All Forum Posts by: Devin James

If you want more affordable housing, attend city commission meetings and advocate for approving new developments. More units = more options :).

Its supply and demand. Every time we build a new home, we add more supply to the market.

As supply increases, demand decreases, which can eventually lead to lower prices if done on a large enough scale.

Unfortunately, many people outside our industry don’t fully understand this.

There's a misconception that builders are price gouging, but in reality, the price of a home is directly tied to the cost of building it.

When material or financing costs go up, home prices follow. And when demand is high, the product goes to the highest bidder.

Companies don’t just pull prices out of thin air—everything is strategically calculated.

@Marie C. SaintVil Expect the project to take significantly longer than expected.

For example, in two different markets, we expected the permitting time to take 2-3 months and construction time to take 6 months. Our permitting took 6 months and the construction took 8 months. This can kill a a project if you don't have flexible financing.

Also, try to have multiple exit strategies. If you aren't able to sell at the price you want, then try to see if it makes sense to refinance and rent it out.

Don't hesitate to reach out via DM if you have any additional questions. Happy to help you through this process!!

 Great to hear @David Bohn! What markets are you in? We are in Central FL and have a similar amount of units in our pipeline.

During our monthly market study, Marion Oaks (Ocala) consistently stands out as the area with the highest demand for new construction housing.

Below are some of the markets we analyze, along with their average months of housing supply:

- Palm Bay: 3.4 months

- North Port: 4 months

- Port Charlotte: 5.4 months

- Marion Oaks: 2.2 months

- Silver Springs: 2.8 months

Study Criteria: Single-Family Homes Built in 2022 or later, 1400-2400 sqft.

**The monthly supply is averaged, and our study is conducted in 200sqft increments (1400-1600, 1600-1800, 1800-2000 etc.)**

Is it a coincidence that markets with lower home values are experiencing higher housing demand?

 My pleasure!

A contingency in this case means setting aside extra funds to cover any unexpected cost increases during construction. For example, if your contractor quotes $7K for windows but the price jumps to $10K when it’s time to order, you’d have to cover that extra $3K.

A contingency budget allows for situations like this. It’s typically a good idea to allocate 3-5% of the total construction cost as a contingency. So, if it costs $200K to build a home, you should set aside $6K-$10K as a buffer. Ideally, you won’t need it—or even better, costs could go down!

 Hey @Marie C. SaintVil, 

Here in FL its much easier for us because we know a few things:

1) The U.S. is severely under supplied in housing units. 2) Tons of people are moving to Florida everyday which makes point #1 even more drastic for us. 3) Interest rates are preventing people from selling their homes, because then they would need to re-trade for a higher interest rate buying a new home, which is creating even more housing demand.

So with this knowledge, now we move to more market specific data, which is what I talk about in the original post.

If a market shows decent growth and demand, then it all boils down to the numbers.

Its important not to forget about any costs though. You need to account for Permitting Cost, Construction cost, Financing cost, Insurance costs (Builders risk & General liability), Holding costs, Selling costs, and contingencies for cost overruns.

Any specific questions don't hesitate to reach out. We're building in Lake County, Brevard County, Sarasota County, Charlotte County, & Marion County.

 Hey @Clay Lehman

We just did this today.

1400-1800 sqft = 3 months of inventory

$250K - $325K = 2.5 months of inventory

We do 200 sqft differences and $25K differences for each analysis, I averaged them out to keep this reply short. I can send a more detailed analysis if you DM me.

How do you balance enjoying your life today and saving/investing for a better future?

Naturally, I am a saver.

When I was 10 or 11, I turned down a McDonalds Ice Cream from my parents because I wanted them to save that $1. I think this mindset stemmed from my family struggling after the 2008 crash.

- 2022-2023 I let my spending get out of my natural comfort zone.
- 2024, I’ve been retraining myself to focus on saving & budgeting.

Any helpful tips to help balance this?

For sure, hope all goes well for you!

What market are you building in? 

 Hey @Zachary Harrison, good question!

The development i'm talking about is taking raw/un-entitled land and turning it into a larger development with finished homes/townhomes/multifamily.

For example, we have a few projects (40-50 acres) that we've been working on for over two years that have another 6-8 months until we are able to move dirt. The two years consisted of negotiations with the land-owners, site tests, city planner meetings, city commission meetings, etc. For the next 6-8 months, we will be meeting with the city to confirm the building plans and permitting.

I assume the Single-Family new construction you are referring to is land that has already been subdivided and is already zoned to allow for SFH. Which would shave off significant time.

We also build Single Family homes on scattered lots (.25acres +/-) that have been subdivided. This takes us about 2-6 months for permitting and another 6-8 months for construction (depending on the municipality).