New construction will sell quickly if priced right - Hammond Louisiana by Mary Mitten

MaryBeth:

Wow.  That is such a different market to ours.  Most of the new construction in post-Katrina Northshore New Orleans skyrocketed after the storm in 2005, 06, and part of 07.  Overnight we found that the bubble burst and we had a glut of new construction inventory in the $200K to $250K range.  Many developments went belly up or were renegotiated with banks (much lower costs to start for those with cash power).  We have recently seen the our market price lots better and builders have finally started to give us what we want... $150K type homes and under.  One reason I concentrated my efforts in this market was that we are the price leaders -  Hammond sits in-between a few higher priced markets (Covington, Mandeville, Baton Rouge).

Regarding Hammond... We sit very close to a large body of water which is connected to the Gulf of Mexico.  Our climate is very attractive to retirees and Hammond offers great medical facilities.   Daytime temperatures average 55-60 in the winter ....  our summer months hit the 90's and is very similar to Northern parts of Florida (we are considered one of the Florida Parishes named 200 years ago).  We have light freezes occasionally and even had some quickly melted snow twice the last 2 years (a rarity).

I don't see a lot of retirement communities in this area and think it may be a great opportunity based on pricing.  Hopefully we can lure more retirees to our area... they just need to see it to believe it.

Good luck in Massachusetts and best of luck!

Brian:

Thanks for the post.  In the last 5 years we have seen super hot to super cold.  We just started thawing out a little just recently.  Hopefully this is a sign for good things to come. 

How are sales up there in the North East during the winter?  I couldn't imagine all that snow ...  Would cheaper houses with less land, less house square footage and less amenities still be attractive enough for your buyers needing the right price?  

Thanks Sergio.  I am enjoying it.

Charles:

In regards to new construction specifically... Yes.  When the price is right, it will sell unless location is poor.  Yet it's 2 parts within price.  Builders can no longer build houses that are too nice, too large, or have more amenities than the average buyer can afford.  The other is builders who overprice/over-value the listing from the start... If it's price per square ft is much higher than other comparables, it will sit.  After so many months, interest, taxes and utilities will eat up the margin.  

So yes, pricing it right from the start saves time and money for all.