Kiawah Island — Vanderhorst
The Preserve
Single-family homes. What the record says, what has sold, what it costs to own — and what to ask before you buy.
Last verified
Photo: olekinderhook, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
What the record says
- DeveloperBoathouse with canoe and kayak storage
Close by
- NearbyEagle Point Boat Landing (KICA)
Facts about the place only — never its people. Who said each line is on its tag; the sources are at the bottom of this page.
What The Preserve sells for
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| $ a sq ft | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Medians need five sales; under that, the count is all we show. The MLS knows this place as “The Preserve”. Many Kiawah Island listings name only the island, so this is a floor, not every sale here.
The county’s record: 6 homes and 2 empty lots on the assessor’s roll; 3 home deeds recorded since January 1, 2021 (no median across phases or under 5); a typical home here last changed hands 4.5 years ago. Deeds count every sale — builder, private and MLS — so they never match the MLS line for line.
Want the sales behind these numbers — which units, what they had, what they sold for? Mike sends the comps for The Preserve.
Send me the compsBased on information from CHS Regional MLS for the period 01/01/2021 through 10/14/2026. MLS figures are aggregates of listings as entered by agents, deemed reliable but not guaranteed. No listing, address or agent is shown.
Charleston County SC public property records (assessor-maintained parcel layer), pulled October 14, 2026.
What yours might sell for
The Preserve doesn't have five recent MLS sales to build a range from — which is exactly when a real CMA matters. Mike pulls the comps by hand: this neighborhood, its neighbors, and what's for sale now.
Get Mike's CMAWhat you’d pay to own here
Annual assessment — home or villa
$2,562 general + $357 reserve + $239 amenity (Sandcastle)
ConfirmedContribution to Reserves (the "transfer fee")
The rate is confirmed. The minimum is "the current Annual Assessment" — $3,158 if all three 2026 charges count, $2,562 if only the general one does. Being confirmed with KICA.
0.5% of the price, never less than the current annual assessment — so the floor applies below about $631,600
ConflictingProperty Sale Administration Fee
$100 one time
ConfirmedV-Gate (Vanderhorst) segment assessment
Ocean Park and The Preserve segment assessments dropped to $0 for 2026.
+$103 a year on a home, +$51.50 on a lot, behind the V-Gate
ConfirmedRegime (villa association) fees
Your contract's regime disclosures and the regime manager have the real number.
Vary by regime; not published by KICA
Not publishedKiawah Island Club membership
Available only with select properties. Agent pages report initiation at $185,000 golf, $160,000 sports and $120,000 social, and say it is mandatory in Cassique and The Settlement — none of that is from the Club.
SecondaryShort-term rental license
Licenses in capped areas are first come, first served. The Town issues them — not KICA.
Application $500 (R-1 and capped R-2 streets) or $200 (other zones), plus a rental license tax: $75 on the first $2,000 of rent, then $3.05 per $1,000
ConfirmedProperty tax levy — St. John's Fire District
216.1 countywide mills + 30.0 St. John's Fire District. Covers Seabrook (TD 53), Kiawah (TD 54), and Johns Island and Wadmalaw outside any town (TD 51 — "T.D. 5-1" on the county map).
Confirmed
Every line, its source and the date it was checked: Kiawah’s fee ledger. Your own closing and first year, line by line: the true-cost calculator.
Ask these before you buy here
- Ask KICA for a status letter on the property — any unpaid charges pass to the buyer.
- Ask whether a special assessment is planned or underway, and what the reserves hold.
- Ask what the regime maintains — roofs, siding, docks, pools — and what's yours.
- If you'll rent it out: the Town of Kiawah Island licenses short-term rentals, and in capped areas licenses go first come, first served. Ask the regime for its own rules too.
- Look up the flood zone for the exact address — zones change within a neighborhood. Look it up.
Mike asks them for you — and reads the regime's answers before you sign.
Have Mike askWhat kind of homes are in The Preserve?
Single-family homes. Boathouse with canoe and kayak storage.
Is The Preserve in the Town of Kiawah Island?
Yes — it's inside the Town of Kiawah Island.
How many homes in The Preserve have sold since 2021?
4 closed in the CHS Regional MLS from January 2021 through October 9, 2026.
More in Vanderhorst
Every neighborhood, the island’s price map and its market: Kiawah Island, neighborhood by neighborhood.
Sources
- KICA regime-manager list (revised 3/22/2022) — management company (KICA-posted 'Kiawah Regime Management' list, file named 2024, pages revised 03.22.2022, marked internal use); checked October 13, 2026.
- Kiawah Island Real Estate — The Preserve page — area, type, setting (Kiawah Island Real Estate, LLC); checked October 13, 2026.
Spot something out of date? Tell us and it gets checked and fixed, with the date.
Live oaks on Kiawah
Photo: JulDer Wiki, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Two ways in
Talk it through with Mike, or ask Val — the guide’s AI assistant, answering from this site’s sourced facts.