Lexington SC New Construction: Is It Worth It?

Look, about half of our clients buy new construction. And one of the big things we've realized over the years is that two neighborhoods can have similar-looking homes and starting prices, but the deal you can actually get may be completely different. The incentives are different. The inventory is different. What they'll negotiate on from one builder to the next is definitely different. Even when it's the same builder in two different communities, the terms can shift based on what's moving in the market. That's why we tell buyers: reach out to us before you walk into that model home, whether you're looking at spec homes or doing one of those longer build jobs.

But let me show you what this builder brought to Hendrix Farms that really attracted a lot of people. These are features I've had so many of my clients over the years ask for. They added the tall doors, inside and in doorways, and you can even do 9-foot ceilings downstairs and upstairs. That's something you typically see in something more semi-custom, to be 100% honest. And this house here has a 3-car garage. That's another big thing we've had clients ask for over the years. So that is one of the big things that attracts people to this neighborhood: the features.

Now, there's other things we're going to talk about as far as the amenities and the location. But one more thing before I forget: you can actually come in, pick your lot, and build from the ground up. It's about a 5- to 6-month process. We've helped a lot of clients do this in different neighborhoods. There's a lot of nuances to understanding what's worth adding and what's not, and we walk clients through that whole process because it can be confusing. We can be the boots on the ground while you're still relocating here. That is another big option in this neighborhood that, just to be real, some of the other neighborhoods we tour today don't offer.

Let me walk out to the road and show you why we talk about this. One of the big things that attracted a lot of people to this neighborhood was its location right here in Lexington. Realistically, you're about a mile from Lexington High School up this direction, and then less than 10 minutes, call it about 3.5 miles, to downtown Lexington. It's a super convenient location to the interstate because you got options. You can come out this way and hit the Longspaw entrance to I-20. You can head that direction and hit Highway 6. You can continue and eventually go to the 378 one and the Highway 1 one, but obviously those are a little bit further.

The reason why this is important: outside of one neighborhood we tour today, you're not going to have 4-lane highways to get to the interstate. You're going to be taking 2-lane roads, and trust me when I say bottlenecks happen, traffic happens. This is really important because I know some of you are like, okay, perfect, I don't commute. That's important to know. But for those that don't commute, and I was one of those too, it's like, hey, we don't really go to downtown where we live. But I think a lot of people use downtown Columbia more than they expect. Whether it is those Fireflies games over at Segar Park, I know we love taking the kids there, whether it's one of your favorite restaurants, they're downtown. Whether it's one of your doctors, because obviously you got some major hospital systems, they may be running downtown. So that's where downtown becomes a little more important, and I think a lot of people overlook it.

But this is the big misconception I was talking about. Look, I grew up riding my bike from middle school, even elementary school, all the way through high school. This is the road outside of the neighborhood. It's a busy 4-lane highway. So I know me, I'm not letting my kid walk down this to head to high school. This is something that honestly confuses a lot of people in our area because they're like, hey Brandon, where's that area that's walkable? They see, hey, it's only a mile from the high school. That'd be cool. But here's the reality: there are very few, if any, neighborhoods that are truly walkable to downtown, grocery stores, and such like that. And so for those that are like, Brandon, I need walkability, I need to be able to walk to things, those aren't the neighborhoods they're looking for. And typically, even though these may be only a couple of minutes out of the downtown, there's not easy access to get back to downtown on foot.

Now, from what I remember, this does not have the same type of amenity package as we're seeing in some of the other neighborhoods with the pools and such like that. They do have a dog park and a cabana, but if pools are important for you, I don't believe this one has it. As far as location, the Lauren Ridge Apartments are right here. And I know a lot of people over the years have said, hey Brandon, I want to rent first and then I'm going to buy. The Lauren Ridge Apartments were kind of a big one I heard back in the day. So people know the area, they can get in a house and things like that.

