How many Hilton Head Margaritaville homes have sold? This map once offered a clue

Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head is selling "about a home a day" since opening almost a month ago, according to Bill Bullock, senior vice president of Minto Communities, the company developing the Jimmy Buffett-inspired retirement community in Hardeeville.

"And that (number) is what (sister community Latitude Margaritaville) Daytona Beach (Fl.) (averaged) when it first opened," Bullock said Thursday afternoon.

Bullock said the Florida community's sales increased — to between 1.5 to two homes a day — after its model homes opened in February. And he said customers interested in the South Carolina location continue to tour those units in the Sunshine State as construction begins on Margaritaville Hilton Head's models, which are scheduled to open this summer.

When asked how many Hardeeville homes have sold, Bullock said he couldn't "go into specific details," but said Minto was satisfied with sales.

The community has exceeded "20 reservations to contract conversions anticipated for the sales launch," he said.

Those contract conversions began in earnest last Saturday, at the end of a three-week "preview period" that allowed people to put down a refundable $10,000 deposit before signing construction contracts.

A map in the sales center gave prospective buyers an idea of what lots were available, and a hint at how many had sold. The map detailed Phase One's 193 planned lots, some of which were marked with red dots to indicate they'd been sold or reserved.

But there was a problem with the map.

"I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, but some customers have been coming in and moving the dots because they want a specific lot, not realizing we keep digital records of that," Bullock said. "I guess it's a good thing, because they want the lots that bad."

As of Thursday morning, that map was marked with 31 red dots, seven of which had a "SOLD" sticker atop them. (Bullock said they were in the process of covering the dots with the stickers to make them harder to move around but, to remove the temptation, decided to instead take down the maps, which will happen soon.)

Seven of those dots represented "custom choice" homes, tour-able prototype units that will complement the models but, later, be available for purchase, Bullock said. In that scenario, a customer would not design the home from the ground up but rather add the finishing touches — such as interior design elements — Bullock explained.

The model homes should open in June, Bullock said.

Margaritaville Hilton Head is planned for about 3,000 homes on roughly 2,700 acres off U.S. 278, just a few miles from Interstate 95.

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 4:02 PM with the headline "How many Hilton Head Margaritaville homes have sold? This map once offered a clue."