Want some more proof that luxury buyers are getting back into the market?  How about this.  During the last 90 days, London Bay has sold or gone to contract on four of its fully furnished inventory homes.  The sales have occurred at Mediterra, Portofino and Quail West.  Add the sale of the Isabella model at The Founders Club earlier in the year and these transactions represent more than $10 million in sales.  It appears that those buyers who have been studying the market and waiting for the right time to buy have gained a fair amount of confidence in the Southwest Florida luxury home market.  Their confidence has also reduced the inventory of luxury homes priced above $1 million by about 25% during the last 12 month.  As inventory declines, prices rise and that’s the case in this buyers market.  For homes priced in the $1-$2 million range, prices have risen every month for the last 10 months according to the Naples Area Board of Realtors.  We still have a good selection of fully furnished inventory homes available…take a look and see if any of these homes fit your lifestyle.

If the prospect of building a custom home seems daunting, you might want to take another look at our Reserve Collection of homes. The collection represents more than a dozen of our most popular floor plans with each one offering you the opportunity to customize your home with an array of structural and design changes. Yes, you can have that custom home. And you will be surprised by the ease of design, the speed of the process and maybe most importantly, the value. Our newest designs can be built for as low as $180 per square foot in some locations – 35% less than the cost of building five years ago. Our Reserve Collection of homes can be built in any of our luxury lifestyle communities, or on your own home site anywhere between Marco Island and Sarasota. Click on Reserve Collection to get more details.

In 2005 and 2006 the national (and even local) news media carried a story a week about the emerging bubble in the housing market. It didn’t scare too many people away from buying a new home because everyone thought that home prices were immune to economic downturns. As recent history has shown, that wasn’t the case. Now, a couple of high-profile business publications are touting the positive aspects of the current housing economy. First it was Fortune magazine and now the Wall Street Journal – both are encouraging home shoppers to buy now. As the Wall Street Journal article shows, there is a growing list of reasons to buy. And speaking of the media, one of the factors that have gone under-reported is the pricing disparity between high-end and lower priced homes. High-end prices have held their value much better than the “averages” that get reported monthly by Case-Shiller’s home value index. Here’s a little more info about that…home values.

When you select London Bay as your builder, you not only get the expertise of a company that’s won the “America’s Best Builder” award, you also get a team of industry professionals who bring decades of experience to your individual project.  Our in-house architectural team has worked with clients from around the world to help them interpret their aspirations into compelling designs that complement their individual lifestyles.  Our interior designers at Romanza have won dozens and dozens of awards for their creativity and innovative designs.  Everyday they are researching new concepts and products that can help you add that special splash to your new home.  Our veteran superintendents keep a watchful eye on every step of the construction process, managing some of the best craftspeople in the market.  And when it’s time for delivery, you’ll get a personalize orientation from our Customer Care team, who are just a phone call away when you need assistance after the sales.  After more than 20 years in the business, we’ve built more than beautiful homes, we’ve also built one of the best teams in the business.

Just because housing starts are near record lows doesn’t mean builders aren’t keeping a keen eye on customer trends.  When someone walks through our doors, we need to demonstrate to them that we can build with superior quality, help them get the most from their budget, and create a home with the latest and greatest features and technology.  During my 20+ years in the homebuilding industry, I have always looked for innovative products and design trends that can best serve my customers’ needs and aspirations.  Kitchens often take center stage in a homes’ design and I came across a host of interesting ideas at Custom Home Online.  Take a few minutes to read the story by home building writer Jean Dimeo and you’ll quickly discover that there are a lot of ways to create a kitchen space that stands out from the crowd.  This of course is just one example of the many ways we work to stay on top of industry trends and provide our customers with a custom home that is as unique as their signature.  I like that term.

