IS A NEW BOOM BREWING?
When the history of the economic downturn is written, 2013 will likely be remembered as the year the new-home industry came roaring back. That’s certainly shaping up to be the case in Central Florida, where at least a dozen builders are unveiling an array of new communities from Narcoossee to Clermont and everywhere else in between.
Meritage Homes’ Emerson model (left) is available at Bella Vista in Longood. At 4,830 square feet, it’s priced at $405,990.
After months of fits and starts, the last quarter of 2012 saw the most residential construction activity since the last quarter of 2008, according to Metrostudy, a national housing data and consulting firm.
Among consumers, there’s a growing sense that the market has already hit bottom and is on the way back up. So they’ve shaken off their apprehensions and are taking advantage of bargain prices and record-low interest rates.
So, let’s take a ride around Central Florida and see what’s new and what’s coming. After several lean years, you’ll be amazed at the flurry of activity.
SOUTHWEST ORANGE COUNTY
With easy access to I-4 and S.R. 429, as well close proximity to shopping and restaurants, Dr. Phillips and Windermere have long ranked among Central Florida’s most popular — and exclusive — addresses.
Now, with land prices more affordable, builders are snatching up tracts and starting new communities where seven-figure incomes aren’t required.
Much of the activity is taking place within Horizon West, a 38,000-acre, master-planned development that encompasses five mixed-use villages surrounded by greenbelts and anchored by a town center. The Horizon West concept was adopted 17 years ago and is expected to drive growth in Southwest Orange County for years to come.
“Windermere’s perceived value is one of the highest in the area,” says Scott South, division president of K. Hovnanian Homes. South’s company is debuting its newest community, Lake Burden at the Lakes of Windermere, with model homes slated to open in March.
The 91-acre community, located within Horizon West, will feature 128 townhomes and 66 single-family homes. More than half the single-family homesites are on the water and 14 are sized at a half-acre. Prices had not been announced at presstime.
The community will cater to active lifestyles, offering easy access to boating, waterskiing and fishing on some of the area’s most pristine waterways. Amenities will include a gymnasium, a softball field, a playground, tennis courts, lakeside gazebos, walking trails and picnic areas.
An elaborate clubhouse and Olympic-style swimming pool are planned, while a boardwalk connecting the community to a new elementary school allows kids to walk or bike to school in safety.
Also in Horizon West, KB Home is debuting Vineyards, featuring 156 single-family homesites and homes ranging in size from 1,859 to just over 3,000 square feet. Prices are expected to start in the $250,000 range.
Cara Kane, KB’s director of corporate communications, says Vineyards homes are aimed at move-up buyers, with enhanced elevations and open living spaces. All will be built to Energy Star standards.
Meritage Homes is finalizing plans for Compass Rose, located in neotraditional Horizon West Village. The community will feature 800 single-family homesites and homes ranging in size from 1,650 to 4,332 square feet. Prices had not been announced at presstime.
Beazer Homes’ Windermere Trails, yet another Horizon West project, features 216 single-family homesites and homes ranging in size from 2,260 to 4,332 square feet. The community will be built in four phases, with the first grand opening scheduled for March. Prices will start in the low $300s.
The 1,853-square-foot Boca Raton model (left) by Ryland Homes has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and is priced from $165,990. Also from Ryland is the 3,483-square-foot Roarke model (facing page), with four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. It’s priced from $348,750.
Taylor Morrison, the nation’s largest privately owned homebuilder, is building in a Horizon West community called Hamlin, formerly known as Town Center East, located near the Western Beltway at the New Independence Parkway exchange.
The community, a $1 billion project that boasts three miles of Lake Hancock waterfront, will be anchored by a town center and enhanced by such amenities as a marina, a boardwalk, multi-use trails and waterfront parks.Taylor Morrison plans to build 381 single-family homes, ranging in size from 2,000 to more than 5,000 square feet, in Overlook at Hamlin. There will be four award-winning collections from which to choose, each with its own distinct design. Home prices had not been announced at presstime.
But all the Southwest Orange County action isn’t in Horizon West. Mattamy Homes is ready to develop 335 single-family homesites in Millennia Park, a new gated community on Vineland and Conroy roads near the Mall at Millenia.
Steve Parker, president of Mattamy Homes U.S. Group, says three-, four- and five-bedroom homes in the community will be priced starting at less than $200,000. “We’re a community developer and we want to keep that tradition,” notes Parker. “We believe in larger communities offering three to five product lines that allow us to target buyers in different price ranges.”
Meritage Homes is opening a sales center this month at Parkside in Dr. Philips, a community featuring 335 single-family homesites and homes ranging in size from 2,700 to 5,200 square feet. Prices will start in the $300s.
Centerline Homes is building at Waterside on Johns Lake, located in Winter Garden. The company will offer luxurious lakefront homes priced from $350,000 to $1 million. “Buyers want to feel like they can personalize their homes in many ways,” says Deb Marton, Centerline’s vice president of sales. “That’s why we have choices, such as bonus rooms, den/study areas and other flex spaces.”
New standard features, adds Marton, include golf cart garages, courtyard areas, loft spaces, covered lanais and summer kitchens that extend the entire width of the home’s exterior.
LAKE NONA AREA
With the opening of Nemours Children’s Hospital and the University of Florida Research Institute and Academic Center last summer, Lake Nona’s Medical City is fast becoming the nation’s leading life sciences center, attracting talented professionals from around the world.