This is the neighborhood I was talking about that is going to be the most convenient to the interstate. Because there's other resale neighborhoods right up the street, you have Woodcreek (not Woodcreek Farms in Northeast Columbia, but Woodcreek over here). Because of this location, you're about a mile from the interstate right here over to I-20. And as you can see, it's a 4-lane highway. Obviously there's this entrance coming from back where the neighborhood is, but you're about, call it, a little less than 2.5 miles to downtown Lexington.

And this is probably a good place for me to be transparent about what we do. These builders, they're not paying me to make these videos. I'm not getting paid to talk about new construction either. The reason we do make these is because, look, I relocated here myself and I learned the hard way. There's a lot more nuance to this area than I think a lot of people realize from the outside. And my team, they all relocated here too. So we're making these videos to help you understand the different builders, the different neighborhoods, and then hopefully earn your trust so that when you're ready to make the move, you reach out to our team. We work with new construction builders pretty often, and we can help you understand what you're actually looking at versus what it looks like from the outside. Trust me. So if you're thinking about moving to Lexington, Columbia, or the Lake Murray area, reach out to us before you walk into that model home because we can help you compare your options and represent you through that process, whether it's spec homes or you're doing one of those longer build jobs.

This neighborhood out here is for those that are like, look, Brandon, I'm not looking for production builders, but I also don't have the budget that you have to do for custom building. And again, I don't just say that lightly. We're going to talk about it as we tour this, because right now they got basically 4 different styles of homes. And that's one of the unique things about this neighborhood: each area kind of has its own character. So depending on what you're looking for, you might be able to find it out here.

This first section we're checking out here, these are kind of like townhomes, but they're built into the hills. But even more so, check out over here. They have these cobblestone pathways that trail between them, and then you got your little place tucked in here. Doesn't this just feel entirely different from every other neighborhood you're looking at out there, especially when you're talking about new construction? I mean, look at these little courtyards. I don't know if there's people moved in, they're like, who's this guy talking out here? But these are selling out here. We're going to talk about the amenities because that's a big one over here. I don't think they're moved in yet, but these are selling out here.

This is one of those golf cart type neighborhoods. You can actually justify it here because this neighborhood has amenities, again, I'm not saying this lightly, like nothing else in our entire area. And it's one of the things that stands out besides some of the houses and some of the architecture. But first off, you have the main pool over here. Let me walk you down here. You got this infinity pool right up here that kind of rolls out, and then behind it is the clubhouse. So there's an indoor clubhouse where they got like a catering kitchen, and then there's this massive screen porch. We've been to events out here, different things like that. Right outside of it, they got this massive community fire pit over there.

And then down here, they got multiple fire pits that overlook the Saluda River. You literally have the Saluda River and you can see all those overhangs down there, the little swings over there. They got the amphitheater down there. And this isn't the only one, there's multiple playgrounds tucked throughout this neighborhood. So you don't have to drag the kids to the playground all the way down here. You don't got to golf cart all the way down here. They got beach sand volleyball over there. And then these walking trails, they're wide, they go throughout the entire neighborhood together.

I don't know if you could see, there's a golf cart down here. But then again, there's another amenity center, a second amenity center kind of midway through the neighborhood. And that one, they're going to have an adults-only pool (18+). Upstairs they have a gymnasium in there, and then downstairs there's another clubhouse. It's kind of unique, I've been inside of there and they have these little lockers, and you can rent the locker and you can put your liquor in there. So then if you have like a men's club night and you go down there, boom, you unlock your locker. You don't have to cart it down every single time. Like I said, just nothing else like this.

They like to talk about the events that happen down here all the time. They do local farmer markets for the neighborhood only. They got the community gardens, the vineyards. Like I said, there is nothing like this in our entire area, and it's one of the big things that attracts people to this neighborhood. And honestly, I'll just be transparent about it. This is one of those neighborhoods where I go home to my wife and I'm like, babe, I could live there. We don't live here, but I could live there. Now let's go and let's talk about location.

