My wife and I experienced the joy of viewing model homes today. We looked at the Meridian and Mariner’s Landing developments in San Elijo Hills, both built by Pulte and priced in the 700 and 800’s.
The Pulte people were very accomodating and they were anything but pushy. My main line of inquiry was how long before their buildout was complete. They plan to be out by November 2006. The most interesting thing offered by the salesman was to understand that all of the sold buttons on their lot map were not final. “They still have to qualify”, we were told.
The most significant piece of information for readers here is the fact that they have cut prices. I come to this conclusion based on two sources of information.
The first is their web page. The starting prices on their pricing sheet were anywhere from 2-11% below the starting prices on their web page.
The second source is the sales prices from their earlier phase at Meridian (I chose Meridian because upgrades like granite and stainless are standard). Previous sales (I found data for a total of 35 sales) averaged $250/sq ft with a low of $223 and a high of $287. Two completed but unsold homes are being offered through an agent at $218 and $220/sq ft (search the MLS for listings on Orion Way). We can all do the math. These are discounted 12% from the previously sold inventory.
If I’m missing something here, let me know.
I’ll also relate this tale of a speculator in the neighborhood. There is already a For Sale sign on a house that closed back in October. The owner of this house got a deal (relatively speaking) at $743,000 ($226/sq ft). He’s now trying to flip it for $859,000 ($261/sq ft). Is he aware that the builder is trying to unload two larger homes for $74,000 less?
We left our name with the salespeople and told them we were tied up in a lease until October. I’m curious whether we’ll hear from them before they complete their buildout.
