THE RIGHT DIRECTION

No more equivocating, hesitating or prognosticating. The housing slump is over. Builders are building and buyers are buying. Plus, values are increasing, thereby re-establishing the once-unassailable view that a new home is a savvy investment.

“I think 2013 marked the tail end of a long, brutal housing recession,” says George Glance, president of KB Home’s Orlando Division. “Now, people are generally more confident about the economy and about their prospects. I see us entering a time of solid, stable and sustainable growth. I think we’ll look back on 2014 as a year of equilibrium.”

“Equilibrium” is perhaps the perfect word to describe the state of the market. The early to mid-2000s were all about excess. The years after that were all about correcting — perhaps overcorrecting, says Glance — for that excess. Now the roller-coaster ride is over and it’s steady as she goes.

David Baselice, president of Ryland Homes’ Orlando Division, says that “anything in a great location” is seeing solid traffic and encouraging sales. Kevin Clark, Richmond American Homes’ Orlando Division president, agrees, noting that most national builders were buying land in 2013 with an eye toward a strengthening market in 2014 and 2015.

Bolstering the market in Central Florida has been the horrific winter weather that paralyzed much of the country, says Mark Bines, president of Kolter Homes’ Orlando Division. “Some people are coming down later this year than in past years because they were snowed in,” says Bines. “But we anticipate a much stronger year in 2014.”

So, although buyers are back, they’re choosier than they once were and are demanding as much bang for the buck as possible. Consequently, many builders are retooling their homes to add more visual panache and offering more upgrade opportunities through elaborate design centers, where everything from flooring to finishes can be selected.

“We’re redesigning all our products in all our communities,” says Vishal Gupta, president of Park Square Homes. “We’re building homes with big kitchens islands and more flex space, and we’re offering more semi-custom features. In addition, we’re focusing a lot on amenities in our communities.”

Clark agrees with Gupta that buyers are more discerning than ever. “Design is a big part of what we do,” he says. “We focus on things like architectural elements and color palettes, and it shows. We put more in our homes for the price.”

You can see the optimism espoused by Glance, Clark, Bines, Gupta and others reflected in hard data. According to MetroStudy, a housing industry research firm, more than 1,863 new single-family homes closed during the fourth quarter of 2013, which is 10 percent higher than the same period in 2012. The MetroStudy report covers Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties.

Clearly, people are feeling better about the economy in general and more secure in their personal situations. According to Gallup’s Job Creation Index, Metro Orlando ranks No. 4 out of the top 50 markets in the U.S. in job creation. The ranking is based on the percentage of workers who say their employer is increasing its workforce minus the percentage who say their employer is decreasing its workforce.

According to Gallup, 44 percent of Central Floridians say their employers are hiring versus 16 percent who say their employers are downsizing. That gives the region a rating of +28. Houston leads the nation at +32.

Anthony Crocco, regional director of MetroStudy, noted that new homes with base prices of more than $250,000 increased from 30 percent of all sales in 2012 to more than 50 percent all sales in 2013. Part of the reason is that home values are appreciating again. But a larger factor may be that, in the wake of the economic collapse, move-up buyers are more easily able to secure credit.

It’s a situation tailor-made for Toll Brothers, technically a production builder but known for ultra-luxurious homes with custom sensibilities. “Our buyers are typically not as affected by market turbulence, says Andre Vidrine, vice president of the Orlando Division. “They’re financially established and traditionally have high credit scores or are cash buyers.”

New homes being built, as opposed to new homes being sold, were also up, but not by nearly as much. According to MetroStudy, 1,806 new homes were started in the fourth quarter of 2013, an increase of 5.2 percent versus the same period in 2012. That’s because some builders are still reporting significant sales backlogs, says Crocco.

Total single-family inventory, which is comprised of homes under construction, finished vacant homes and model homes, totaled 4,791 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2013, representing 7.5 months of supply. That’s an increase of 32 percent versus the same period in 2012. “Still, most completed houses are being occupied very soon after completion,” Crocco adds.

For the year, Orange County had the lion’s share of new-home starts with 4,447, up 27 percent from a year earlier. Osceola County had the largest percentage increase, with 1,917 new homes under way. That’s up 58 percent from 2012.

More positive news came from a report released last month by McGraw Hill Construction, which noted that Central Florida homebuilders filed for $3.2 billion in permits in 2013, a 51 percent jump from the $2.1 billion notched in 2012.

Local trends mirror what’s happening across the country. In January, the sale of new single-family homes nationwide rose 9.6 percent, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000. That’s in comparison to an upwardly revised pace of 427,000 in the previous month, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s the strongest sales pace since July of 2008.

At NAHB’s International Builders’ Show, held last January in Las Vegas, the trade association’s economists released a bullish forecast for 2014. NAHB is predicting the nation will see a 32 percent increase, to 822,000 new-home starts in 2014, followed up by a 41 percent gain in 2015.

