by Jim the Realtor | Oct 13, 2014 | Builders, Thinking of Buying? |
The higher-priced new homes help to accelerate the values of existing homes. All sellers have to do is undercut the price of new tracts nearby – if there are any! HT to daytrip for sending this in from the latimes.com:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-new-home-prices-20141014-story.html#page=1
Builders have piled in to pricey ZIP Codes — bidding up land costs there in the process — and polished their projects to a high gloss to woo wealthy buyers with cash or good credit.
“Builders have been focusing very heavily on the move-up market as opposed to entry level,” said Bradley Hunter, chief economist at housing research firm MetroStudy. “There’s a simple reason: That’s where the profits are.”
Meanwhile, projects aimed at the middle of the market remain scarce, and overall home building is off about 60% from a decade ago. The shortage of new lower-priced product is one factor making Southern California among the toughest housing markets in the country for middle-income families.
New homes have almost always sold at a premium. They come with bells and whistles — including energy-efficient appliances and often a warranty — that a decades-old house can’t match. But that premium has hit new highs this year.
In January, the gap between median-priced new and resale homes in Southern California peaked at $151,000, a 41% premium for a new house. And although it has eased a bit since, it has been larger than $100,000 in nine of the last 10 months, compared with an average of $38,000 over the last 25 years, according to CoreLogic’s figures. The same trend is playing out nationally, though in less dramatic fashion.
Higher-end home builders see this dynamic too, and they’re gobbling up what land is left. Luxury builder Toll Bros. acquired 3,200 lots in Southern California this year when it bought Shapell Homes, part of its plan to expand from its East Coast base into higher-growth markets. Now Toll is working on five new communities, from Santa Clarita to Carlsbad, in prime spots with good schools. It will start selling homes next year, said Jim Boyd, head of Toll’s California operations, and expects to do well.
“I think the market is pretty strong,” he said.
Read full article here:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-new-home-prices-20141014-story.html#page=1
by Jim the Realtor | Sep 4, 2014 | Builders, Carmel Valley
The next release is scheduled for this weekend, and they are busting loose. Previous phases have had 4-5 houses released for sale, but this week NINE will be hitting the open market. There are dozens of people on the priority list, but none of these are canyon-front so it will be interesting to see how they do:
Plan 2 = 4,458sf
Plan 3 = 5,288sf
Plan 4 = 6,235sf
by Jim the Realtor | Jun 23, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Leucadia
An update on the McMansions off the freeway – grand opening was April 5th:
by Jim the Realtor | Jun 2, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders
The new houses in Leucadia had their grand opening on Saturday, and they look good. In fact, they look very similar to Davidson’s Arterro homes, and not just because they had Bill’s wife do the interior design – the Plan 3 layout itself is similar to Arterro’s Plan 2.
But the Shea homes west of I-5 are at least 1,000 sf smaller, have two-car garages, and tiny lots – but all are in the same price range ($1.0 to $1.2M). Here is a tour of both (YouTube muted out my first try, so some of the blaring house music was turned to zero volume):
Leucadia:
Arterro Plan Two Model:
Take a realtor with you on your first visit, and be represented. Builders pay the agent – somewhat reluctantly – and won’t give a credit to you otherwise, so you might as well be represented. The sales people only represent the builder, and they have a knack for making every upgrade sound enticing. Your agent can help you make smart choices.
by Jim the Realtor | May 28, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Davidson |
At the end of this video is a solution to what might be ailing Phase 2 sales on this side of the street:
by Jim the Realtor | Apr 17, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Drone, Jim's Take on the Market |
Those who live near the new Sage Creek High School in north Carlsbad will have another large new-home tract beginning shortly. The West Village of Robertson Ranch was recently acquired by Toll Brothers, and they expect to be selling new homes there in 2015.
Shapell Homes purchased the acreage for $30+ million in 2010 from the Robertson family. At the time, they said they would build:
Single-family homes ranging from 1,800 to 4,000 square feet and townhomes from about 1,400 to 1,800 square feet. A senior housing project, probably for rent, also is expected.
If you are thinking of selling a home that is close to Tamarack/Cannon and El Camino Real, you may want to consider selling this year when there is less competiton!
Here is a tour of the area:
by Jim the Realtor | Apr 16, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Drone |
This builder paid $20 million for the land in December, 2010, and have already sold over 50 homes averaging around $1M each. This site was a pile of rocks three years ago – here’s a tour of the neighborhood now:
by Jim the Realtor | Apr 9, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Leucadia |
Phase 1 was released last Saturday with six homes available, and it doesn’t look like they sold any yet (the hostess didn’t know):
by Jim the Realtor | Apr 3, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Leucadia |
For those million-dollar buyers who prefer to purchase a new home, there is another big grand opening this weekend. Pick out your new home in Leucadia up to 5,180 sf!
by Jim the Realtor | Mar 26, 2014 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Leucadia, North County Coastal |
They shouldn’t have any trouble blowing these out, thanks mostly to the expert staging. They pay commissions, so take a realtor with you on your first visit and get free help – take me!
