Getting your player ready...
Against a backdrop of scenic ridges that form the Arvada skyline, Lennar Homes’ sales rep Cindy Ditallo is seeing a trend from her model homes these past weeks: Homebuyers are visiting in strong numbers right through holidays, bringing out-of-town kids and grandparents along, at a time that’s generally as quiet for builders as a winter’s night.
“People are obviously feeling very optimistic about 2015,” Ditallo said, after chatting with one family. “We haven’t seen the usual slowdown.”Lennar’s third-party analysts are telling them something similar, says Vice President of Sales and Marketing Michael Veliz. “Year 2015 definitely isn’t going to be any worse than 2014,” he added. “There are jobs, consumers are showing confidence, and this is a great place to live.” That’s prompted Lennar to hit the ground running in communities like Arvada’s Leyden Rock, west of Indiana at W. 80th Avenue, where the builder is underway on a strong inventory of homes for spring 2015 – including two ranches and two two-stories that you can tour now. Adding more zest to the New Year brew are two factors that should boost building across the nation: lower gas prices and new flexibility in FHA lending. “Gas prices are going to leave the consumer feeling ‘I have a little extra money now, and I’m going out to that community 15 or 20 minutes further out,'” Veliz said. Leyden Rock, close enough to downtown that most residents will commute via I-70 and avoid U.S. 36, has begun drawing buyers from Denver neighborhoods as well as from Arvada. Denver buyers in particular stand to get a substantial dividend in size and features by selling smaller, older homes and moving further west. Meanwhile, mortgage rates are still very low coming into the new year – just as new FHA lending guidelines go into effect that are likely to help marginal buyers qualify for larger loans. Lennar’s inventory at Leyden Rock include two Graham ranch plans on view now – each three bedrooms and two baths, 1,974 square feet, one of them priced at just $424,900. “To get a ranch in Leyden Rock for under $430,000 is the thing,” Ditallo says, noting that new home prices in the area increased quickly after its opening a year ago. Nearby, facing onto a newly completed park with playground and basketball court already in and a ball field and pool on the way, Lennar has a family-sized Stonehaven plan – three bedrooms plus a loft, with 2,748 feet plus 3-car garage and walkout lower level, ready to go, priced under $500,000. “I’m surprised it hasn’t already sold,” she adds.
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