COLUMBIA — Hundreds of new homes are coming to a busy stretch of Garners Ferry Road as housing developments spring up in southeast Columbia .

A 295-home subdivision has been approved as the third phase of the Cameron Ridge housing development. The neighborhood is off Garners Ferry Road near Mill Creek Elementary.

The plans were approved by the city’s Planning Commission at a June 12 meeting.

The homes are the latest in a string of housing developments to spring up in southeast Columbia, outside of the Interstate 77 beltline and near Hopkins.

The area has attracted housing developments and homebuyers for its lower prices for both developable tracts of land and built homes, said Karen Yip, owner of Columbia’s Yip Premier Real Estate.

A 295-lot subdivision has been approved along Garners Ferry Road in Columbia as part of the Cameron Ridge housing development.

Access to interstates, downtown Columbia, Fort Jackson and retail along Garners Ferry, while also providing larger lot sizes and a more rural feel, are also draws to the developing area, Yip explained.

“I like to think of it to a certain extent like how Lexington has grown,” Yip said. “I think that that is what's going to be happening in this southeast quarter. This is the next growth corridor that is worth keeping an eye on.”

How much do homes cost in southeast Columbia?

Homes in southeast Columbia are selling for an average of $239,000, compared to the Columbia-area's $268,000 average , according to data from the South Carolina Realtors Association.

Online listings from Cameron Ridge developer Ryan Homes lists houses in the neighborhood from $239,000 to just over $300,000.

Home prices in the neighborhood have held steady in the past year even as prices in the Columbia-area overall have increased.

Newly-built homes make up around 40 percent of the sold and listed homes in the area in the past year.

Southeast Columbia and lower Richland County have not received as much commercial and development attention as other rural areas surrounding the city, such as those to the north along interstates 77 and 20 towards Blythewood and Camden and those in Lexington County .

Local leaders and developers have made moves to encourage more growth in the area.

Caleb Bozard covers business, growth and development for the Post & Courier Columbia. He has previously written for The State and the Times and Democrat. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2023.