Zillow, the online real estate resource, has published a list of the best cities and towns to buy a vacation home with golf as a major activity. In order to qualify for the list, 15% of the area within five miles of a town must include golf oriented homes. (Zillow ranks the towns also by other activities, including large bodies of water, like oceans and lakes; amusement parks; historical sites; and national parks.)
        Zillow ranks vacation towns on a range of attributes, including price to rent ratio, median home value, median rent and a home value 12-month forecast, and rolls them all into one "Second Home Index" on a scale of 1 to 100. The coastal town of Calabash, NC, rates a perfect 100 on that scale.

Calabash, NC, tops the list
        I know Calabash for two things, its indigenous approach to frying sea creatures and the number of golf courses in the immediate area. The frying substitutes cornmeal for flour in coating the seafood. As for the golf, we count 135 holes of golf with a Calabash address, most of them located adjacent to real estate. All available for public play, they include 27 holes at Brunswick Plantation and 36 holes at The Pearl. The others include Meadowland and Farmstead, close to each other and part of the same group; Carolina Shores; and Crow Creek. The real estate in most of these communities is bargain-priced, with a mix of multi-unit buildings and single-family homes. Overall, Zillow indicates that the median home price in Calabash is just under $96,000.
        Brunswick Plantation, for example, is a sprawling 1,200 acres and includes 1,200 single-family homes and 800 multi-unit dwellings. Of the 60 homes currently listed for sale in Brunswick Plantation, condos begin under $60,000 and single-family homes from $181,000. Crow Creek condos begin at just $114,000; the least expensive single-family home currently for sale is 4 bedrooms, 3 baths priced at $340,000. A relative few number of lots are still available in these communities for those who would like to design their own homes.

Big Cats anchor Sunset Beach golf offerings
        Sunset Beach, NC, just north of Calabash, also rates highly on Zillow's index of vacation towns with a golf orientation, no doubt owing to the presence of a few golf communities with multiple courses. Ocean Ridge's collection of golf courses, known as the "Big Cats" because they are named Tiger's Eye, Leopard's Chase, Panther's Run and Lion's Paw, provide 72 holes of golf inside the gates of a popular golf community. Sea Trail, another local golf community, adds 54 holes, Sandpiper and Thistle Golf Club add another 27 each, and the unique Oyster Bay, which features oyster shell faces on some of its greens, kicks in another 18. If another complex, Angel Trace, had not closed for business recently, Sunset Beach would equal Calabash for golfing excess.
        Ocean Ridge features only single-family homes, with prices starting at $340,000. There are also more than 100 lots still available at prices starting around $16,000. Prices in Sandpiper and Sea Trail are generally lower, Thistle, which is a much smaller community than the others, generally higher.
        Other towns in Brunswick County, NC, show up on the Zillow list, as do plenty of towns in Florida. You will find the Zillow list of golf vacation home towns if you click here.

        From time to time, we will post current homes for sale that we deem bargains in golf communities we have visited. The following are courtesy of the Clay Team, Bob and Carol Clay, whom we work with in the mountains of western North Carolina. If you are interested in either of these properties or in learning about others in the 3,900-acre Connestee Falls and other fine golf communities in the Brevard, NC, area, please contact me for an introduction to Bob and Carol.

        The golf course at Connestee Falls, designed by George Cobb who designed the par 3 course at Augusta National, winds its way through tall pine forestation that is ubiquitous throughout the mountain regions of North Carolina. If you like doglegs and playing the slopes of fairways and greens, Connestee will be to your liking. Besides golf, the community features hiking trails, tennis and four lakes. The nearby Davidson River was recently celebrated in Garden & Gun magazine as one of the best waterways in the South, especially for its population of large rainbow trout. The charming town of Brevard is a mere six miles from Connestee’s front gate, and the prices for homes currently listed in the community (see below) will appeal to second-home buyers (especially those from Florida seeking to flee summer heat) and retirees from everywhere who appreciate the arts and crafts ethic of small-town mountain living.  For my review of Connestee Falls after I visited in 2008, please click here.
        Overall, homes in Connestee Falls range in price from the mid $100s to just under $1 million.  Two current properties for sale in Connestee Falls seem like especially good buys. One highlights outdoor living with wide, open decks for appreciation of forest and mountain views and a patio with a gas-fired pit. The 3,100 square feet inside contains three bedrooms, two and half baths and two fireplaces. The owners recently refurbished much of the home, with a coat of fresh paint, new carpet, new plumbing and other touches. The home is listed at just $259,000, which works out to an impressive $84 per square foot.
Plenty of nice views from this Connestee Falls home. Priced at $259,000.

        The other home the Clay Team is featuring is smaller but less expensive overall. It also features three bedrooms and two and a half baths but encompasses just under 2,000 square feet. It has been remodeled to include new hardwood floors, repainting and an updated kitchen. What has not changed are the year-round mountain views. The home is priced at just $250,000.
At 2,000 square feet, this home is more than manageable for a couple who would prefer spending time on the golf course or just sitting on the deck looking out at the mountains.