New Home Sales On Rise In Sacramento Region
ELK GROVE (CBS13) - It's not quite a housing boom, but a surprising number of new homes are being built in our area.
With fingers crossed, builders are hoping this mini construction boom will bring revival to the Central Valley housing market.
Doug Mull with the Lewis Group of Companies, a firm that specializes in building communities in Northern California, says there is finally optimism again.
"It's a significant increase," he said.
What's sparking this new trend?
"We read about investors snapping up foreclosed homes and that's happened," he said.
Not only are investors depleting the low-priced home inventory, he also says after the 2008 crash, fewer homes were built.
Mike Costello, sales manager of William Lyon Homes in Elk Grove, says business is great.
"The boom has really taken off because of the difficulty to find a resale home," he said.
But we are far from out of the woods. A recent study shows that new home sales in the region are expected increase by more than 1,000 compared to last year. But it's nowhere near what sales were at the peak in 2004, before the bust.
Still, any increase is good news.
"Now the problem is you've got to build a lot of homes fast and you can't keep up with the demand," Costello said.
Many buyers say a new home is the new opportunity.
"Resale homes are really difficult," home buyer Ricky Larkin said. "The inventory is really small. I got a little frustrated with that and came over to the new home."