Now again, let's talk about location out here at Saluda River Club because this is a pretty convenient location. But of course, I'm walking down to the road again to show you guys this. One of the big things we talked about is Lake Murray. Obviously a lot of people reach out to us because they want that access to Lake Murray. A lot of these neighborhoods, they're about 15 minutes to Lake Murray, because even though some of them may feel like they're super close to the lake, it's about access. So this neighborhood right here is actually going to be the closest to actually utilize Lake Murray because just 5 minutes up the road, you're going to hit the dam there where you have that public entrance.

Now, outside of Lake Murray, let's talk about the other big thing. About 1.5 miles, maybe a little bit further, is actually where you're going to hit River Bluff High School. And then maybe 2.5 miles or so, that's where you're actually going to hit the interstate. But this is one of those, as you can see, as we walk out here, this is a 2-lane road. And so with the high school up there, let me tell you, this road backs up like crazy during drop-off and pickup. You got the crossing line and the traffic crossing guards out there. So if commuting is something you're doing, that's something you really have to keep in mind.

So like I talked about, there's 4 different styles of homes being built out here. Obviously, there were the townhomes where we started. Now we're going to go over to the single-family section in just a second. Then there's one that's super niche that some of you are going to love and others are going to be like, that's crazy, Brandon. And then the 4th one, I'm not going to take you over there. They're actually connected at the garage, kind of a little bit different. But your money can go a little bit further because of the way those are set up. So if that's something that interests you, reach out to us and we can talk about over there.

The builder said that a lot of these homes out here are kind of Napa styled, and I get it. I grew up in California. Outside of the fact, like I said, couldn't walk to high school, outside of that, it feels very resemblance of where I grew up, which is maybe one of the reasons I like it. But again, this one's a little bit different because they said that more of that Napa style. So I kind of know what they're talking about. You can kind of see the architecture, the dark windows and things like that. It's that kind of rustic farmhouse, I guess is the best way to put it.

But let me walk up here and show you. But again, just very different feel than you're getting those very production-style houses. There's tons of different things I can tell you when I'm showing houses in these, tons of inspiration I've gotten from these. Like these cedar posts, I love this. Just love the different styles of these. I'm going to talk to the agent to see if we can actually come out and tour some of these. Kind of like I told you, we have to ask permission to be able to do that. It's just kind of our state rules. And if we do, then in the future I'll do a video where I actually tour some of these. I do have some B-roll from when clients have bought in the past in these areas, and we were out here. And so I'll put some of that up, but hopefully we can come back and tour these. They actually have pools built into some of these when you already buy it. Pretty crazy, right?

But it is a gated section over here. I want to turn around and show you this because you're going to be like, Brandon, in Lexington, in the suburbs, these are townhomes. Three-story townhomes. These are the tallest townhomes that I have ever seen in new construction. They got this pond down here that they're working on cleaning it up a little bit, adding some lighting and landscaping. Again, this is something that you would expect to see in maybe downtown Charlotte, but when you talk about Lexington, South Carolina, this is not something you would expect to see.

But again, I know there's buyers out there that are looking at this saying, absolutely, Brandon, while a portion of you, let's just be real, because some of y'all told me this, like, that's crazy. But you know what's crazy to one person is amazing to another. And that's one of the things I love about Saluda River Club. You guys get that. A lot of you are like, no, Brandon, that's not my style, which is why I'm showing you all these different options. Everybody has different things they love, different things they like, and so hopefully one of these does appeal to you.

All right, so super niche over there, right? I know some of you might be like, well, that's pretty crazy. But let me tell you into, outside of just aesthetically how this is different, they actually do some things that are a little bit different. You might be able to see it on the exterior. People that understand construction may understand these things. But you can see they use the ZIP systems versus the OSB on the outside, and then obviously the Hardie siding and things like that. So there's some things that are a little bit different when it comes to the actual build.

