by Michele Gillis
Staff Writer
A new trend is emerging in the field of building homes - or is it?
Several people that used to work at large builders have taken their experience and ideas and opened up their own homebuilding company in Jacksonville.
Déjà vu: not that many years ago, there were a lot of homegrown building companies in Jacksonville...that is, until the big box builders came in and ate them all up.
“The bottom line is that there are only so many opportunities out there right now,” said Andy Chambers, president of MasterCraft Builder Group. “For people who have the financial wherewithal and, hopefully, the knowledge, I think there are still good opportunities.
“I see Jacksonville going back to yesteryear, if you will, in that there are going to be a lot more smaller builders than there are bigger builders in the market.”
Rick Dalton, president of Wellington Homes, said the new trend is all a part of a natural progression of the market.
“I think it is a natural part of the cycle,” said Dalton. “We lost a lot of private builders during the past few years, so this is a natural part of the market recovery.”
The cost of materials and labor is low now, but so is the end result, so that is not always the main factor in opening a building company at this time.
“It’s all relative,” said Chambers. “The bottom line is supply and demand.”
Cora Johnston, president of Generation Homes, said this market is helping make homes available to everyone.
“Homes are affordable again,” she said. “People on a single income can now afford homes.”
It’s all about doing something different, she said.
“I’ve seen the success of what can come from starting in this type of market,” said Johnston. “In 1990, we were in a recession and Wayne Forrester came from Texas and built big homes in Hampton Glen. They were big, had a lot of square footage and he sold them at a wonderful price. He went into a neighborhood that was dead in the water and did something different. He was very successful. He stimulated the market.
“It’s all about doing something different. Then Mercedes Homes came in 1992 and they did something different and were very successful.”
One of the things most of these “new” builders have shared is that they decided to open their companies in the midst of the downturn, so they could be up and running before the market turns around.
“With the land value dropping as drastically as it was and still is, why not go out there and open your own company?” said Dana Skaff, president of Southern Lifestyle Homes. “You can buy a lot for $15,000-16,000 and build a home. There are a lot of laborers out there. There is a niche for someone who wants to buy a $100,000 to $200,000 home.”
Dalton opened Wellington Homes because he was tired of corporate America.
“We had the opportunity to do it and we could worry about five or six houses instead of 500 or 600 houses,” he said. “The biggest reason we went out when we did was because we started to see healthy signs in the market and we wanted to be positioned as a company that was there to take advantage of the market return when it happens.
“We wanted to be an established company with established relationships with Realtors, financial partners and trade partners and be ready to take advantage of the upswing.”