Says NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe: “There’s little doubt that historically low interest rates, affordable home prices and a healing economy are bringing back buyers.” 

EAST AND WEST

Homebuilding in Central Florida is picking up everywhere, but two big developments that anchor opposite sides of Orange County are seeing particularly strong activity.

Southeast Orlando’s Lake Nona, where the burgeoning Medical City complex of hospitals and research facilities is taking shape, led the region in new-home starts for 2013, with 441. That actually surprised Rob Adams, vice president of Lake Nona Property Holdings and Tavistock Development Company, since several Lake Nona neighborhoods are nearing closeout.

“But we have a lot of new things happening here as well,” notes Adams, reeling off a roster of office, hotel and retail projects that will support the community’s residents and employees of its high-profile biotech anchors.

Work is about to begin on the first phase of Lake Nona’s town center, with completion slated for mid-2015. The $150 million project, near the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine, will encompass a 200-room hotel building that will house both a Marriott Residence Inn and a Courtyard by Marriott.

Also planned is a $20 million office building with about 80,000 square feet and an attached parking garage. In addition there'll be five restaurants —  three in the office building and two that will stand alone — as well as a 300-unit apartment complex. Eventually, the town center is expected to boast 100 million square feet of shopping, dining and office space. 

Lake Nona captured national headlines in 2006 when it landed what is now the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. UCF built its medical school there, and the Nemours Children’s Hospital opened in 2012. The $656 million VA Medical Center, which is two years behind schedule, is expected to finally open next spring.

In addition to the town center, work started in February on Gateway Plaza, a 75,000-square-foot office building in which Florida Hospital has leased 50,000 square feet and Pegasus Health, the clinical arm of the UCF College of Medicine, has leased 10,000 square feet.

Lake Nona’s residential neighborhoods include Lake Nona Golf and Country Club (custom homes ranging into seven figures), as well as NorthLake Park (Park Square Homes, from the $230s at Water’s Edge), VillageWalk (Pulte Homes, from the $230s) and Laureate Park (Ashton Woods Homes, David Weekley Homes, Minto Communities and Taylor Morrison Homes, from the $230s).

Concentric Restaurants — an Atlanta-based hospitality management company that previously worked with Luma on Park and Prato in Winter Park — is designing a new restaurant in a village center within Laureate Park, where the streets are all named for Nobel Prize winners. The 5,800-square-foot center also will have a coffee shop, a market and an information center, Adams says.

And the hits just keep on coming for Lake Nona. Just as this issue of Florida Homebuyer Orlando went to press, the U.S. Tennis Association announced that it had would build a large training facility within the community.

According to the WTA, the state-of-the-art tennis campus will house its community tennis and player development divisions. Although more details were unavailable, it is expected that the complex will include four buildings totaling 150,000 square feet with more than 90 tennis courts on 62 acres.

Near Lake Nona but equally bolstered by the success of Medical City is Sawgrass Plantation, which ranked No. 2 in new-home starts last year with 195. KB Home is offering homes from the $230s in the amenity-rich community, which touts its convenience to Medical City as well as to the UCF Research Park and Orlando International Airport.

Also in Sawgrass Plantation, Beazer Homes is building townhomes from the $170s and single-family homes from the $240s. Taylor Morrison Homes is building single-family homes priced from the $280s on 70-foot homesites. 

Speaking of Taylor Morrison, the company is set to debut Woodland Park 12 miles south of downtown Orlando in the Hunter's Creek area. One- and two-story homes, priced from the $200s, will come from the company’s Heritage, Manor and Traditions lines. Woodland Park amenities will include a community clubhouse, pool, multipurpose field, playground and several passive parks. 

Another hot east side property this year is expected to be nearby Randal Park, where Mattamy Homes has bought the 600 remaining homesites and will be building along with David Weekley Homes and M/I Homes. Prices in the 700-acre master-planned community start in the high $100s.

Also driving growth on the east side: Avallina (KB Home, from the $220s), Eagle Creek (Standard Pacific Homes, from the $220s), East Lake Park (Standard Pacific Homes, from the $260s), Fells Landing (Meritage Homes, from the $260s), North Point (Mattamy Homes and Lennar Homes, both from the $250s), Nova Park (Beazer Homes, from the $220s), East Lake Park (Standard Pacific Homes and Meritage Homes, both from the high $200s) and Mallard Pond (Royal Oak Homes, from the $180s).

D.R. Horton Homes is all over the east side with Beacon Park Landing (prices TBA), Carter Glen (from the low $100s), Del Morrow (from the $220s), Ravina at East Park, (from the mid-$100s), Villas at East Park (from the mid-$100s) and Turtle Creek (from the mid-$200s).

