COLUMBIA – In terms of real estate, 2025 was a big year for Lake Murray. The reservoir outside Columbia saw more home sales of $2 million and above than ever before, according to agents who work in the region. That included the biggest single residential sale ever – not just for the lake, but in all of the Midlands.
The estate at 218 Captain’s Watch Road, located in the Spence Plantation community near Lexington, closed in March for $9.25 million – swamping Lake Murray’s former price high-water mark which had been $3.6 million. The closing of the 3.17-acre property was unquestionably the 2025 Sale of the Year in the Midlands, where the luxury market is getting a serious jolt from the type of cash-rich, out-of-town buyers who have been flooding into the Palmetto State since the pandemic.
“It’s changing on Lake Murray,” Robby Wilkins, broker-in-charge of Southern Visions Real Estate, the Lexington agency which handled the sale of 218 Captain’s Watch Road, said following the transaction. “We’re seeing those high-dollar sales on a much more regular basis than we did in the past.”
Wilkins and Anne Wilkins Brooks of Southern Visions represented the sellers of the Captain’s Watch property, while Leah Fitts and Todd Carnes of Todd Realty Partners represented the buyer. The 9,500-square-foot residence was built over a period of five years, and is part of a lakefront estate that also includes a pool, dock, 3 ½-car garage, guest cottage and greenhouse. The home was also sold fully furnished.
The home features big-water westerly views along with a stone-accented exterior, and is brimming with furniture, fixtures and design ideas the previous owners brought back with them from numerous trips to Europe. “Spectacular,” Wilkins called it, and he would know – his company developed Spence Plantation, and sold the first $1 million lot on Lake Murray in the 1990s. “It’s a special house.”
Is there any property on the market that could eclipse the $9.25 million Midlands record set by 218 Captain’s Watch? A real estate search turns up just one active, on-market listing in the capital region priced for more – 229 Joseph Kershaw Road in Eastover, the 736-acre Goodwill Estate property listed for $17.5 million. That listing includes two homes, among them a main residence spanning 8,400 square feet, and has been on the market since May.
While the estate at 218 Captain’s Watch Road set a new price record for the Midlands, there were other notable residential sales in the Columbia market in 2025 as well. Here are a few honorable mentions:
6009 Lakeshore Drive
This spectacular stone and glass residence on Forest Lake in Columbia snuck in just under the wire, closing in mid-December for $3.45 million. The home was the vision of Kay Burner, an admirer of Frank Lloyd Wright, who wanted a house that emphasized the great architect’s penchant for complementing the natural surroundings.
The result was a four-bedroom, 5,381-square-foot masterpiece designed in conjunction with Heather Stallworth of Catalyst Architects, and built by Phillip Kaufman of Kaufman Construction. The home was completed in 2021, and Burner was so precise in her vision that she had the home built from the lakeshore to the street, instead of the other way around.
Burner wanted high ceilings, lots of glass, and an almost seamless division between outside and in – evident in the two-story-high windows that look out from the living room to the pool and lake beyond. The windows are complemented by a fireplace and built-in shelving, the kitchen features a waterfall island wrapped in marble, the office has a geometric wood veneer ceiling, and the floating staircase was made by an Ohio craftsman.
“It’s of the highest quality I’ve ever seen in my real estate career,” said agent Clauda von Asten of Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty, who listed the home. “It is truly unbelievable. There’s not one thing that could look better or could have been done nicer. The quality of the stones, the quality of the floors, it’s really spectacular. And it stands out because it looks so natural. It’s a warm modern house. It’s not cold modern construction.”
104 Old Camp Road
It features transom windows, intricate millwork and a kitchen with everything from a wine rack to a pellet ice maker. And the estate at 104 Old Camp Road in the Woodcreek Farms subdivision also owns the highest price per square foot ever recorded in the Northeast Columbia market, according to the agency that sold it.
The 5,718-square-foot home sold in October for $2.38 million, which according to Yip Premier Real Estate translated into a new price-per-square-foot benchmark of $416.33 for Northeast Columbia. Karen Yip, the agency’s principal broker, represented the seller in the transaction.
Built in 2015, the home boasts 230 feet of frontage along the community’s Tom Fazio-designed golf course, and design details like a dramatic staircase and wood-barrel ceiling. The residence features a steam room and infrared sauna, a commercial-grade gym, a six-car garage with a commercial lift, premium air and water filtration systems, and whole-home automation.
The 2.38-acre lot includes a self-cleaning Badu jet pool with LED lighting and fountains, a hot tub and a regulation tennis court with basketball hoops added to either side. There’s also a firepit, an outdoor grilling area and a four-car garage with a pair of 9,000-pound commercial lifts.
“This sale reinforces what we’ve known for some time – the luxury market in Northeast Columbia is not only strong but also evolving,” Yip said. “At this level, deals are complex, timing matters and strategy drives outcomes. Our team knows how to navigate that landscape and deliver results that move the market forward.”
2052 Lake Road
Lake Murray isn’t the only reservoir enjoying robust luxury sales – the Midlands’ other lakeshore also saw a flurry of notable closings in 2025. Foremost among them was 2052 Lake Road, an architecturally striking 6,000-square-foot home built in 2022 on Lake Wateree near the Fairfield County town of Ridgeway.
The five-bedroom residence closed in October for $2.35 million, with Todd Lyle of Todd Realty Partners serving as the listing agent. The home features a strikingly curved wood-barrel ceiling over the front entryway, and double-decker porches at the rear looking out over a sleek infinity pool and the lake beyond.
The three-level home also boasts a kitchen with Thermador appliances, while the primary suite features a walk-out balcony, a gas fireplace and a bath with multiple showerheads. There’s also an indoor-outdoor chef’s kitchen with a Kalamazoo brand grill and cabinet smoker, as well as a hidden, speakeasy-style 1,000-bottle wine cellar.
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