The nation’s top homebuilder bought up land for a planned townhome community near downtown St. Cloud.
D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) on Sept. 8 paid $3.38 million for 90 lots in the city, according to documents recently filed with Osceola County.
The home prices are not known. D.R. Horton executives could not be reached for comment.
The seller was Winter Haven-based Camden Bay LLC, a firm related to HRB Land Investments LLC. Contact information was not available for either firm.
The popularity of townhomes waned with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and a demand for more space at home, Armel Real Estate Inc. owner and broker Deanna Armel told Orlando Business Journal. “Smaller townhomes with no space are far less appealing than single-family homes. I can’t tell you the last time I sold a townhome.”
Townhomes typically sell for less than a single-family home, and the median local townhome price of $280,000 is cheaper than the median price for all home types, $320,000. Still, the shortage of homes across the region creates “desperate times” for many homebuyers, Armel added. “At a price point below $350,000, it will be gone in a few days with multiple offers — even a townhome.”
The value of residential construction started in July in metro Orlando was $670 million, down from $684 million in June and down 10% from July 2020, according to Hamilton, New Jersey-based Dodge Data & Analytics. The rising costs of materials, labor shortages and economic uncertainties caused by the surging delta variant are to blame for decreasing construction starts across the U.S., Dodge Chief Economist Richard Branch said in a Sept. 20 report.
Home construction is important in Central Florida, as it can create jobs and business opportunities, as well as put more housing into the region’s home-strapped real estate market.
