Lake Murray & Columbia, SC Real Estate Experts

Meet The Patrick O’Connor Team - Columbia, SC Realtors

Backed by hundreds of five-star reviews on leading platforms like Google and Zillow, The Patrick O'Connor Team sets the standard for exceptional real estate service in Lexington, SC, on Lake Murray, and throughout the greater Columbia area. With over 1,600 homes successfully closed, totaling more than half a billion dollars in sales over 12 years, the team brings proven local expertise to every transaction.

Patrick’s team has guided 900+ home sellers and 725+ home buyers, specializing in family relocation, Lake Murray waterfront and luxury properties, single-family homes, new construction, condos, and townhomes across the Midlands.

Known for a signature marketing approach that attracts tens of millions of views to their listings and drives exposure and traffic, the team sets the standard for how real estate is sold in the area and has helped more sellers in the last year than any other agent or team in the market. The team also specializes in selling homes that other agents can’t, with dozens of examples of successfully re-marketing and selling properties after they sat on the market with other agents for months.

Leveraging deep market insights to provide advisor-level expertise and care to clients relocating to the area, the team understands how to go beyond waiting for properties to appear on the MLS, providing buyer clients with an advantage over the competition.

Buying or Selling a Home in the Midlands?

FAQ

Where do you sell homes?

We work across Lake Murray and the Greater Columbia, SC area, including Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, Chapin, Gilbert, Leesville, Prosperity, Lugoff, Elgin, Newberry, Camden, and Pomaria. Inside that footprint we cover everything from in-town Columbia to lakefront in Chapin, equestrian property in Camden, and rural acreage in Prosperity and Newberry. If you're inside about a 60-minute drive of downtown Columbia, we help home buyers and sellers in those locations.

Who is The Patrick O'Connor Team?

We're a real estate team at Coldwell Banker Realty led by Patrick O'Connor, based in Lexington, SC. Over 12 years we've closed more than 1,600 homes and over $500 million in volume across the Midlands. We've helped 900+ sellers and 725+ buyers, and we're recognized as the top Coldwell Banker team in South Carolina.

Are you really specialists in Lake Murray waterfront?

Yes. Lake Murray waterfront is our most-asked-about category, and we list and sell waterfront in Chapin, Lexington, Gilbert, Leesville, Prosperity, and along the Newberry side of the lake. We know the difference between a deep-water cove on the main channel and a backwater finger that goes shallow in late summer, which dock permits transfer cleanly and which need work, and which neighborhoods hold value through a soft market.

What should I check before buying a Lake Murray waterfront home?

Five things, in this order: water depth at the dock at full pool and at winter drawdown, the status and transferability of the SCE&G/Dominion shoreline permit for any dock or seawall, the flood zone designation and whether flood insurance is required, the septic situation if the home isn't on county sewer, and the road access during storms. We walk every waterfront buyer through this list before we write an offer.

How is buying in Lexington different from buying in Chapin or Irmo?

Lexington tends to draw families wanting top-rated schools (Lexington 1) and a small-town downtown, with strong inventory in newer subdivisions. Chapin sits closer to the lake, has a quieter pace and Lexington-Richland 5 schools, and pulls a heavier waterfront and luxury buyer. Irmo is the closest of the three to downtown Columbia, with shorter commutes and a wider spread of price points, also in Lexington-Richland 5. We help relocating families compare commute, schools, and lifestyle side by side rather than picking one by name alone.

What's the difference between Columbia and Northeast Columbia?

Columbia proper covers downtown, the University of South Carolina footprint, Shandon, Forest Acres, and the older established neighborhoods. Northeast Columbia (often shortened to "the Northeast") refers to the area along Two Notch Road, Clemson Road, and Hard Scrabble — newer-build subdivisions, Richland 2 schools, and faster growth. They serve very different buyers, and price-per-square-foot looks different in each.

What does it cost to find out what my home is worth?

Nothing. We provide no-cost home valuations across our service area, and the valuation is built from actual recent comparable sales in your specific neighborhood — not an automated Zestimate. Call 803-243-0224 or contact us.

My home didn't sell with another agent. Can you list it?

Yes, and this is one of our specialties. We've successfully re-marketed and sold dozens of homes that previously sat on the market without selling. The reason a home didn't sell is almost always one of three things: the marketing didn't put it in front of the right buyers, the price wasn't aligned with the condition, or the listing presentation undersold the property. We start by diagnosing which of those applied last time and rebuild the listing from there.

How long does it typically take to sell a home in the Midlands?

It depends on price, location, and condition. Mid-priced homes in well-located Lexington, Irmo, and Northeast Columbia subdivisions tend to move quickly when priced correctly. Lake Murray waterfront and higher-end luxury homes often take longer because the buyer pool is smaller, and rural acreage in Newberry, Prosperity, and Pomaria can vary widely. We give you a market-time estimate built from your specific neighborhood when we meet, not a generic average.

I'm relocating to the Midlands. How do you help?

We work with relocating families every week, and the process starts before you fly in. We map your priorities — commute, schools, lake access, acreage, budget — against the neighborhoods that actually fit, then build a side-by-side comparison so you can decide on geography first and house second. We can also surface off-market opportunities through our network when on-market inventory is thin, which is common at the higher end of Lake Murray.

Can you find off-market homes that aren't on the MLS?

Yes. Because we list a high volume of homes across Lake Murray and the Greater Columbia area, we frequently know about properties before they hit the MLS — from sellers we've worked with before, from agents inside Coldwell Banker, and from our marketing reach. For buyers in tight inventory segments (Lake Murray waterfront, Lexington 1 school zones, certain Northeast subdivisions), this is often the difference between buying and waiting.

Do you work with first-time buyers, or only luxury and waterfront?

Both. We sell at every price point in the Midlands. About a third of our annual volume is Lake Murray and luxury, another third is mid-price family homes in Lexington, Irmo, Chapin, and Northeast Columbia, and the rest is a mix of new construction, condos, townhomes, and rural acreage in Newberry, Prosperity, Camden, Gilbert, Leesville, and Pomaria. The team is sized to give first-time buyers the same level of attention as $2M waterfront buyers.

What's your marketing approach when you list a home?

Our listings are built to drive exposure. We routinely generate tens of millions of views per year across our marketing channels, including video, paid placement, social, and email to a database of active buyers. The shorthand is that we don't just put a home on the MLS and wait — we go find the buyer for it. That's why sellers who've had a listing fail elsewhere often come to us next.

How do I get in touch?

Call or text us at 803-243-0224, email through scmidlandsagent.com, or stop by our office at 607 Columbia Avenue in Lexington. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.