History of Island Realty

Island Realty can trace its roots back to the 1950s when J.C. Long began developing and building homes on Isle of Palms. As part of these endeavors, Mr. Long hired Al Johnson to handle home rentals. Mr. Johnson eventually opened his own company, Al Johnson Realty, which listed, sold, and managed real estate on Isle of Palms for many years.

Around 1976, the Johnson’s sold the company to Carol and Bill Walters, who changed the name to Island Realty. One year later, the Walters were approached to develop and manage sales operations for the newly constructed Isle of Palms Beach and Racquet Club (now known as Wild Dunes) at the northern end of Isle of Palms.

The Walters asked Don Stone (Alexander D. Stone Jr.) if he would list and sell Island Realty in 1977. Don saw potential in the company and took the opportunity presented by the Walters. He not only accepted the offer to sell Island Realty, but also ended up purchasing and managing the operation himself. Under Don’s management, Island Realty grew from a small “mom and pop” business to one of the premier operations in the community.

In 1978, Sandy (Alexander D. Stone III) joined Island Realty as a maintenance man, earning his real estate and broker licenses concurrently. Sandy, his wife Peggy, his sister Missy and her husband David Crosby managed alongside Don until 1993. That year, Sandy, Missy, and their spouses purchased Island Realty from their parents. At that time, Island Realty had developed into a thriving business with more than 50 local employees and 20 realtors.

In 2000, Sandy and Peggy purchased David and Missy’s shares of Island Realty. Since then, the company has continued to grow, establishing multiple business units alongside the Long-term and Vacation Rental divisions. These additional ventures include Homeowner’s Association and Regime Management, a full-service cleaning and maintenance division called Isle Clean It and Isle Watch It, a property monitoring service.

In 2006, Island Realty dissolved its sales division and welcomed the Charleston Islands branch of Keller Williams brokerage to lease offices at Island Realty’s headquarters.

A true family operation, owners Sandy and Peggy’s eldest son, Alexander D. Stone IV (Alex) serves as the company’s CEO, while their youngest son, Eric, has worked his way through the business and into his current role as the Housekeeping Department Manager.