Don King’s Home Sells

While it may not have sold for the listed $19.95 million, the Manalapan house sold for $15.9 million.  The 41,030- square-foot estate in Manalapan was home to boxing promoter Don King.

The home, which has a tennis court, two pools, courtyards and lush gardens, was only on the market for 45 days. According to Realtor Jack Elkins, it was the highest sale made this year in Manalapan.

The sale of this house is a good sign that the market is moving in a positive direction. The almost immediate closing of this home is one of the first signs that buyers both locally and internationally have the money to buy luxury homes.

As home builders we love reading stories like this. We hope the new buyers enjoy their purchase. 

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Hundreds of new homes planned for South Florida

Builders are planning the construction of hundreds of new homes in Broward, and Palm-Beach. The reason behind it is the confidence that has come from recent homes sales and activity in the housing market.

Many home builders have decided that this is a prime time to get back into building new homes. Some home builders have even reported an increase of up to 14% in homes sales as compared to the previous year.

While new home starts are not comparable to those in 2005, signs of growth are present. Nationally there are 183,000 new homes for sale, a record low.

Builders have started making products for buyers who don’t want to bother with short sales and foreclosures. A lot of the resale homes are often in poor condition and what’s more the sales can take months to complete.

As people turn away from resale homes more new homes must be built to accomodate buyers.

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Bright Look Ahead

It is good to read that in the next several years there could be vacant lot shortages versus overages. I was pleased to read that according to Bradley Hunter, director of South Florida’s Metrostudy, we should be prepared for land shortages as builders scramble to obtain lots on which to build on.

The outlook for the future appears to be a lot brighter than it once appeared to be. It seems that housing start percentages will increase as the market comes off the bottom.

We love to know that things are starting to stabilize and that we should see movement toward positive change in the near future.

The article is worth a reading: Metrostudy: S. Fla. housing starts on the rise.

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Do you feel it turning?

Slowly but surely, it seems we are catching a glimpse of an improving housing market. As, homebuilders we have seen signs indicating that things are changing. We may not be getting tons of people walking through the door but we are seeing more response from what we consider serious buyers.

As per finance professionals, what is preventing a larger turn in the housing market is the job market. Unemployment has reached all time highs and that can reduce people’s confidence in the future and as such they are more reluctant to buy a home.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aibTmhYzT54c

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