PROVIDENCE NAMED 2007 NO. 5 SELLING MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITY
IN THE UNITED STATES
Providence master planned community recently was certified by Robert Charles Lesser & Co. (RCLCO), a leading independent real estate advisory firm, as the No.5 selling master planned community in the United States in 2007.
Providence made its debut on this annual listing with 726 net home sales in 2007. Last year marked Providence’s first full year of sales as the community officially opened in the summer of 2006.
“Despite the current state of the housing market providing a challenge for home sales, the survey demonstrates that sales have remained strong at Providence,” said John A. Ritter, chairman and CEO of Focus Property Group. “It’s an honor for Providence to be ranked nationally in the top five by this prestigious survey.”
The RCLCO survey identifies master planned communities as large-scale developments featuring a wide range of housing prices and styles, an array of amenities and multiple non-residential land uses (such as commercial, hotels, and education facilities) offering residents an attractive and convenient lifestyle in which to live, work and play.
Even with the nation-wide downturn in the housing market, RCLCO states that master planned communities like Providence have the capacity to weather the current market conditions.
“Master planned communities are displaying the capacity to weather the current housing downturn. Between 2006 and 2007, the number of new homes sold declined by approximately seven percent. Over that same time period, the average number of new homes sold in the master planned communities surveyed decreased by a similar margin. However, sales prices showed remarkable strength in master planned communities through this time period. During 2005 and 2007, the median sale prices of new homes within master planned communities increased by six percent, while the median price for a new home according to the U.S. Census only increased by 2.5 percent in 2005 through 2007,” RCLCO stated in its press release.
“Each year, RCLCO invites communities across the U.S. to participate in the survey, and in the past years, a majority of the top-selling master planned communities have generally been located in the southwestern region of the country. Last year, RCLCO questioned whether or not those communities would continue to outpace projects in regions with limited land availability, higher land values, and cooler climates. This year’s survey has shown that the top 10 communities still reside mainly in the southwest region of the U.S., and a portion of these communities have been able to sustain good sales through uncertain times,” RCLCO wrote in its survey results.
According to local industry experts, the sales rankings are an encouraging sign of progress in a challenging marketplace. Providence is now the No. 2 selling master plan in Nevada.
“This demonstrates the resiliency of this market and the fact that buying homes in well conceived master plans, such as Providence makes sense for homebuyers,” said Ron Rulof, representing Team Power Marketing, a local real estate research firm.
When built out, Providence will be comprised of an estimated 7,500 single and multi-family homes. The community is planned to have two parks and 10 miles of trail systems, as well as two elementary schools and one middle school.
Part of what sets Providence apart from other master plans is the community’s traditional Americana theme. Information Center visitors can learn more about this theme, and how Providence revels in the small town traditions of the American Dream, and celebrates the optimism of American frontiers and the American West.
In the community’s parks and public spaces, Providence will celebrate the diversity of American voices that inspire and reflect the character and genius that is America. Wide tree-lined boulevards and formally planted landscapes in the large central promenade and parks will visually reinforce the theme from every perspective.
To name the parks at Providence, Focus Property Group utilized names of American literary and historical icons to enlighten and entertain residents, while capturing the spirit of community that serves as the theme of the master plan.
Huckleberry Park draws its name from numerous sources, most notably Mark Twain’s classic character, Huckleberry Finn. Providence’s Knickerbocker Park was named in honor of literary great Washington Irving, whose “Knickerbocker Tales,” a collection of stories from 18th century upstate New York that include “Rip Van Winkle,” “The Headless Horseman,” and others.
Homebuilders actively selling at Providence include Avante Homes, Beazer Homes, KB Home, Kimball Hill Homes, Lennar Homes, Meritage Homes, Pardee Homes, Pulte Homes, Ryland Homes, Toll Brothers, Warmington Homes Nevada and Woodside Homes. The master plan has more than 70 model homes open for viewing. Fairfield Residential is expected to open in the near future.