In the News: Buyers Flocking to Master-Planned Communities

Homebuyers seek private and safe spaces:

Urban dwellers are looking to move to master-planned communities in the wake of the pandemic and social unrest, according to a new article on Bisnow.com. The piece, "Space-Starved Buyers Flock to Master-Planned Communities," also highlights the changing travel patterns the industry is seeing in the wake of the pandemic, and it features Cinnamon Shore's developer, Jeff Lamkin, discussing the trend.

"People want to drive instead of fly, and spend more time with their families," Lamkin says in the article. "Anything within driving distance is going to sell." He goes on to say that his prediction that Cinnamon Shore would sell 80 homes over the next three years, starting in 2020, was wrong:

"We're going to sell all 80 of them this year. That's across all the price ranges, with about 90% of them as second homes. About half of those owners will ultimately rent those houses."

The buyer surge has translated to a surge in vacation rentals, too, Lamkin told writer Bisnow Nationl Writer Dees Stribling. After closing rentals during the initial stage of the pandemic, Cinnamon Shore reopened and has seen incredible interest and bookings. "Any place to rent is booked for months," Lamkin says in the article.

Other real estate experts in the article say that master-planned communities in state like Texas, offering lower cost of living, and more space are attractive to buyers from places like New York state looking to make a change. And they don't see that ending even after the pandemic wanes. "People are still looking to get away from high-tax, high cost-of-living places," says the president of a Nevada master-planned community. "That isn't going to change."

Working from home has buyers looking to the coast

Stribling's article also points out that many professionals, now used to working from home, are looking for long-term situations where they can do their jobs away from major metro areas. Scenic coastal areas with master-planned communities like Cinnamon Shore make a natural place for Texans to look to rent or to buy.

The article says buyers are taking action. Stribling writes that RCLCO Real Estate Advisors, which tracks the top 50 master-planned communities in the U.S., saw a jump in sales at 39 of them during the first half of 2020, compared to the first half of 2019. Some recorded as much as a 100% increase, with more typical growth in the double digits. In fact, 26 saw growth of more than 10%. The interest in master-planned communities contributed to an overall uptick in real estate sales. Stribling reports:

"The uptick in interest in master-planned communities is also possibly part of a larger V-shaped recovery for all U.S. residential sales, at least so far. Pending home sales were up 6.3% in June, compared with a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales dropped 11.3% year-over-year in June, but were up 20.7% compared with May."

If you're interested in long-term rental options or buying a second home on the Texas Coast, Cinnamon Shore has great options that include:

• New construction and resale at our original community, Cinnamon Shore North
• Gulf-front home sites and interior sites at our new expansion, Cinnamon Shore South, located nearby

To learn more, contact Cinnamon Shore Realty or look at current listings here.

Read the full article.

Published by Jennifer Chappell Smith
Saturday, August 1, 2020