But this is the part I want to show you that I think is going to be a hit once they do this, because nothing out here right now. They're going to be adding a gated single-family section in here. I mean, the lots are insane. I mean, you can already see it with the architecture in here. And the architecture in here already you can see. And I know some people call us and they're like, hey Brandon, we're looking for a gated neighborhood. And so to have this style of neighborhood with all those amenities and now have a gated side, I think this takes off.

Before we talk about pricing, right outside of Saluda River Club I had to swing by River Ridge. Now we're not going to go into full detail in this video about this neighborhood because truth be told, they're in between phases. And they do try and line up where they finish that phase and go to the next one. And so they are on a waitlist until that next phase releases. So we're not quite there yet, which is why we're not diving into this video. But if this is something that interests you, you'll want to get on that waitlist because some of these neighborhoods move fast.

All right, we're going to go tour the home in Carriage Estates because they have a ranch floor plan out here, single floor plan, that I know a lot of y'all love because I can see on the analytics when I go tour homes and I do those ranch floor plans, those are the ones that get the most views. And this is actually of all the neighborhoods we tour, the most budget-friendly single floor plan on this side of Lexington. Because I know that one neighborhood I told you, most budget-friendly neighborhood, but I don't see any ranch floor plans there. Here at Carriage Estates, they do.

But because we're going to be doing that, I can talk about the neighborhood once we're in here. But of course, I want to talk about the area again. Not only a 2-lane road out here, but you can see there's an active farm across the way. And so this is just kind of the lay of the land of Lexington, and it takes a little bit of getting used to if you didn't grow up in an area like this. Me coming from LA, I grew up where it's like Hendrix Farms, where you have the big 4-lane suburban highways. Now typically it would have the sidewalk, but it's that big suburban feel. Where here it's not that way. It's a very different lay of the land.

Now, location-wise, this is a little bit different. This is kind of the other side of Lexington where you have neighborhoods like Sterling Bridge, Governor's Grant, and so many more. But you got to keep in mind, again, when we talk about driving with these 2-lane roads, you're about 10 minutes or so to the interstate. And depending on what time of day, that can get pretty bad going that way. So those are the kind of things you got to think about when you're looking at neighborhoods. This is why we always tell people, you got to show up in person and people are like, oh, interesting, this is different than I thought. You're actually comparing your daily routines, your drive to work, your drive to go get groceries, your drive to wherever you're going.

Now the other thing, like I talked about, Lake Murray, you could probably see it if I could jump high enough. No jumping for Brandon anymore. But like I talked about earlier, because of access, it's another confusing thing. People see Lake Murray and they go, oh, there's the lake. But your access is going to be either at the dam or you're going to have to go around. So that's why I said all of these neighborhoods outside of Saluda River Club, you're about a 15-minute drive to actually get into Lake Murray. So again, these are all the nuances our team helps people walk through and understand before they say yes to a house. Because if Lake Murray, and how quick you can get into Lake Murray, is important, all of a sudden it's like, okay, I know that you might have said these neighborhoods, but these are the ones that are going to be better for you.

But let's go walk the house and I'll talk about this neighborhood itself. All right, so again, we're going to be touring this ranch floor plan. And we're out here at Carriage Estates. Now, we did tour a ranch plan actually out here at Carriage Estates a little while back. This one's different. I was like, I've already done that. That's why I want to show you this, because there's a feature in here that I think a lot of you are gonna like. There's something specifically they ask for on ranch floor plans, and this has it.

But just the neighborhood itself, I'll just put some B-roll up versus driving all the way down there and showing you, but I'll put some B-roll up. They got the pool, they got the cabana. A lot of the homes back up to trees. They got the green space in between, which is super cool. Again, as we go through this ranch floor plan, love this front porch. I think this is something big. And honestly, this builder in this market, they pushed the envelope. Same thing with Hendrix Farms where you saw more of the upgrades, because they realized, oh, we got some competition out here. So they're adding things that people love.

