by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Development is in abundance in North Florida. Prices are escalating and builders are building houses with fevor to keep up with the demand.
Developers Howard White of North Florida Builders, Mori Hosseini of ICI Homes, Jim Leiferman of Pulte Homes and Ed Burr of LandMar Group, LLC. were invited to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtor luncheon last month to give their insights into what is happening in the real estate market.
Over 400 attended the event to hear the panel discuss strategies for growth management, impact fees, military base closures, active adult community needs and new projects on the horizon.
Houssini, who is developing along the coastal counties, discussed the increasing lot prices in the Flagler County area.
“It is the No. 1 growth area in the country,” he said. “Three or four years ago you could buy a lot for $5,000, $6,000 or $8,000. Today, the same lot goes for $17,000 or $25,000. I’ve never seen a market change so quickly.”
Houssini said the same thing is happening in Volusia County, but nothing like Flagler.
White is developing in Nassau County and said the area is experiencing tremendous growth.
“With that growth comes all the problems that go along with it,” he said.
Impact fees had the panel a little divided.
“It’s not fair to have impact fees on new home communities to pay for all the schools,” said White.
Houssini said he believes in impact fees, where the others said the cost should be spread around more since the entire community is affected, not just the new home areas. They are all supportive of a transfer fee on all real estate transactions to help support the infrastructure in all growing communities.
“If you don’t have impact fees, than you can’t build the roads or the schools,” said Houssini. “The problem is that there is a separation with the city, state and county on one side, the Realtors on another and the home builders on another. They don’t talk to each other. Everyone stays on their own turf.”
He said all three groups should get together to make a decision as to how to come up with the funds to help the community handle the new construction.
“It would be nice for the burden to be spread out,” said Burr. “We sell quality of life and that includes being able to drive to work and having schools for the children to attend.”
Leiferman agreed with Burr. He said that impact fees drive affordability too high for lower income buyers to afford.
“An example would be of a 15-year-old home where a family of six moves in,” said Leiferman. “The impact on the community is the same if that family of six moves into a brand new home. It’s not fair to throw the burden on one group. We need to distribute the burden.”
Impact fees are going up in all counties and the developers say that Clay County will soon follow suit.
The next main topic discussed was military base closures and its impact on North Florida.
Burr recently visited Washington to learn more on possible military base closures.
“The military is a big part of our market,” said Burr. “Hopefully, the USS Kennedy will be here for a few more years. The military bases are a big part of our economy and if we lose them would be very devastating to us.”
Growth management is important to the community and to developers.
“I think we all agree that growth management is important to what we do,” said Lieferman. “The demand is not going to go away, so we just have to manage it as best as possible as the developers and builders who build things.”
Lieferman’s company is developing Sweetwater, an active adult community.
“It’s about lifestyle,” he said. “In three months, we have sold about 140 units. What we have done at Sweetwater is to do a nice job of pulling in locals who want to live the lifestyle that the Del Webb active adult lifestyle community offers.”
The panel was asked how active adult communities fit into the whole scheme of their new projects.
Burr said he will master plan sections of his community to target active adults.
New projects the builders are venturing into include another Del Webb active adult community in Nocatee.
When asked if they thought Jacksonville would be a destination for active adults, Lieferman said yes, but it will be by default.
He said the prospects will visit Miami and other southern areas and realize they are over populated and too expensive, and then stop in this area and see what it has to offer, therefore ending up here.
Burr is currently working on the Shipyards project in downtown Jacksonville and Saratoga Springs in Clay County, and has other projects on the horizon.
“We are still developing the plans,” he said. “We believe in the greatness of Jacksonville and the future of downtown. We do think the Shipyards will be a cornerstone for our community for downtown Jacksonville. We will be a number of units starting at $200,000 to over $1.5 million, with the bulk being under $500,000.”
He said the sales campaign should start early part of next year.
White is working on Amelia Lakes in Nassau County and Murabella in the World Golf Village.
Amelia Lakes will have 749 lots starting at $200,000 and going up to around $600,000. It will also have an 8-acre amenity area and should start selling in the first quarter of next year.
Murabella has prices from $260,000 to $500,000 and North Florida Builders is just one of four builders in that development.
Houssini’s new projects include Amelia National in Nassau County, Tidewater on the Northside and Magnolia Preserve in Julington Creek.
Lieferman’s new projects include a new Del Webb community in Nocatee and Bartram Park on St. Augustine Road.
Burr said we all know how great real estate has been in Northeast Florida and how fast prices have shot up. Housing bubble? Burr said no way.
“I don’t think we are anywhere near the peak,” he said “I think we will continue to have a great future in Northeast Florida. There is still plenty for everyone.”