Innovative designs, dynamic floor plans and impeccable craftsmanship are currently on display during the Building Industry Association of Central South Carolina’s annual Tour of Homes.
Well over 5,000 potential homebuyers are expected to see what builders have to offer by the time the Tour of Homes comes to a close the weekend of Sept. 26 and 27. The annual event, held on three consecutive Saturdays and Sundays, got underway Sept. 12 and 13.
Originally scheduled for May 2020, the show, a staple in South Carolina’s Midlands since 1991, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to BIA Executive Director Earl McLeod Jr., it’s now safe for the public to attend the tour and take an up-close look at the available options for people interested in purchasing a new home.
“We have established COVID protocols, and we feel comfortable offering a safe environment for the public to get out and see what’s new in the market,” he commented. “With low inventory right now, the tour is more important than ever before. It gives the public the opportunity to see firsthand the many advantages of owning a new home.”
Among those advantages are houses explicitly designed for those who work or teach their children at home, important benefits both during the pandemic and in the future. Some floor plans include a bonus room that would be ideal for a home office, especially since it can easily accommodate the latest technology and is already equipped with a multitude of electrical outlets.
Amenities such as walking trails, swimming pools and open spaces also are important to new home buyers and evident in the neighborhoods represented on the Tour of Homes.
“Recreational opportunities are immense in new home communities,” McLeod explained. “That’s what the market wants, and that’s what the builders are providing. We’re creating homes and neighborhoods that people desire and need.”
The Showcase home on the tour, built by Great Southern Homes, is located in Livingston Place, a new community near Lake Murray. The 2,250-square-foot home features four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and a two-car garage, along with an open floor plan and high-tech features that lower energy bills and make living more comfortable.
The Showcase home sale benefits both the Building Industry Association of Central South Carolina and its Charitable Foundation, which awarded $62,000 in scholarships this year. Over the past two decades, the Foundation has given $636,250 in educational assistance to the children of Association members and other students who meet the program’s criteria.
Those who take the tour – open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays – have the opportunity to look at as many as 36 different homes ranging in size from 2,100 square feet to more than 5,000 square feet and in price from the low $200s to over $600,000.
Plan books featuring the homes and communities on the tour are available at Columbia area Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage locations, all featured communities and in digital format at www.BIAofCentralSC.com, where you also can obtain additional information about the Tour of Homes.
“We do all the legwork for you. We’ve assembled some of the best new designs in the area. You don’t have to search all the different housing-related websites,” McLeod said. “And you can visit the homes at your leisure. There’s no high-pressure sales. It makes it very easy for the public to see what’s available.”