Building again: Stock Development announces construction of 150-home neighborhood in Lely
11/10/2010

NAPLES — A shortage in new home inventory and decreased impact fees are motivating developers to build in Collier County, according to business leaders.

Stock Development’s newly announced project, a neighborhood to be built in Lely Resort called Lakoya, is evidence of shifting trends.

“This is a green shoot, the first land development community project to be announced in Southwest Florida in several years,” said Ross McIntosh, a Naples real estate broker and housing expert.

The East Naples project is among the largest in Collier County after four years marked by a tanking economy, decreased residential construction and a foreclosure crisis.

“What we had been seeing is, obviously, people are taking advantage of the lower prices in the existing inventory of foreclosures and short sales,” said Mike Timmerman, a senior associate with the economic consulting firm Fishkind and Associates. “What’s ending up happening now that the impact fees have been reduced, we’re seeing builders look to build something new again.”

The trend is seen in Collier County, but not so much in Lee County, said McIntosh.

“The competition from the foreclosures and short sales are more fierce in most parts of Lee County,” he said. “Data shows that the building industry is learning to compete in Collier.”

Lakoya is the first of more to come, McIntosh predicts. However, building isn’t returning to the heyday pace of yesteryear.

Construction at Lakoya is to begin in January. Phase 1 will include 149 homes surrounded by an elaborate series of lakes, said Stock Development spokesman Brad Whalen.

“That’s fairly conservative,” McIntosh said of the number of homes. “In the old days, five or six years ago, the developer might have been tempted to build all 400 units at once. He’s tempering his ambitions substantially.”

Lakoya is 242 acres and will eventually have 372 single family homes when completed.

Factors encouraging home building include a low inventory of new properties, decreased costs of construction, decreased costs of labor and improving financing rates, Timmerman said.

Stock Development’s decision highlights these trends and Lely Resort includes other elements that have made it particularly successful, said Claudine Wetzel of Stock Development.

“Our project continued to do well in the downturn,” Wetzel said.

The demand for amenities has helped, she said. Lely’s offerings include The Players Club and Spa, two clubhouses and three championship golf courses, which were designed by golf legends Robert Trent Jones, Gary Player and Lee Trevino. The Players Club and Spa includes a fitness center, spa, pool and tennis complex.

“We are seeing an increased demand for single-family homes in highly amenitized properties,” said Brian Stock, CEO of Stock Development.

There are very few single-family homes available for sale in Lely Resort, Stock said. There are 100 homes under construction, Whalen reported.

Lely Resort has sold more than 140 homes totaling $60 million so far this year with a rising average sale price of about $430,000, he said.

Lely attracts many seasonal buyers, so new models will debut this winter and move-ins will be available within six to nine months, Wetzel said.

The greatest growth in new home construction exists where the infrastructure is already in place, Timmerman said.

Lakoya is to be the last phase of Lely Resort, with the infrastructure, such as roads and pipes, already installed for earlier neighborhoods in the residential resort.

“They’re not crazy,” McIntosh said of Stock Development’s timing for the project.

Stock is one of the developers, he said, that has adjusted to niche needs.

That includes selling features, such as a 3-car garage, that can’t be found easily in the existing home inventories.

“Today’s standards are yesterday’s premiums,” McIntosh said, citing that special features such as granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, cement tile roofs and paver driveways, sidewalks and lanais are more likely to be included now without special upgrades.

“New homes in the moderate price range are attractive once again,” he said.

He defined that price range as in the high $200,000s to $400,000s.

“The home building industry was learning to compete with the foreclosures. Any tool they have to drive down their costs is useful. Clearly, giving them lower impact fees is another tool in their tool box for competitive pricing,” McIntosh said.

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