News Title:New Home Development May Be Taking Shape Along Highway 129 Near Aynor
A small new home community may soon be taking shape along Highway 129 between Galivants Ferry and Aynor, adding another piece of residential development to an area that is beginning to see more activity while still retaining much of its rural character.
In September 2026, Howell Homes purchased an approximately 6-acre parcel of land straddling Sandy Ridge Road along Highway 129. While no formal development plans have been released for the property, the purchase is noteworthy given the builder's history of constructing custom homes throughout the Myrtle Beach area.
Highway 129 offers a particularly attractive setting for this type of development. The corridor provides a quieter, more rural environment than the more heavily developed portions of the Grand Strand, while remaining within convenient reach of Aynor, Highway 501 and the broader Conway–Myrtle Beach area. For buyers looking for larger homesites and a more country-oriented setting without moving far from the area's growing network of shopping, schools, services and major highways, this part of western Horry County is becoming increasingly interesting.
The recent development activity nearby provides some additional context. Baylee Estates, located in the same general area, brought 61 homes to the market and completed development in 2023.
Another much larger project is Rolling Hills, a future planned subdivision located off Highway 501 on an approximately 209.09-acre parcel. Current plans call for an initial five phases totaling 272 single-family homes: 52 homes in Phase 1, 63 in Phase 2, 47 in Phase 3, 14 in Phase 4 and 96 in Phase 5. An additional 149 single-family homes are planned in future phases, bringing the potential buildout to approximately 421 homes. Horry County has approved the Phase 1 development plan for Rolling Hills. Diamond Shores is involved with the land development, with D.R. Horton expected to be the builder.
What Could Happen on the 6-Acre Property?
The approximately 6-acre parcel purchased by Howell Homes is currently zoned Forest Agriculture (FA), which is also the zoning designation found on the surrounding properties.
That existing zoning is important because the property is not currently part of a larger residentially zoned development. Rather than pursuing a rezoning request to create a higher-density subdivision, one potential strategy would be to develop the property within the existing FA zoning framework.
FA zoning allows for relatively large residential lots, with the applicable minimum lot size generally being one-half acre, subject to the property's specific development requirements, including water, sewer and/or septic considerations. If the property can satisfy those requirements, the 6 acres could potentially accommodate a small number of spacious residential lots rather than a traditional higher-density subdivision.
That approach could fit particularly well with Howell Homes' background as a custom home builder. Instead of creating a neighborhood of dozens of smaller homes, the property could potentially become a limited collection of larger homes on half-acre or larger homesites.
At this point, however, there are no publicly released plans confirming the number of lots, the type of homes or the development strategy Howell Homes intends to pursue. Any future subdivision of the property would still have to comply with Horry County's applicable development, subdivision, access and environmental requirements.
Howell Homes' Custom-Building Background
Howell Homes is a local custom home builder serving the Myrtle Beach area, specializing in personalized homes designed around individual lifestyles.
Over the past five years, Howell Homes has completed custom construction in several higher-end Myrtle Beach-area communities, including Waterway Palms Plantation, Waterbridge and The Bluffs on the Waterway. Many of the custom homes built by Howell Homes in the Myrtle Beach area have sold for more than $500,000, with some exceeding $1 million.
That background makes the Highway 129 property particularly interesting. A small collection of custom homes on larger lots would be consistent with the type of residential construction Howell Homes has undertaken elsewhere in the market.
Howell Homes has also been involved with the development of Arbor Ridge in Conway, located just off Highway 501. The community initially opened for presales in April 2025, with single-family homes originally priced from the low $400s. Initial delivery of the homes occurred in the middle of 2025. Arbor Ridge was originally launched as a traditional for-sale new home community. However, as sales absorption slowed amid elevated interest rates, a portion of the completed inventory was transitioned into the rental market rather than being discounted.
Another Sign of Growth Along Highway 129
The Howell Homes purchase is relatively small compared with Rolling Hills, but it is part of a broader pattern of residential activity occurring around the Aynor–Galivants Ferry–Highway 501 corridor.
What makes this area different from many of the more intensely developing parts of Horry County is that new residential growth is occurring against a backdrop of larger tracts, established agricultural land and a less urbanized landscape. That combination can appeal to buyers who want a newer home and modern construction but prefer more space, less density and a quieter setting.
As development continues to move outward from the Conway and Myrtle Beach areas, corridors such as Highway 129 are becoming increasingly relevant to the county's new-home market.
For now, the future of the approximately 6-acre Sandy Ridge Road property remains undefined. Howell Homes has not released any additional information regarding plans for the property or whether custom homes will ultimately be constructed there. The purchase itself, however, is worth watching as another potential addition to the growing inventory of new residential development in the Aynor area.