Looking for a home built in 2010? Good luck. There are only 36 homes currently listed on the local MLS that were built in 2010 and under $250,000. If you really look at these homes being offered, a good portion had permits pulled years ago and were dumped by Investors at various stages of construction during the housing crisis. I suppose the listing agents feel that receiving a C/O (certificate of occupancy) in 2010, means "Built in 2010". After going through dozens of listings and researching if these listings were really built in 2010, it was evident there are really few homes listed that are truly new construction.
Lawrence Yum is the Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors. He recently expressed concern in regards to the big drop in home construction over the last few years. In his article,(Realtor Magazine-June 2010-"Housing Shortage in the Cards?) Yum commented that "home builders must add 1.6 to 1.7 million housing units each year to accommodate typical population increases and demolished homes". At the peak of the housing boom in 2006, there was a surplus of 1.28 million homes. However, check out these latest estimates:
2006 + 1.28 Million 2007 +1.02 Million 2008 +.32 Million
2009 - .73 Million 2010 (forecast) -1.65 Million 2011 (forecast) -2.30 Million
Yum further comments "The great under production in the past three years is an issue that will need to be reconciled, especially if the trend continues."
What factors are keeping builders back from new construction starts in Lee County? Obviously, we are burning through our distressed property inventory. There are still homes available that are selling for "below replacement cost". The other issue, and more importantly, is the lack of New Construction lending programs and lines of credits for builders to begin spec building. One of the issues with building and financing the project is getting the home to appraise. I do believe if home prices continue to increase and reach a level at or above the line of replacement costs, we could see a significant demand for new construction. In certain areas of Lee County, we have reached that marker. Just this week, we told a Buyer he would be better off to find a lot and build in Cape Coral. (The only available inventory that met his needs was priced very close to the same price as if he built new.) The other indicator would be to look at the banks. If they begin to loosen the belt on new construction lending programs, that may indicate that the distressed inventory is irrelevent.
There are beautiful developments in the Fort Myers area offering appealing new construction homes. Pulte/Centex's development of Emerson Square off US 41 is offering a 2010 built, 2000 square foot home for $237,558. They are also offering incentives of $6,000 for closing costs. Botanica Lakes located off Treeline, is offering a 1798 square foot home for $219,900. A favorite location of mine, off the Winkler Extension (very close to beaches) is the community of Catalina Isles. Catalina Isles currently offers a 2010 built home, 1827 square feet for $235,000.
If you are considering a new home as an option for your real estate need, be sure to call a Realtor at Florida WestShore Realty. It costs you nothing to have one of our agents introduce you to the best communities in Lee County, Fl. We will help you decipher pricing and incentives and, more importantly, we can also help you compare the EXISTING inventory in the community. Check out our "Building your Dream Home" page on our web site for interesting information about the benefits of New Construction. Call us today at (239) 415-6500 or email at info@floridawestshorerealty.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment