Landsea Homes has managed to bring attainable housing to the market in Orange County, despite steep development hurdles and construction costs. The developer's new Copperleaf at IronRidge single-family community has home prices starting in the mid-$500,000 range in Orange County. The community features 107 new single-family homes. Affordable homes are in high demand throughout Southern California as housing prices have continued to climb and demand outpaces supply.
“Copperleaf was an opportunity for us to implement the latest design trends that reflect modern living and incorporate feedback received from current homeowners and through our market research, all while creating a home at a price attainable for Orange County,” Tom Baine, president of the Southern California division of Landsea Homes, tells GlobeSt.com. “Affordability is such an important topic across our region, and we are pleased and proud to provide this new neighborhood within our gated master-planned community of IronRidge.”
The housing shortage has generated strong demand for housing in general, but especially in this price range. Houses in Orange County have an average price tag of $700,000. “Orange County continues to experience a substantial shortage of housing and rising mortgage rates—although still low when compared to historical rates—have impacted homebuyers' buying power,” says Baine. “With median-priced homes in the area selling in the $700,000 range, Copperleaf offers moderately priced homes from the low-$500,000's in a market where there is a lack of attainable options for many first-time buyers.”
Bringing new housing stock in this price range is impressive, considering the development challenges, especially in Southern California, including construction costs, entitlement and permit challenges and land constraints. Baine wouldn't divulge the firm's development strategy, but says that the young firm is nimble enough to bring in demand neighborhoods to the market. “The U.S. Landsea Homes team is filled with longtime homebuilding executives who have experienced and navigated many types of housing markets during their long careers,” he says. “That knowledge and experience, combined with the nimble, strategic approach emphasized by our company, leads to the creation of great housing opportunities for the new home buyer in all of our markets across the country.”
It is no surprise that the community already has strong interest from potential buyers, with a priority list that far outweighs the number of homes available for purchase. “There has been strong, sustained interest in Copperleaf, dating all the way back to when this community was first announced,” says Baine. “The priority list, which remains open to join, is now more than 600 strong. With our current number of prequalification homebuyers, we expect the first phase of inventory to sell at a very quick pace – even though this time of the year traditionally isn't a strong time for home sales. We are changing that!”
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Kelsi Maree Borland
