Austin Business Journal May 21-27 pp11-16 |Cover Story| “Not for sale” “Why homebuilders are pouring big bucks into homes they won’t sell” by Parimel M. Rohit (Austin) prohit@bizjournals.com and Mitchell Parton (San Antonio) mparton@bizjournals.com
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Summary provided by 2244
At a moment-in-time when “the median home price in metro Austin…hit $425,000…and record low inventory of “0.4 months” some builders are reinvigorating a trend that emerged after the 2008 real estate debacle-building subdivisions of detached homes for the rental market. According to Vaike O’Grady this concept “serves a need for people that want to live in the suburbs and want some space, but struggle to put a down payment together” estimated currently at $40,000-$50,000. Yet others have “excellent credit…but they had other reasons not to buy” including “life transitions” that might include a new job or change in personal relationships. A point in time when “they may not want to make the large commitment of buying a home.” Jacque Petroulakis (NexMetro) adds “they are renters by choice, meaning that these are consumers who want to live in a home, they love the detached nature of a home, they want a backyard, they don’t want to walk down a shared hallway or get in an elevator.” The “maintenance-free aspect of communities is also a big plus for empty nesters…”. The concept of AHV Communities was “…giving the best of the apartment world and the best of the single-family world…” says Mark Wolf founder and CEO (AHV Communities).
Darin Rowe (Taylor Morrison) says “Consumers can’t get enough and are welcoming the diversity in housing offerings that our concept brings, which is a blend of single-family homes in a multifamily setting with central amenities.” Examples of such developments in Austin are “The Colony (Bastrop), Urbana (Alderman Drive, Austin), River’s Edge (Stone Mountain Georgetown), Legacy (Legacy Drive Pflugerville) and Walden Square (Walton Pont, Pflugerville). The developers are in Austin are AHV Communities, Hunt Companies/Avanta Residential and Lonestar Development Partners. Similar developments are located in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas.
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