March 2014 Issue
Orlando New Homes and Communities Magazine and Guide
Central Florida is the tourism capital of the world, but it is also a family-friendly place with cozy neighborhoods, excellent schools and an emerging high-tech employment base. Lakes and parks abound and there are an array of cultural venues to enjoy. Orlando also boasts the state's newest medical school as well as a burgeoning medical research complex. Sports fans cheer for the Orlando Magic.
FEATURE
In the middle of the housing recession, when most builders were shrinking their homes and industry pundits were declaring the demise of McMansions, Meritage Homes was building bigger - a lot bigger.
There's no more obvious sign that the new-home market has come back strong than all the activity in Horizon West, a huge master-planned community taking shape on 28,000 acres of old citrus groves in west Orange County.
Even though they cross their fingers when they say it, economists and industry experts predict the 2014 homebuilding market to continue to improve for both buyers and sellers, steadily climbing back to "normal" after years of distress.
If you're planning to buy a house next year - and unless you're able to make an all-cash offer - you could be impacted by changes that have just taken place in the mortgage application process.
Most of us don't hesitate to seek the advice of professionals when making major decisions outside of our field of expertise.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Florida has traditionally been looked upon as a place where retirees and winter residents flock. While that may have been the case years ago, today the numbers paint a strikingly different picture.
PROFILE
In the world of national builders, Ashton Woods Homes stands out for market-specific creativity and buyer personalization.
The area that's now the booming city of St. Cloud started as a sugarcane plantation in the 1870s. Later, after the plantation failed, 35,000 acres were acquired for a retirement community aimed at attracting Civil War veterans.
In the homebuilding universe, very few national builders can compete with their more specialized custom counterparts in building and selling homes priced as high as seven figures. David Weekley Homes, based in Houston, is one of a handful that can go toe-to-toe with local niche builders who work only from personalized architectural plans.