On the west side, a huge master-planned community originally envisioned 20 years ago is finally taking off. Horizon West, taking shape on 28,000 acres of old citrus groves in west Orange County, isn’t so much one master-planned community as it is a cluster of separate but interconnected villages served by a town center. Ultimately, some 60,000 will call Horizon West home — more than three times the population of Winter Park.

Late last year, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held celebrating the completion of two roads that are expected to jump-start the town center. The ceremony was held at Hamlin, a mixed-use project slated for 2 million square feet of retail, restaurant and office space as well as 2,000 multifamily and single-family homes.

Hamlin’s lakefront lifestyle center will include a boardwalk and docks so that it can be reached by boat. The boardwalk will link to a multiuse trail system and a lakefront park.

As a result of the $19 million road project, New Independence Parkway was connected from S.R. 429 east to Tiny Road and the community of Independence. In addition, Hamlin Groves Trail was completed from New Independence Parkway south to the community of Summerlake and Orange County National Golf Course.

As a result, via New Independence Parkway, Horizon West residents have another access point to S.R. 429. That means motorists will save time navigating the crowded S.R. 535/S.R. 429 interchange.

The overall town center totals 3,700 acres just west of the Village of Bridgewater. It’s planned for 6,400 homes, 5.7 million square feet of office space, 2.1 million square feet of retail space, 348,000 square feet of warehouse space and 1,200 hotel rooms with a conference center.

While much of the town center is yet to be built, homes are available now. Taylor Morrison is offering homes from the $200s in Overlook at Hamlin, with plans to open two more phases: The Cove at Hamlin (from the $400s) and The Cove at Hamlin Urban Cottages (maintenance-free homes from the $200s). 

Concurrently, Central Florida’s biggest builders are moving ahead in Horizon West’s various neighborhoods, including Alexander Ridge (Lennar Homes, from the mid-$200s), Avalon Reserve (Royal Oak Homes, from the $280s); Berkshire Park (Pulte Homes, from the $260s), Carrington (Ashton Woods Homes, from the low $200s), Hickory Hammock (M/I Homes, from the $340s) and Independence (Ashton Woods Homes, City Homes, Lennar Homes and Taylor Morrison Homes, from the mid-$200s).

Ashton Woods Homes expects to offer both single-family homes and townhomes in Ashlin Park (prices TBA).

Other Horizon West neighborhoods include The Overlook at Lake Pointe (Meritage Homes and Standard Pacific Homes, from the $260s), Mabel Bridge (KB Home, from the mid-$260s), The Reserve at Carriage Point (Taylor Morrison Homes, from the $270s), Summerlake (D.R. Horton Homes, KB Home and Cam Bradford Homes, from the mid-$200s), Sweet Water at Summerport (Ryan Homes, from the low $200s), The Vineyards (KB Home, from the $260s), Waterside on Johns Lake (Standard Pacific Homes, from the $300s), Windermere Terrace (Pulte Homes, from the mid-$260s) and Windermere Trails (Meritage Homes, from the $230s).

Other west side neighborhoods gaining momentum are Orchard Hills, located just north of Horizon West (Beazer Homes, from the $320s), and Waterstone, located in Windermere, where veteran custom builder Bill Silliman of Silliman Homes is offering lavish Mediterranean-style showplaces at just over $1 million.

The west side’s selling points, in addition to all the excitement at Horizon West, include the pristine Windermere Chain of Lakes; adjacency to the major attractions such as Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and Sea World; prestigious golf courses such as Bay Hill and Disney’s Lake Buena Vista; major malls such as Winter Garden Village and The Mall at Millenia; and quant small towns such as Windermere and Winter Garden, where the charming historic district offers dining and boutique shopping.

In Osceola County, Harmony is hopping. This unique community was founded in 1996 by Jim and Martha Lenz, who wanted to develop a complete town based on the concept that people and nature could co-exist in, well, harmony. 

At first the 11,000-acre project, previously site of the sprawling Triple E Ranch, was considered a bit too far outside the mainstream. Today, it’s home to approximately 1,250 multigenerational residents who enjoy environmentally intelligent living. In fact, Harmony is the largest community in the state to earn certification from the Florida Green Building Coalition. Builders include Kent Custom Homes, Lennar Homes, LifeStyle Homes, Park Square Homes and Regatta Building and Development. Prices range from the high $100s to the $600s. 

READY TO RUMBLE

Talking to homebuilders, you get a sense that they’re expecting another extraordinary — if somewhat less frantic — run of good years ahead. But they’ve also been sobered by the brutal downturn and try hard to strike a tone of optimism but not giddiness.

Still, no one wants to miss the next wave of growth and many have spent several years preparing for it. Mattamy Homes, for example, began quietly acquiring land in 2009. Consequently, few are better positioned to reap the rewards of the rebound.