And again, they do have that community pool up there. We'll put some B-roll of it. It took a little bit, but it is open now. As you can see, they did the dining room, not dining, it's kind of a mix actually. It's interesting because I don't know if you can see, they got the French doors here. So you can kind of use it how you want, I think is the goal there. So that's something else we've seen in these ranch plans. People are like, I want an office. And so it's a lot of people are like, I want something with a little bit more space, but it's hard. Ranch floor plans, they're a little bit tighter than some people expect. But they got some pretty decent spacing in between the houses out here relative to what we saw in the other neighborhoods. So that's another thing that I think people like about this versus some of the other areas.

You might have already seen it, but you got 2 bedrooms over here, smaller size bedrooms, not gonna lie. You can still put a bedroom or a bed, bed set in here. Closet over here, just kind of the door situation, but this one actually looks pretty reasonable because you can have a bed right there in the middle, maybe some dresser space. But again, you got a linen closet over here, another bedroom over here. This one's a little bit more room for activities. And you might actually be able to put the dresser over here where that one, it was kind of tight. And then they got their bathroom over here that these would share.

And so then let's head over this direction. We'll go over here first. One of the things I've loved that the builders have recognized, they always do these feedback things and I've seen them add so much more storage in these houses. So obviously here's your owner's suite down here again on that main floor. And as you can see, they got the tray ceilings in here, tons of options in it. So not only do they have the tray ceiling, but you can see they have the trim in there. Sometimes you see it either one or the other. So you got your walk-in closet over here, sizable walk-in closet. Plenty of room.

Now in this owner's suite, as you can see, dual vanities, not a private toilet. Someone left the toilet seat up. People always get mad. I do walk these houses before I film, and I just missed that one. And then you got the tile walk-in shower. So again, a lot of times there's options in here. But what we're seeing with these builders is a lot more now they're going to the larger tile showers. And I think a lot of that is because of those downsizers, retirees, and they don't necessarily want the tubs. It's what we're hearing more and more from our clients as well as obviously the builders are too.

Now, this is something that I talked about with the ranch floor plans. You got one over there. And the reason we always say it's necessary is because imagine you got little kids, you want to give bath time. But having it in your owner's suite, I mean, it's, I would say it's 50/50 mixed. What we hear from our clients is that some want it and the other half don't. I mean, my wife loves our tub where we had a neighbor that's like, I only grew up with showers. I hope to never have to deal with a tub ever again.

But as you can see already, this is the big thing that I liked about this floor plan versus the model home because the model home didn't have this, the extra bonus upstairs. Because I know a lot of people, whether it's guests or you got the kids that come home from college and they need a place to stay, maybe you're using those bedrooms for something, you're like, I need extra space for them. And so you got a sizable bedroom up here, but even more importantly, they got their own closet and they got their own bathroom up here. And again, I know that's something that a lot of people do love, and we hear it time and time again. So that's why I wanted to show you this one.

So it's like, these are all great, Brandon, but what do they cost? All right, so why do I really wait until the end to give you the pricing and not give it to you as we tour? So as you can imagine, these tours, they're not recorded live. I mean, I recorded those back, I believe, at the beginning of September. And so it's a long time before the video actually comes out and you all see it. And so a lot can change in that time here. For example, there's already a new phase in Hendrix Farms and they still haven't fully completed a home. So rather than give you pricing and details from the day I filmed it and have it already be outdated by the time you're watching this, which I have, and again, even this still has to get to my editor and may not come out for another couple of weeks, reach out to our team. We're getting those updates from the builders. I literally just got a text earlier today getting those updates from the builders about new lots being released. So rather than rely on just this video or hit those websites, reach out to our team.

I did confirm out at that unnamed neighborhood near Lauren Ridge Apartments , you've got those green spaces, 2 dog parks, and a gazebo for gathering. It is zoned for River Bluff High School, and they're going to be offering townhomes starting around the low $200s. I did verify the pricing here. Walkers Trail in Lexington also offers townhomes starting in the $200s. But this is the most budget-friendly option on this part of Lexington specifically, with their pricing starting in the low $300s for those single families.

