AURORA | With several indicators pointing to a recovering market for new homes, officials from Richmond American Homes have big hopes for a new development in Aurora.
Last week, the company unveiled several new homes from its Richmond American Dream Collection in the Wheatlands neighborhood near Southlands.
Bob Martin, vice president of finance for Richmond, said the builder hopes the homes — which are priced from the low $200,000s but include features common in higher-priced homes — find a niche among people who have been interested in areas like the Wheatlands but couldn’t find the ideal fit.
“We certainly sensed a little bit of a void in this particular price point,” he said.
The homes in the collection range from 1,750 square feet to more than 2,800 square feet and include as many as six bedrooms, 4.5 baths and three-car garages, according to Richmond.
In the Wheatlands, Martin said the company has five different models and each can include upgrades often found in pricier homes, like granite countertops and high-end cabinets.
The area, which is close to Southlands Mall at Smoky Hill Road and E-470, has long-included some of Richmond’s higher-end homes, Martin said, but those were often out of reach for some homeowners. And other homes that were around $200,000 didn’t include some of the amenities buyers were looking for.
David Mandarich, president and COO of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc., parent company to Richmond, said in a statement announcing the new homes that finding a match for those buyers was the idea behind the collection.
“We were determined to develop a series of homes under $250,000 that had all of the bells and whistles that today’s savvy homebuyers are looking for—dream kitchens, built-in tech centers and plenty of flex space to ensure buyers can configure their ideal homes,” he said.
Homes in the collection have been for sale since January at the Wheatlands and 14 other Front Range communities, according to Richmond.
Martin said the company hopes to expand the line to more neighborhoods and to other markets.
The homes hit the market at a time when indicators are pointing to an upswing for new home construction.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said new home sales in April were up 3.3 percent from March and almost 10 percent from April 2011.
The median price for those homes was $235,700 and the average was $282,600 the report said.
The 343,000 new homes sold around the country is the most in two years and well above the market’s recent bottom of 280,000 in May 2010.
Martin said Richmond’s data is also showing a market on the upswing.
In April, orders for new homes were up 30 percent compared with 2011 numbers, he said.
While previously spikes in the new home market following the 2008 rash were largely tied to the first-time home buyer tax credit that gave buyers thousands of dollars back, Martin said the current spike is different.
“You’ve seen this strength without the presence of any overt stimulus,” he said.
The current spike is largely the product of a healthier new-home market, he said.
“It’s encouraging,” he said. “I think there is no doubt about it the economy has improved somewhat.”