The Wall Street Journal brought some upbeat news a few Saturdays back. In Ruth Simon’s September 7 article The New New-Home Market , she reported that demand for “freshly built homes is heating up.” Both sales and prices are finally inching up. That’s great news for anyone who has been trying to sell an underwater home, because those sales are perking up, as well. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about buying a new home, you’ll want to pay close attention to the flip side of this good news coin.
The inventory of brand new homes available for sale is much lower than at its peak in July 2006. Back then, according to a U.S. Commerce Department report, there was a supply of 575,000 unsold new homes. Currently, the supply is about 144,000. That’s enough to meet less than 5 months’ demand; the National Association of Home Builders says six months is considered a balanced market.
So what does that mean to you? it’s the old law of supply and demand. As buyer demand edges up and with fewer homes available, there may be fewer price cuts, fewer incentives and maybe even longer waits for move in. Some of the hottest new home markets are in Florida, Texas and Arizona – hey, that’s Taylor Morrison country – and we currently have an excellent selection available.
On a positive note, builders are including innovative, in-demand features in their new homes that you simply won’t find in a resale. Energy efficiency is really big. So is flexible configuration that allows you to choose whether your master suite will be on the first floor or upstairs, for example. Taylor Morrison is way ahead of that curve. We are the only builder offering the Interactive Home™ — fully integrated interactive technology that allows you to customize your lighting, music, communications and security features using a smartphone, tablet or computer at home or away.
The Wall Street Journal article acknowledged that credit remains tight. Our homebuyers can take advantage of our preferred lender, Taylor Morrison Home Funding. They’re experts at working with people to help them find the right loan and terms to fit their budgets.