Many of them are choosing to live in Laureate Park, a neotraditional community with modern sensibilities that features homes built by David Weekley Homes, K. Hovnanian Homes and Ashton Woods Homes. The community features 503 homesites and homes priced from the low $200s to $600,000.
Inspired by Southern California, Laureate Park is designed using a bent grid, which allows for curving roads around lush, green landscaped pathways. Jogging paths and nature trails line the community, enhancing its walkability and encouraging neighbors to meet and gather. Construction is also underway on a residents-only aquatic center complex, located across from Laureate Park.
Last fall, Minto Communities joined the exclusive list of builders in Laureate Park. The company is offering 30 courtyard-style townhomes ranging in size from 1,500 to 2,200 square feet. Townhome prices start in the $190s. The company also plans to build 30 single-family homes, but prices had not been released at presstime.
“We’re very excited to introduce Minto Communities to the community,” says Rob Adams, vice president of Lake Nona. “Their new models bring innovative design while still maintaining a very high degree of energy conservation and sustainability. They have a long history of quality homebuilding. and will fit right in at Laureate Park.”
Taylor Morrison has also signed as an Laureate Park builder, and will offer two distinctive collections with homes ranging in size from 2,600 to 4,500 square feet Prices will start in the mid-$300s.
Down the road from Laureate Park and Lake Nona is Randal Park, located between Narcoossee Road and the Central Florida Greenway. This nature-themed, master-planned community boasts conservation areas, a five-acre central park and recreational trails.
“Customers talk about the conservationism,” says Barbara Koenig with Koenig and Company, which represents Randal Park. “It’s a little oasis. The developer did an amazing job of preserving the land and enhancing the area with more vegetation and trees.”
The 700-acre site will feature 815 single-family home-sites and neotraditional homes priced from the mid-$200s. Although David Weekley Homes and M/I Homes were the initial exclusive builders, Mattamy Homes has purchased the community’s remaining 600 homesites and will open a model home in March.
The 4,852-square-foot Chandler model (left) by Taylor Morrison Homes has seven bedrooms, four bathrooms and is priced from $447,995.
NARCOOSSEE, KISSIMMEE AND HUNTER’S CREEK
The Narcooossee and Kissimmee areas are also seeing an influx of new-home communities, many of them targeting first-time buyers.
KB Home is opening Gramercy Farms in St. Cloud, featuring single-family homes ranging in size from 1,676 to 3,512 square feet. Prices had not been announced at presstime.
Beazer Homes has unveiled plans for two communities. The Reserve at Tapestry features 282 homesites within walking distance of the Loop shopping and dining area in Hunter’s Creek. The Shingle Creek Reserve borders the property.
Beazer’s other new community, Nova Park, features 94 homesites in a rural setting. Prices in The Reserve at Tapestry and Nova Park had not been announced at presstime, but the company fully expects both projects to be successful.
“You can sense the excitement in our division about having these new communities open,” says Theresa Tilton, division vice president of Beazer Homes. “The region and state are poised for a strong recovery, and that helped solidify our decision to extend our footprint here.”
Meritage Homes is finalizing models for East Lake Park, located off Narcoossee Road in St. Cloud. Four designs, ranging in size from 3,082 to 5,107 square feet, will be featured. Prices will range from the $260s to the $340s.
SEMINOLE COUNTY
Orlando’s original bedroom community has been a growth center for decades, and the tradition is continuing.
In March, Ryland Homes is debuting The Enclave at Aloma, off Bear Gully Road in east Winter Park. The community features single-family homes ranging is size from 1,853 to 3,493 square feet. Prices start in the $200s.
Ryland is rolling out several new product lines in the community, according to Angie Colston, vice president of sales and marketing. Homes will boast granite countertops, 42-inch cabinets and stainless steel appliances, among other upgrades.
Meritage Homes is coming to popular Oviedo with Brooks Cove, an enclave featuring just 22 oversized homesites and homes ranging in size from 3,082 to 5,111 square feet. Prices range from the $370s to the $440s.
For buyers who want to live in the heart of Winter Springs near the town center, Mattamy Homes is unveiling a new townhome community called Jesups Landing. Amenities include a fitness center, a community pool and a clubhouse. Prices for the three-story townhomes start in the mid-$100s.
Also in Winter Springs, KB Home is targeting move-up buyers with Amberly, located near the Oviedo Mall and featuring homes ranging in size from 1,973 to 3,512 square feet. Prices had not been announced at presstime.
In late 2013, Taylor Morrison will open The Estates at Pearl Lake, featuring 69 single-family homesites and homes from the company’s Grand Collection. Aptly named Interactive Homes will include camera monitoring, an LCD command center and a whole-home audio system, among other high-tech goodies. Prices had not been announced at presstime.
MORE NEW COMMUNITIES
Meritage Homes is has announced two new communities for late spring/early summer openings. Lester Ridge in Apopka will feature 103 homesites and homes ranging in size from 2,700 to 5,100 square feet. Its sister community, Tuscany Ridge in Clermont, is an intimate enclave of just 30 oversized homesites. Prices had not been announced at presstime.
David Weekley Homes, one of the original builders in Celebration when it first opened in 1996, is returning to the community with four new product lines. Spring Lake at Celebration will feature two- and three-story townhomes and single-family homes in architectural styles ranging from Coastal/Pan Caribbean to Craftsman/French.
Homes will be built under the builder’s Environments for Living Gold Level Program. Amenities will include a resort style recreation center with a pool, a cabana and an event room.
Prices will range from the mid-$200s to $400,000-plus. Sales will begin in late spring.