Rising Starts by Tampa Bay Home Builders Energize Housing Market

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Market Trends, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

The most recent data on housing starts by Tampa Bay home builders has been an encouragement to all real estate market participants in the Tampa area. Based on figures from Metrostudy, housing starts in the area surged to their highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008 when home starts fell sharply from 1,201 units in the previous quarter.  In the first quarter of 2009, only 727 units were started.

In the third quarter this year, a total of 1,158 units were started by home builders in the Tampa area, a big improvement from housing starts in the third quarter last year and in previous quarters this year. Home building analysts said that builders have been managing their risks by constructing homes priced less than $200,000.

Nationwide, housing starts in September also improved, based on data released by the U.S. Commerce Department. Total housing starts surged over the month by 15 percent to an adjusted yearly rate of 658,000 multifamily and single-family homes in September, surpassing substantially the 590,000-unit forecast for the month and posting a record high over the past 17 months. It was the multifamily-housing sector that pushed up the numbers significantly.

Multifamily housing starts shot up by more than 51 percent to a rate of 233,000 units while single-family housing starts increased by nearly 2 percent to a rate of 425,000 units. Compared to September last year, the figures also improved by more than 10 percent. However, compared to figures during the housing boom, most recent and current housing starts are still struggling.

Locally, Tampa Bay home builders continue to get encouragement from domestic and international buyers. The Tampa area has been capturing a big percentage of buyers from Canada, Great Britain and countries in Western Europe, based on data from the National Association of Realtors.

The top Tampa Bay home builders include the country’s ten biggest residential developers based on number of homes sold in 2010.

1.  D.R. Horton
2.  Pulte Group
3.  Lennar Corp.
4.  NVR Inc.
5.  KB Home
6.  Hovnanian Enterprises
7.  Ryland Group
8.  Beazer Homes USA
9.  Meritage Homes Corp.
10.  M.D.C. Holdings

Meanwhile, the top Tampa Bay home builders based on performance in the Tampa Bay Builders Association’s 2011 Tampa Bay Parade of Homes are the following:

1.     Home Dynamics Corp.
2.     Homes by John C. Fowke
3.     David Weekly Homes
4.     Homes by WestBay
5.     Southern Crafted Homes
6.     Standard Pacific Homes
7.     The Gullane
8.     Towers of Channelside
9.     Taylor Morrison
10.     Mobley Homes
11.     Avalon Building Corp.
12.     Water’s Edge
13.     Bay Villa Development
14.    Lenvar

Based on the Home Builder Quality Ratings of J.D. Power, the following were the top 5 Tampa home builders in 2010:

1.     M/I Homes — score of 5
2.     Pulte Homes — 4
3.     Standard Pacific Homes — 4
4.     Centex Homes — 3
5.     KB Home — 3
6.     Lennar Homes — 3
7.     Ryland Homes — 3
8.     Taylor Morrison Homes — 3

Based on the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey for 2010, the following Tampa homebuilders were the top 7:

1.     Standard Pacific Homes — score of 5
2.     M/I Homes — 4
3.     Pulte Homes — 4
4.     Centex Homes — 3
5.     D.R. Horton — 3
6.     KB Home — 3
7.     Ryland Homes — 3

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