The busiest of those have been the ones offering so-called “affordable” homes, houses priced under, or just slightly above, $200,000.
Builders whose mainstay was larger, costlier homes have slowed their production schedule within already established subdivisions, and, in some instances, dropped new projects entirely.
At town hall where building permits are issued, some employees in the Inspections Department were excited when the number of residential permits issued in January of this year totaled 29. The number looked good compared to the seven issued in the same month of 2009.
Kathy Vaughan, inspections director, looked Monday at the February picture, found that 10 permits had been issued and 15 more were ready for pickup by builders. Still others were being processed. She speculated that this year’s second month was going to beat February of last year when the total was 17.
Ms. Vaughan would like to see it as an upward trend. So would Town Manager Andy Hedrick. Last week Hedrick called January “an excellent month” for residential permits but added, “I would not necessarily want to predict a trend based on one month’s activity, but I feel confident that the worst is behind us. The proof will be in the spring where we usually see bigger housing start numbers.
“Some good news on the national unemployment and the continued impact of the federal stimulus money getting spent should make for brighter days. We’ll see.”
Planning Director Michael Sorensen was more cautious, “We’re doing better than we were, but we are nowhere near where we used to be.” Records show 2007 as Fuquay-Varina’s peak residential building year with a total of 736 permits issued with a construction value of $153,176,750.
Calls to several local residents in the building business produced little optimism. Wayne Mauldin, surveyor, said it has been close to two years since has been called upon to plat a new subdivision. And he doesn’t see anything happening that’s likely to change things. ”The market is not there. The banks have made it harder to get financing. It’s just a real slow right now,” Mauldin said.
Builder Wayne Massengill said he is doing 20 to 25 percent of the business he was doing before the recession struck. In both Millridge in Fuquay-Varina and DeVintage subdivision near Cary, he has been building homes priced at $400,000 and $500,000. He has recognized within the past year to 18 months that the price range of homes that are selling is much lower.
“We are trying to get into some lower priced homes, trying to get tooled down,” he said. But he pointed out that, in a subdivision planned for larger, higher priced homes, he can’t go in and build smaller houses. He will have to start elsewhere. Massengill said he doesn’t expect to see anything change in the coming spring. His observation, “Nothing is happening.”
Those builders who seem to be getting along best in the present economy are the ones who were already building smaller, lower-priced houses when the market took a downturn. The Royal Oaks Building Group is a prime example. When Susan Wall in the town’s permitting department reported 29 residential permits issued in January, she also said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if 27 of them weren’t for Royal Oaks."
The Group is currently building homes in Carriage Heights, Southern Oaks and Parker Point subdivisions, all located off Judd Parkway south of town, and in a section of Lake Stone Village fronting on Old Honeycutt Road.
Asked to explain the philosophy that has kept the company going, Paige Lowder, controller, said the company has built homes in a value range that many people can afford and, she said, “The quality of our homes exceeds what people expect to get for the price.” She said banks have been willing to lend for construction of homes in the price range that quality Royal Oaks is offering.
“I think we are selling the right product at the right time and the right price,” she said. In Carriage Heights prices range from $150,000 to $180,000 and in Southern Oaks from $170,000 to $220,000, according to a sign posted at the entrance to the subdivisions. Parker Point homes are in roughly the same range. Those in Lakestone Village are somewhat higher.
“We generally follow a rule of “sell one, start one,” Ms. Lowder added.
Royal Oaks, with headquarters in Raleigh, has built subdivisions throughout the Triangle and in Harnett County.
Another company that has continued to build throughout the recession months is David Weekly Homes of Texas. That company is developing South Lakes, building homes selling from $179,000 to $190,000. Those homes have attracted a number of retired buyers.
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