Triton Homes a builder whose specialty was building entry level 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car, appx. 1000-1200 sq ft. town homes, and 1.5 sty, 3bd, 3ba, 2 car 1300-1400 sq ft units, announced Wednesday they would halt building in the Des Moines area due to slowing sales, according to a Des Moines Register June 4th article entitled Weak sales spur Triton to halt new projects.
Triton to date has built out six developments in: Ankeny: The Village at White Birch, Waukee: The Village at Gracewood, West Des Moines: The Village at Maple Bend, Urbandale: The Village at Walnut Gove, Grimes: The Village at North Pointe, and its latest venture in Pleasant Hill: The Village at Arbor Chase.
Triton's developments are pretty much unmistakable. Monolithic three stories, six or more to a row, upon row, upon row, some interspersed with the 1.5 sty units. The developments would often contain over a hundred units per.
In flusher times it was easy to get in with no money down, and get money for closing and other goodies. Now that the flush times have been, well, flushed, sales have slowed considerably. Resellers of these units have little choice but to sell them at a loss. The brand new 2 bedroom, 2 bath units which recently could fetch from around $112,00 to $130,000, have been listed and selling for around $90,000 to $110,000. There is a foreclosed one now listed at The Village at White Birch for $79,900. The three bedroom models which sold at around $150,00-$160,000 have resold foreclosed for as low as $129,000.
According to the article, Triton plans to finish up its Pleasant Hill project and hire employees back as contract laborers to service warranties and finish building, after having laid off its last six regular employees.
As sales have slowed in the area, Triton seems to have fallen a victim to its own earlier success in the sense that new unit sales are competing with resales of their older units at prices they are unable, or unwilling to match. While this may be good for buyers who can buy near new units in built out developments at deep discounts to retail, it will surely continue to be a drag on new construction of similar units for the near term.
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Matt: This is always sad to hear. For the builder, of course, but for the current owners/sellers especially. When values drop like that... many neighborhoods simply cannot recover. I know of several lenders who will NOT approve financing for any home that is in a neighborhood/subdivision where over twenty percent of the homes have either gone into foreclosure or short sale. Once that happens, it can take rears to recover... if ever. Thanks for sharing.
I am also curious as to what percentage of the original sales were made with Realtors representing the buyers... and... also wondering if those who did NOT use a Realtor originally, I wonder if they HAD been represented by a Realtor, if that Realtor would have suggested against that purchase, and took them elsewhere ? Just wondering...