By David Caraviello Special to The Post and Courier
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February 24, 2026
Its roots trace back to the early 1700s, when it emerged as a settlement of stores and taverns at the crossroads of the Cherokee Path and the road between Charleston and Santee. Today Moncks Corner offers a slice of vintage Lowcountry, complete with grand oaks and an expansive waterfront, imbued with a small-town atmosphere where shopkeepers regularly know their customers by name. Indeed, Moncks Corner can often seem like a throwback to what all of greater Charleston once felt like decades ago —all of it alongside Lake Moultrie, the 60,000-acre reservoir that’s a haven for boaters and anglers. It’s a place where the pace of life is a little slower, where outdoor activities are always close at hand, and where the vibe and the setting combine to create an irresistible allure for many homebuyers in the Lowcountry. “Moncks Corner is a slower-paced community with fewer people, less traffic, and less density of stores than most suburbs of Charleston,” said Roni Haskell, broker associate and agent at Roni and Co., a Keller Williams Realty affiliate. “It offers a small town feel with Southern barbecue hot spots and seasonal farmers market. The downtown redevelopment project that was approved in the fall of 2025 brings promise of revitalization that will give residents a fresh feel to town, but also attract new residents.” Morgan Brinson Fann, co-owner and broker-in-charge at Carolina Life Real Estate and Auctions in Moncks Corner, was born in the Berkeley County town and except for one year, has lived there her entire life. “A lot of people have stayed,” she said. “I like going to the store and running into people that I grew up with. It still has that hometown feel to it.” Kristen Conley, broker and lead at the Conley and Co. Team of Modern + Main Realty, can relate. She lives on the lake in nearby Bonneau Beach, in the home her grandparents once lived in, and has worked in Moncks Corner nearly her entire career. “I like that it’s small, and when you into the bank or a restaurant, people know who you are,” she said. “It’s quiet here. You have that slower pace of life. I can come home and feel like I can relax.” Others would agree. The 2024 U.S. Census found that Moncks Corner was the third fastest-growing city or town in South Carolina, seeing a 10.2 percent increase in population from the previous year. The town has become a hub of new home construction, with new home communities dotting both sides of U.S. Highway 52. More than 52 percent of all homes sold in the Moncks Corner/Goose Creek area in 2025 were new construction, according to the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. In many minds, a Moncks Corner home is envisioned as a residence in an established neighborhood like Fairlawn Barony or Berkeley Country Club, situated on a large lot replete with oaks and azaleas. But more and more often, it’s becoming a newer build in a community like Abbey Walk by Dream Finders Homes, Lakeview at Kitfield by D.R. Horton, or Cypress Preserve by Lennar. “New construction is really what’s selling the most,” Conley said. “It’s not because older homes aren’t selling — we just don’t have the same type of inventory for those. If we had more inventory in those established neighborhoods, that would 100 percent be a draw. But in new neighborhoods, there are just so many more options.” Prices from the $200,000s No question, Moncks Corner has a luxury market — there are several million-dollar listings for new builds in Wassamassaw Plantation, a five-bedroom home on 5.78 acres at 369 Edisto Drive recently hit the market with a list price of $1.35 million, and a 5,100-square-foot home on the lakefront in nearby Pinopolis sold late last year for $1.375 million. But to many prospective home buyers, Moncks Corner brings something else to mind: affordability. The average sales price in Moncks Corner since the first of the year is $360,000, Haskell said, making it “a more affordable area for buyers.” The median sales price for the Moncks Corner/Goose Creek area in 2025 was $387,662 —up 1.3 percent from the previous year, according to CTAR, but still well below the Charleston area median of $426,947. So far in 2026, Haskell added, Moncks Corner sales have averaged $177 per square foot. “There’s definitely availability for first-time homebuyers,” said Fann, who estimated that first-time buyers are 40 percent of her business. “For the longest time, Moncks Corner did not have any townhomes, and now they’re going up everywhere. While anything under $300,000 is going to be hard to come by, it is affordable for a lot of people.” The abundance of new construction has certainly played a role in that. Of the 148 homes under contract in Moncks Corner as of Feb. 16, Haskell said, 81 of them were new builds or proposed new builds. Available new detached single-family listings began at $369,900 at The Groves of Berkeley by Beazer Home, at $399,410 in Cypress Preserve, at $403,9455 in Lakeview at Kitfield. New townhomes started at $246,490 at Halstead by Starlight and at $259,900 in Abbey Walk, with many more on the way. “You can find a very nicely appointed townhome in Abbey Walk built by Dream Finders Homes for under $300,000,” Haskell said. "They have a natural gas range, 42-inch upper kitchen cabinets, quartz countertops, a tile backsplash, stainless appliances, a tankless water heater and luxury plank vinyl floors. They live well, look good, and are affordable. For first-time home buyers who have high style, this is a perfect fit.” The existing home market can be tighter, because Moncks Corner tends to be the kind of place where people hang on to homes in established neighborhoods for a very long time. A recent search turned up just three active listings in Pimlico, an established neighborhood that borders the Cooper River. There were just three in Fairlawn Barony, only one in Berkeley Country Club. Listings were similarly limited in communities such as