Saturday, February 20, 2010

Builders Cautiously Increasing Prices and Building Spec Homes in New Jersey

The housing market is still far from recovered, but builders in Southern California, Texas and the Northeast report that prices are increasing, either by way of reduced incentives or outright increases to base pricing, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting’s February survey of new home builders.

This month, 292 home building industry executives in 99 MSAs overseeing 2,200+ communities report that traffic and sales improved in January 2010, especially in the second half of the month. “Sales gains are very focused on the entry level and in the best locations. Traffic pick-up is in quality more than quantity,” said Jody Kahn, VP of John Burns.
 
Additionally, the survey found that new projects are outselling legacy projects, due to better locations and lower price points.  Also, the average unsold, finished inventory per community decreased to 3.0 units, but is up from 2.8 units in the Fall. Inventory is expected to rise through May.
 
Nearly all builders are starting some speculative inventory.  New FHA guidelines may hinder sales of new homes in New Jersey and throughout the country, because they reduce allowable seller-paid closing costs, and require more down payment of buyers with low FICO scores.
 
Your 1st time buyer credit is good on new construction in Mercer County, but the timeframe is getting tight.  Contact me for ideas of the best places for new homes in Hamilton and surrounding areas, and how to find a good builder.
 
Joe Giancarli, Sales Associate
608-258-2612
jgiancarli@remax.net
http://www.njhomesource.blogspot.com/
http://www.joegiancarli.com/
http://www.njhomesource.net/

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