In 2014 new housing developments in Orlando became increasingly more expensive throughout the year and we can expect to see more of the same in 2015 according to Orlando Realtors. This is in part due to newly retired couples looking for a permanent move as well as vacationers wanting to have a new home away from home.

Prices on new homes in Orange county are scaring some buyers away. In fact, when compared to Lake and Osceola counties, Orange County leads the way in price per sq ft. for relatively the same quality home. Builders say that retirees and vacationers have been able to tap into their investment savings in recent years and use them to reinvest in Orlando real estate.

The rising prices of new homes in Orlando have been evident in both the high end as well as lower-end homes. New home builders see the trend and continually try to offset the higher prices by offering incentives to buyers that struggle to qualify for mortgages, especially the people that lost their homes in the market crash of 2007 to foreclosure or short sale.

Reducing the number of upgrades, less customization on the homes as well as reducing closing costs to a minimum are the most popular ways to discount pricing. Even with builders scrambling to find ways to keep costs down and increase buyer incentives, higher prices may still price many potential home buyers out of the Orlando real estate market.

However, even with the higher-priced homes, closings on new homes in Central Florida overall have continued to increase during the past year. South Orlando seems to be Central Florida’s strongest area for new home building with over 1,200 housing starts in the third quarter of 2014.

Approximately 1/3rd of those homes were in the Lake Nona area development which was the most activity for single-family residences for the quarter. Overall during the third quarter of 2014 builders began building more houses than they had sold.

 New Homes In Orlando Falling Behind Schedule

This may be the cause for other developments like “The Point at Hunters Creek” formerly known as “Kailey’s Ridge” to fall way behind schedule. This development located in the much sought-after community Hunters Creek was to consist of 134 single-family homes built by both Ryan Homes and Surrey Homes and was expected to have homes for sale by October of 2014.

We’re now in January of 2015 and the new development has only gotten as far as clearing the land and paving the streets. Many potential buyers that have been patiently waiting to secure one of these new homes have opted instead to buy an older home in the community.