By Amber Randall | South Florida Sun Sentinel| May 22, 2021 at 9:00 AM
More people are choosing to build their own homes in South Florida as bidding wars push prices out of sight and existing homes remain scarce.
Sales for newly constructed homes have surged 113% compared with last year, according to Zonda Home, a market research company for the real estate industry.
It’s a shift escalated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as a newly built home is seen as a simpler, less complicated option than buying an existing home.
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In the current torrid market, buyers of existing homes often are forced into bidding against waves of transplants who are arriving with wads of cash. With new construction, a buyer picks a lot, usually for a fixed price, and can customize the home with a developer from there, explained Tim Costello, CEO of Builder Homesite.
“In a good year, we might see a 10% increase in demand,” Costello said of the desire for new construction homes. “I haven’t seen anything like this in 20 years.”
The scarcity of land for building remains a problem in a region sandwiched between the ocean and the Everglades. Many developers are creating new communities in western Palm Beach County, in cities like Wellington, West Palm Beach, Jupiter and Royal Palm Beach, according to data from Zonda Home. The western areas of Lake Worth, Boca Raton and Delray Beach also have attracted a stream of new developments.
Broward County presents a more difficult challenge, with little open land remaining to the west. Developers are building on former golf courses and polo fields scattered around the county — in Hollywood, Miramar, Tamarac, Parkland and Margate.
Miami-Dade’s new construction is concentrated in Homestead, with other developments in Hialeah and unincorporated Redlands.
Between the three counties, nearly 29,000 homes are planned or under construction, according to Zonda Home:
- 14,151 in 51 developments in Palm Beach County.
- 5,360 in 32 developments in Broward.
- 9,275 in 47 developments in Miami-Dade,
Among the most popular developments, based on sales:
- E11even Hotel and Residency, Miami.
- Westlake Community, Westlake.
- Lotus/Fiji, Boca Raton.
- Marbella, Miramar.
- Natiivo Miami, Miami.
- Sky Cove South, Westlake.
- Sky Cove, Westlake.
- Canaris at Downtown Doral, Doral.
- AquaBella/Harbor, Hialeah.
- Venezzia, Miami.
“Every one wants a single-family home if they can afford it,” said Brent Baker, division president of Pulte Group. “If their budget doesn’t allow it, then it’s a townhome.”
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