Ft · 202618 Wills Way
Elevated custom home with a three-stop elevator, partially covered gunite pool, cove molding and a metal roof.
6 Bed · 5.5 Bath · 4,005 Sq Ft · 20252200 Hartnett Boulevard
Elevated home with a residential elevator, heated gunite pool, screened porch and a three-car side-entry garage.
5 Bed · 4 Bath · 3,296 Sq Ft · 20242 Driftwood Lane
Raised custom home with a book-matched marble kitchen, white oak floors, residential elevator and plunge pool.
5 Bed · 5 Bath · 3,935 Sq Ft · 20231 20th Avenue
Elevated Charleston Single with a three-stop elevator, board-and-batten foyer, spray foam envelope and smart panel.
6 Bed · 4 Bath · 3,189 Sq Ft · 2023Charleston Blvd.
Elevated custom home one block off the beach with an elevated pool. Iconic Developments represented the buyer.
7 Bed · 8 Bath · 4,769 Sq Ft · 2022Five of the six were built by Iconic Developments; on Charleston Blvd. we represented the buyer. The full portfolio, including Sullivan’s Island, Mount Pleasant and Daniel Island, is in the photo gallery. Available homes on the island are listed on the Isle of Palms community page.
Free · No Obligation
Have Chris review the lot before you write the offer
Send the address or the MLS number of any Isle of Palms lot or older house you are considering, and Chris will walk through it with you on the phone — usually inside twenty minutes. What he covers:
- Whether the lot will carry the house you have in mind, once setbacks, lot coverage and tree protection are applied
- The flood zone, the base flood elevation, and what each does to your foundation and your insurance premium
- Whether a pool fits, and where it would have to sit
- A realistic construction budget in his own numbers, not a per-square-foot guess
- On an existing house: whether the elevation certificate points to a renovation or a teardown
At a Glance
| Service Area | Isle of Palms, SC 29451 — including Wild Dunes, Forest Trail, Hartnett Boulevard, Palm Boulevard and the numbered avenues |
|---|---|
| What We Do | Lot acquisition, buyer and seller representation, custom homebuilding, renovation, land development |
| Licenses | South Carolina Real Estate Broker (2003) · South Carolina Residential Home Builder |
| Designations | ABR, CRS, CSP, CLHMS, e-Pro, GREEN, RSPS · NAHB Certified Master Builder, Certified Graduate Builder, Certified Green Professional |
| Brokerage | Chris Eller, Broker Associate, The Cassina Group |
| Typical Build Timeline | 12–18 months from lot purchase to certificate of occupancy, permitting included |
| Contract Types | Cost-plus or fixed-price, selected per project with the allowance schedule disclosed up front |
| Direct Line | (843) 343-3359 · Chris@IconicDevelopments.com |
Isle of Palms Questions
How much does it cost to build a custom home on Isle of Palms?
Budget $500 to $800 or more per heated square foot in 2026, before the lot. The spread is wide because island builds carry costs a mainland build does not: a deep pile or elevated foundation, impact-rated glazing, a metal or high-wind roof assembly, and a longer permitting window that you are financing the whole time. Pool, elevator and hardscape sit outside that number and can add several hundred thousand on their own.
What is the difference between an AE lot and a VE lot on Isle of Palms?
VE is the zone exposed to breaking wave action, which requires an open pile foundation, breakaway walls below the lowest floor, and no enclosed habitable space underneath. AE is stillwater flooding, which allows a wider range of foundation types and more usable ground-level enclosure. The same house designed for both lots is not the same house or the same price, and the flood insurance difference over a thirty-year hold is usually larger than the construction difference.
Can I put a pool under an elevated Isle of Palms home?
Often yes, but the answer depends on the zone, the setbacks and how much of your lot coverage the house already consumes. Pools on the island are usually gunite, frequently elevated to the deck level or tucked partially under the structure, and they need to be engineered so the pool shell and the house foundation are not fighting each other in a storm surge. This is one of the first things worth checking on a lot, because a buyer who assumed a pool and cannot have one has bought the wrong lot.
How long does the permitting process take on Isle of Palms?
Expect a few months before a shovel moves. The city reviews zoning and plans, Charleston County and the state weigh in on stormwater and, for marsh-side lots, OCRM reviews anything near the critical line. Tree protection and lot coverage regularly send a set of drawings back for revision. The realistic planning number is twelve to eighteen months from closing to certificate of occupancy, with construction itself running nine to twelve of those months.
Is a teardown or a renovation the better move on an older island house?
It usually comes down to the existing finished floor elevation. If the house sits below current base flood elevation and you renovate past the fifty percent substantial improvement threshold, you trigger a requirement to bring the whole structure into compliance — which frequently costs more than starting over. If the elevation is already compliant and the structure is sound, a targeted renovation can be the far better return. We look at the elevation certificate before we look at anything else.
Can Iconic Developments build for me on Isle of Palms?
Yes. The process starts with a conversation about the lot — whether you own one, are under contract, or are still looking. From there we run the due diligence, price the build from real numbers rather than a per-square-foot guess, and take it through permitting and construction as one team. Call Chris directly at (843) 343-3359, or start with the Isle of Palms community page to see what is available on the island now.
Talk to the builder, not a call center
Whether you own a lot on Isle of Palms, are about to make an offer on one, or are trying to decide between the island and Sullivan’s, one phone call will tell you what it takes.