The Canadian-based company made a major statement last year when it spent $15 million to buy the 250-acre Tapestry property in Osceola County. With up to 1,100 homesites, Tapestry will be the biggest Mattamy development in the U.S., according to Jim Leiferman, president of the Orlando Division.

“We’re creating a gated, master-planned, well-amenitized community,” says Leiferman, adding that he expects Mattamy-built homes to start in the high $100s. Beazer Homes was already in Tapestry, offering homes from the $230s,as was Park Square Homes, which expects to begin a new neighborhood of resort homes later this year. Tapestry’s stone entry and landscaped main boulevard will offer a dramatic welcome, while its lakes, ponds and wooded preserve areas will underscore the location’s natural beauty.

The amenity complex will include a clubhouse, cabana, pool, playground and parks. Leiferman says the project’s sheer size — costs can be spread over more than 1,000 homes — makes it possible to offer such an impressive lifestyle package at such a low price point.

Tapestry is also near The Loop, a new shopping center offering big-box retailers, boutique shops, movie theaters, popular restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies. In addition, the attractions are just a few minutes away.

The Tapestry acquisition marked Mattamy’s third major Orlando land purchase in one 12-month span. That’s a total investment of around $50 million, giving the company the potential to build some 2,000 homes.

“Central Florida has so much going for it,” Leiferman says. “Unemployment is low and the growth engines are no longer just tourism. We’ve got Medical City, of course, as well as such previously quiet sectors as simulation and defense. There’s been a big change in the dynamics of the market.”

In addition to Tapestry and Randal Park, Mattamy is continuing in Jessup’s Landing (Winter Springs, from the high $190s), Millenia Park (southwest Orlando, from the $230s), North Point (Kissimmee, from the $250s), Reserve at Loch Lake (Sanford, from the high $150s) and Windermere Trails (southwest Orlando, prices TBD).

Ryland Homes has 13 Central Florida communities, including two new ones: the previously mentioned Orchard Hills as well as Hickory Hammock (Winter Garden, from $279,990). Richmond American Homes, which has been actively pursuing land opportunities, continues strong in Bella Lago (Clermont, from the low $300s), Drayton Woods at Providence (Davenport, from the mid-$200s), Brynmar (Ocoee, from the low $200s) and Eagles Landing at Westyn Bay (Ocoee, from the high $200s).

Park Square Homes is in seven Central Florida communities and has a new, as-yet unnamed project getting ready to debut in the Heathrow area of Seminole County. It’s also getting ready to debut Lakeside at Toscana, a luxurious niche of just 32 three-story, Mediterranean-style homes in the Dr. Phillips area of west Orlando. Prices have not yet been announced. 

Meanwhile the company continues in Edgewater at Bellagio (Kissimmee, from the mid-$200s), which opened late last year, as well as Prairie Lake Reserve (Ocoee, from the low $160s) and Summerbrooke (Mount Dora, from the $170s).

KB Home has just opened six new communities, will have five more on-line by the fourth quarter and plan yet another five in 2015. “We’re on a very aggressive growth trajectory,” says Glance, making something of an understatement.

Toll Brothers is attracting attention at its newest community, Casabella at Windermere, where the company recently completed a 5,349-square-foot model home, Villa Milano. The intimate, gated community of sprawling half-acre estate homesites offers six home designs ranging in size from 3,100 to 6,900 square feet and priced from the $700s.

The upscale builder has also seen tremendous success its Fontana Estates community in east Orlando, where the final homesites are now on sale. “We’ve had a stable, growing economy and now buyers have a sense of urgency,” notes Vidrine. “Central Florida inventory is limited and new home prices are increasing.”

Perhaps surprisingly, one of the busiest builders in Central Florida is locally owned. Royal Oak Homes, run by brothers and co-presidents Matthew and Stephen Orosz, are in 13 communities, including two new ones in Lake County.

The company has bought Spring Ridge Estates, located in Eustis, and Blue Lake Estates, located in Mount Dora. Spring Ridge Estates, with 82 homesites, offers homes from the $190s, while Blue Lake Estates, with 14 homesites, offers homes from the low $200s.  

Kolter Homes is making noise in Deland, a charmng small city in Volusia County where Stetson University is located, with Victoria Park. The master-planned golf-course community, which Kolter took over in 2009, features the neighborhoods of Victoria Commons (from the $160s), Victoria Hills (from the $270s) and Cresswind at Victoria Gardens (active adult, from the low $200s).

“This is a beautiful part of Central Florida,” says Bines. “Deland is a lovely town and the area has rolling topography. Plus, it’s got Stetson, which has a football team now. I think this kind of an undiscovered area.”

Of course, this story offered only a sampling of what’s new and what’s coming as the new-home market revs up. Check out the new-home directories in this issue or log onto thefloridahomebuyer.com for the most up-to-date database of homes and communities in the region.