Stony Landing and Sterling Oaks. Those neighborhoods tend to appeal to “move-up” buyers, Conley said — people who have already bought their first home in Moncks Corner, and are willing to be patient to find the bigger purchase that comes next. “Those more than likely are people who have been in Moncks Corner for a little while, who have bought in one of those newer neighborhoods,” she added, “and have been waiting for the perfect house to come up.” Slice of the lake life Lake Moultrie is among the natural jewels of Moncks Corner, with a southern shoreline that extends from the Hatchery Wildlife Management Area, around the peninsula of Pinopolis, past Overton Park and up to Bonneau Beach. Owned and managed by Santee Cooper, the lake plunges 75 feet at its deepest point, and according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources offers many anglers the opportunity to catch the largest freshwater fish they will ever encounter. “Living by the water is a strong draw,” Haskell said. “I have had many clients over the last five years move out of Summerville and seek lake living on Lake Moultrie. It is still close to work and essential life needs for them, but they feel it is a retreat when they go home to living on the lake. The peace that brings them during the week and also the enjoyment on the weekends is what they are seeking.” Finding that slice of idyllic Moncks Corner lakefront, though, can be easier said than done. Conley lives on the lake in Bonneau Beach, and when she looks out from her backyard she sees not an overdeveloped lakeshore crammed cheek-to-jowl with houses, but largely water and trees. “The lake in general is still a draw, especially for people who come in from outside the area and are looking to retire here,” she said. “But it’s not like it’s developed all the way around, so if someone is looking specifically for that, it’s probably going to take a little bit of time. You've got a couple of areas in Moncks Corner, Pinopolis, and Bonneau Beach. After that, you’re pretty much going to have to go over to Cross to find anything, and there are only a couple of neighborhoods over there directly on the lake.” A recent search turned up only a few waterfront listings on Lake Moultrie in the Moncks Corner area, all of them in Bonneau Beach — including offerings of $1.995 million and $2.995 million, both of them active contingent and next to one another on Butter Road. Listings on the Cooper River include a $1.45 million home in Pimlico, and a $699,800 active contingent listing in Berkeley Country Club. “It’s definitely slim,” Fann said of waterfront options. “Last year I sold one of the highest-priced listings on Lake Moultrie, in Bonneau for about $1.2 million, and it wasn’t even on deep water. Someone local bought it — they had a house in Foxbank and wanted to move to the lake, so that’s what they did. But it is slim.” It all further accentuates what’s become the general rule of thumb when it comes to real estate in Moncks Corner: new construction is relatively easy for buyers to find, but homes in established neighborhoods and on the lakefront are at a premium. “You’re talking about areas where people don’t move every couple of years,” Conley said. “Once you move into these older, established areas, you’re setting down roots for a while.” Maintaining a unique identity Clearly, more and more people have become eager to do just that in the place that calls itself “the Lowcountry’s Hometown.” Between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2024, the population of Moncks Corner grew 37.9 percent, according to the U.S. Census — from 13,313, to 18,359 over that span. For locals, the population growth and the development that’s accompanied it are evident. “Every time I go from Moncks Corner and drive down Highway 52 or even Highway 17, there’s something new going on,” Fann said. “There’s only so much land, and there are only two main highways to get to and from Moncks Corner.” And yet, the town’s slower pace of life and relaxed nature continue to endure. Moncks Corner is “the embodiment of the Lowcountry way of life,” according to its official government website. Hard to argue with that, given the number of people moving there. The fact that it offers an abundance of new, affordable real estate only sweetens the deal. “Partly the secret is out, but also there are more opportunities in Moncks Corner now with the growth and development,” Haskell said. “A few years ago, I helped a builder secure many lots in Wassamassaw Plantation that they subsequently turned around and built new custom spec homes on. They are beautifully crafted, giving more options to our luxury buyers. So no matter the price point, there are just simply more offerings today than in years past. The land is more affordable, and the municipality makes it easier for the developers to develop and builders to build than some sistering communities in the Charleston area.” Yes, there can be more traffic getting back and forth to Berkeley High School than there used to be. Yes, it’s easy to look at all those master-planned communities in Summerville and wonder how much further northwest they’re going to creep. But even in the face of unprecedented growth, Moncks Corner has retained its unique identity — as the the scenic lakefront, the established neighborhoods, and the local shops downtown will attest. “I think for sure that is has,” Conley said. “If you're on Main Street, pretty much everything but the banks is locally owned and operated. Obviously, times change and things grow. And I know as things continue to come this way, there are other things that will start to creep in. But I don’t feel like you’re going to see a lot of commercialized things come into downtown Moncks Corner, because there’s no room for it in that area. I feel like it’s going to maintain that down-home feel.” Article from https://www.postandcourier.com/moving-to-moncks-corner-growing-town-combines-affordability-with-a-laid-back-lowcountry-feel/article_eff92a29-67fa-44c0-bc14-640b1c5afc95.html
