The Spring Parade of Homes and its wide range of offerings attracted large crowds and led to many home sales.
“There was lots of enthusiasm,” said Parade Chair Lori Willis. “People loved the high level of finish, and they have a sense of urgency about buying while interest rates are very low.”
With interest rates as low as 3.75 percent, many people are realizing that buying new makes sense, said Willis, a real estate agent with Robinshore Inc. “It’s affordable to buy a new home at a low interest rate while getting a warranty of up to 10 years,” she said.
The Parade, sponsored by the Builders Association of North Central Florida, featured 31 homes ranging from 1,400-sqare-foot Emmer Development Corp. townhouses in Sorrento to a 4,500-square-foot Jeffrey Wilde home in Oakmont.
This was the first time in the Parade for Oakmont, a new 550-acre community with a wide variety of lot sizes.
The two ICI Homes in the Parade, both in Oakmont, attracted several thousand visitors, said Michael Libengood, an agent for the company. “This is the most impressive Parade I’ve been involved in, and I’ve been involved in many,” he said.
The ICI homes are both 3,100 square feet in size, but they vary in style. One is relatively narrow, suitable for a lot with small frontage, and features an expansive great room along with a large bedroom and bathroom on the second floor. The other ICI home is more elegant, featuring tray ceilings in the living room and kitchen and a swimming pool and spa covered with a screen enclosure.
This was the first Parade for Huish Homes, which featured a 3,100-square-foot home in Old Oak Estates, a development with 5-acre lots west of County Road 241.
“We got (a) great response because we offer country lots that are less than 10 minutes away from I-75 via 39th Avenue,” said builder Gabe Huish. The home features post and beam construction that provides a country feel appropriate for the setting, Huish noted.
In contrast to the acreage in Old Oak Estates, some Parade homes were on small lots, Willis noted.
Many of the smaller lots are in communities that maintain front yards, which appeals to both young professionals and retirees, Willis said.
“Many of our buyers work at UF and Shands, and they don’t have time to do yard work,” Willis added.
The Parade demonstrated that ample lots of all types and sizes are available in the market, Willis said.
The strong interest in the Parade is in keeping with the overall uptick in home sales in the area.
Closings of single-family homes in Alachua County in March were up 27 percent from sales for March 2014, continuing the momentum of recent months. The total number of closings increased to 236 from 186.
The heightened buying is due in part to pent-up demand, said J. Parrish, president of the MLS Board of the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of Realtors.
The University of Florida’s Preeminence Campaign is also helping the market.
“The new faculty are bringing with them teams of researchers and assistants who are spending millions of dollars on homes,” Parrish said.