- Prices range from the $120s to more than one million on a variety of lot sizes. Sales, mostly to young families, average over 20 per month.
- Last year the community controlled 35 percent of the northeast Columbia market share in the $150,000 and above categories.
- The 13 active neighborhoods contain 40 to 90 homesites each and a network of sidewalks, bike paths, and parks.
- New urbanism guru Andres Duany planned the mixed-use town center called Harborside. It includes basic services such as doctors, dentists, dance studios, and karate and is within walking or biking distance of all of the homes.
- Ninety percent of buyers are choosing to upgrade with gas fireplaces, 80 percent opt for an in-ground sprinkler system, and 75 percent go for solid surface countertops.
Why it worked: A 1,700-acre master plan that's home to the first new-urbanist -style development in the midlands section of the state. There are several competitors similar in size, but none have packaged the town center component.
Credit: Courtesy John Zeigler Homes
At 3,650 square feet, the best-selling Virginia Elf model has a solid, family-friendly plan and a front porch and brick exterior that buyers in the Southeast prefer.
Project: Lake Carolina, Columbia, S.C.; Sales started: November 1999; Sales through November 2001: 550; Units planned: 3,500; Price: $120,000 to $1 million; Unit size: 2,100 to over 6,000 square feet; Developer: Lake Carolina Inc., Columbia; Builder: John Zeigler Homes, Columbia; Architect: Bill Grissom Co., Columbia; Landscape architect: Landscape Design Services, Elgin, S.C.