By B.C. Manion
If billboards, balloons, banners and signs are any indication, then building activity is increasing in northern Hillsborough, central Pasco and east Pasco counties.
Drivers along thoroughfares throughout those areas will see plenty of homebuilders vying for their attention.
Just a few of the builders with something cooking include:
–Lennar, with new homes at Concord Station, off SR 54 in Land O’ Lakes
–Southern Crafted Homes, with homes in Stonegate in the $170s to $500s and villas at Devonwood in the $150s
–D.R. Horton, with homes on the north side of SR 54, east of Livingston Road and a The Greens at Hidden Creek off Eiland and Championsgate boulevards
–Cardel Homes, in a new phase in Country Walk off Meadow Pointe Boulevard
–Ryland Homes and William Ryan Homes, with homes in Ashton Oaks off SR 54
–Seven Oaks has new models and builders in its community, off SR 56.
–Ashton Woods Homes, with luxury semi-custom townhomes at Crenshaw Reserve on US 41 in Lutz
Billboards tout homes being offered by other builders, too, including Arthur Rutenberg Homes and Mercedes Homes, and there are multiple builders sending out news releases about their latest offerings.
The signs of activity are more abundant than in recent months – and this comes despite a housing market that has taken a beating for the past couple of years.
High unemployment and poor investments triggered a record rate of foreclosures – and an oversupply of inventory — coupled with foreclosures and short sales — caused prices and values to plummet.
The apparent uptick in activity may reflect an expectation that many have that housing prices will stabilize within the next six months, said Mario Polo, a broker associate for Keller Williams, who compiles a monthly sales report of new and existing homes sold in Pasco and Hillsborough counties.
“If they’re putting them in the ground now, they’ll be ready for spring. That’s the selling season,” Polo said. It takes four to six months to put a home in the ground, he said.
While price stability may be coming, Polo predicts that values will decline in the short term as foreclosures flood the market during the next 30 to 60 days.
“Lenders will be releasing foreclosed properties they have been holding,” Polo wrote in his report, which uses data from the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors Mid-Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service.
The job market is another major issue, Polo writes. “Unemployment is still our No. 1 problem,” he notes. Tougher lending standards and appraisals are hindering sales, too.
Despite those issues, Jim Deitch, chief operating officer for Southern Crafted Homes expects his company to continue to fare well.
“We’ve continued to defy the market, if you will,” Deitch said. “Our sales are up 26 percent.”
The company is building homes in Stonegate, Devonwood in Land O’ Lakes and The Preserve at Quail Woods in Wesley Chapel.
Deitch said the homebuilder’s customers tend to be empty nesters, doctors, military personnel, nurses and people who work in the financial services industry.
A good portion of the company’s buyers is doctors who have relocated because they will be working at the new Trinity Hospital on SR 54 when it opens. Nurses have been attracted to the homebuilder’s offerings, too, particularly in Devonwood, because they don’t want to have to worry about maintaining their property, Deitch said.
Southern Crafted Homes aims to fulfill its customers’ desires, Deitch said.
“We will pretty much do any change that the customer wants. That includes adding square feet, customizing the space and meeting the individual needs.”
In one case, it meant changing the design of the garage to accommodate a customer who has a passion for cars; in others, it has meant customized media or billiard rooms.
Deitch said he has seen tremendous changes in the Pasco market, since he came into the area. “When we started in 1990, there was nothing up here,” he said.
While Polo expects prices to slide in the short term because of an increased number of foreclosed properties on the market, Deitch expects housing prices to increase long-term as the costs go up for land, concrete, shingles and other materials.
Homebuilders cannot put themselves in a position of trying to compete with short sales and foreclosure, Deitch said. “It’s not a sustainable business model,” he said.