Saluda River Club is also zoned for River Bluff. Those townhomes at first, the first ones we saw, currently they're starting in the mid-$400s. Those single-family homes I was standing in front of are starting in the mid-$800s. Now, of course, there are other neighborhoods in this area too, including some we've already gotten sneak peeks of. So again, if that sounds like something you'd want to know about before everyone else starts seeing it online, reach out to our team and ask to be added to our VIP watch list. We'll make sure you're the first to know.

Look, if you're still learning about the area, these neighborhoods may check a lot of boxes. But trust me when I say these areas, even though they're in the same zip code, can feel very different. And so you'll want to understand those trade-offs before you commit. Very few, if any, neighborhoods in the area are truly walkable to downtown, grocery stores, or schools despite proximity, most are car dependent. Buyers often use downtown Columbia more than expected: Fireflies games at Segar Park, favorite restaurants, specialty doctors, major hospital systems.

The Lexington High School and River Bluff High School zones, the 29072 side of Lexington, are among the hottest areas in the Columbia market. New construction buyers should reach out to our team before walking into model homes. We can help you compare options and represent you through the process, whether it's spec homes or longer build jobs. Two neighborhoods can have similar-looking homes and starting prices but very different deals, incentives, inventory, and what builders will negotiate vary significantly, even between two communities from the same builder.

FAQ

Can I build from the ground up in these Lexington SC neighborhoods?

Yes, Hendrix Farms offers the option to pick your lot and build from the ground up. The process takes about 5 to 6 months. Our team can be boots on the ground during the build process for relocating buyers, helping you understand what's worth adding and what's not. Some of the other neighborhoods we toured do not offer this option, so if building from scratch is important to you, reach out and we'll walk you through which communities allow it.

Are these Lexington neighborhoods walkable to schools or downtown?

No. Even though some of these neighborhoods are only a mile or so from Lexington High School or downtown Lexington, they are not walkable. The roads outside the neighborhoods are busy 4-lane or 2-lane highways with no sidewalks. Very few, if any, neighborhoods in the area are truly walkable to downtown, grocery stores, or schools despite proximity. Most are car dependent for all errands and activities.

Which Lexington SC new construction neighborhood is closest to Lake Murray?

Saluda River Club is the closest of these neighborhoods to Lake Murray. You're about 5 minutes to the public entrance at the dam. The other neighborhoods we toured are about 15 minutes to Lake Murray because of access routes. If Lake Murray access is a priority, that's something our team can help you factor into your decision.

What is the most budget-friendly new construction in Lexington SC right now?

The unnamed new neighborhood near Lauren Ridge Apartments is the most budget-friendly new construction on the Lexington High School and River Bluff 29072 side. They offer townhomes starting in the low $200s and single-family homes starting in the low $300s. They do not have a pool, but they do have a dog park and cabana. This neighborhood also has the most convenient interstate access of the neighborhoods we toured, about a mile from I-20 via a 4-lane highway.

Does Saluda River Club have amenities that justify the higher price?

Yes. Saluda River Club has amenities unlike any other neighborhood in the area. They have a main infinity pool with a clubhouse and catering kitchen, a second adults-only pool (18+), a gymnasium, multiple playgrounds, beach sand volleyball, wide walking trails, fire pits overlooking the Saluda River, green space with an amphitheater, community gardens and vineyards, and frequent community events including local farmer markets for the neighborhood only. It's a golf cart neighborhood where you can actually justify owning a golf cart to get to the amenities. Pricing is elevated, between production and custom, but the amenities and home styles reflect that.

Should I reach out to an agent before I walk into a builder's model home?

Yes. Two neighborhoods can have similar-looking homes and starting prices, but the deal you can actually get may be completely different. Incentives, inventory, and what builders will negotiate vary significantly, even between two communities from the same builder. Our team can help you compare your options and represent you through the process, whether it's spec homes or longer build jobs. Reach out to us before you walk into that model home so we can help you understand what you're actually looking at versus what it looks like from the outside.

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