What kind of home will $1 million buy you today?  That’s a question that CNBC asked recently.  They looked at a dozen different housing markets and discovered a surprising spread of answers.  In New York City, $1.225 million buys you about 1,000 sq. ft.; in Phoenix, that same investment translates to a home with 5,800 sq. ft.  Yes, prices and square footage have a very broad range, with location playing a big role in the price.  But we like to think that Southwest Florida is one of those highly sought-after markets, especially with people looking for million dollar homes.  So, just as a point of reference, here’s what $1 million will buy you with London Bay.  The San Michelle model in our Reserve Collection is currently priced at just over $800,000; with a great Mediterra home site, you’re looking at a home in the $1 million+ range.  The home includes over 6,000 sq. ft. with a lot of great optional features.  Click on the Reserve Collection tab to see all the floor plans.  And remember, there really are a lot of buys in Naples!

The last five years have been some of the most tumultuous years home builders have ever experienced.  As such, not many builders have a lot of good things to point to during this period.  But today, things are looking up in Southwest Florida.  Most builders will tell you that the market is improving, albeit slowly.  And as things continue to improve it’s time to look at the silver lining in the dark cloud that’s now dissipating.   Especially from the perspective of the home buyer.  Let’s start with selecting a place to live. Southwest Florida is still one of the most desirable places in the country for a second home. Home sites in most of the luxury communities in Naples are extremely affordable.  Buyers can easily save more than $100,000 in some cases.  Inventory homes are extremely affordable.  Buyers can make some great purchases when comparing prices to the 2005-2006 period. Building a home  is extremely affordable.  The cost of construction, materials and labor is 30%-35% below its 2006 peak.  In the luxury market we are off the bottom of the market with some upward pressure on costs …it is probably a good time to act.   So when you start reflecting on the state of homebuilding, think about the upside to this downturn.

If I had to venture a guess about what room gets the most attention when we meet with our custom home clients, I’d have to say it’s the kitchen.  Yes, there are many great restaurants to choose from in the Naples area, but we’re also seeing more clients designing great kitchen spaces not just for appearance, but for cooking!  I was reading through an article in Residential Design & Build magazine recently and came across a great piece about how some of these amateur chefs are designing their kitchens.  And it’s not necessarily about     Wolf or Sub-Zero appliances.  These folks are taking special care to design a functional space with the right kind of equipment to suit their cooking style.  If you’re thinking about your next kitchen in a new home or for your next remodeling project, check out this story about How “Foodies “Approach Kitchen Design.

I’m often asked my opinion about the current sentiment of luxury home buyers.  After all, we speak with them daily, which gives us some insight about the future direction of the real estate market.  Throughout this winter and spring selling season, the sentiment has been much more optimistic than the previous few seasons.  That of course is anecdotal evidence that things are getting better.  But here’s some statistical back-up for this positive appraisal.  A recent survey on the vacation home market indentified an astonishing 800% increase in the number of respondents contemplating a vacation home purchase.  Now last year’s level of interest was probably very small, given the condition of the economy, but still, an 800% increase is enough to get a builder’s attention.  Check out the Vacation Home Report study.  And one more quick piece of trend data on the luxury market…a Bain Consulting study found that the sale of luxury goods in 2010 nearly reached the record peak of $235 billion that was set in 2007.  Maybe things are getting better…

The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University estimates that about $300 billion was spent on remodeling projects in 2010.  And they expect that number to keep climbing through 2015.  We mention this fact because we too are meeting with more and more clients who are exploring a renovation of their existing home.  London Bay has been is the remodeling business practically since our inception, so we’re not novices.  And our remodeling clients benefit from the same talented staff of professional architects and designers who helped us earn our 2008 America’s Best Builder award.  A recent survey by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry found that 49% of the respondents based their satisfaction on two key components – design and outcome.  Those are two element at which we excel.  We develop the plan with our clients, establish the budget and timeline, and make sure we communicate progress on a regular basis.  To discuss the opportunities contact us at info@londonbay.com or call 239-449-1538.