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With under 600 new-home sales in Woodbury and Woodbury East, which
includes builders
TRI Pointe Homes, Lennar and The New Home Company,
the Irvine Company continues to
sell out of their Irvine, Calif.
Build It Green homes and plans to keep building.
By Kristen Eichenmuller Photography by Eric Figge |
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By now, many have heard
about the Irvine Company's
successful "2010 New Home
Collection," which reported
582 new-home sales (as of
mid-to-late July) since its
January 2010 launch and
ultimately outpaced 2009 homebuilding sales
in all of Orange County. "The response to the
new homes in Woodbury and Woodbury East
continues to astound," said Daniel Young,
president of Irvine Company Community
Development. "We have more than doubled
the number of sales we initially expected for
the entire 2010 calendar year."
The Irvine Company's two-year research
for consumers' desires in a home and green
building features and practices, in which
all of the homes are designed and built
according to Build It Green's standards, have
certainly paid off. With homes ranging from
the low $300,000s to the low $900,000s,
sold-out communities include KB Home's
Coronado -- one of the first neighborhoods
to completely sell out and KB Home's
most successful community in the U.S.,
Brookfield's Montecito and Monterey, Van
Daele's Santa Rosa and The New Home
Company's Carmel. The developer expects
TRI Pointe's Sonoma to sell out shortly. And
while the homebuilding industry struggles
and many continue to build smaller homes,
the Irvine Company recently announced it
will continue building on the Irvine Ranch.
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The Irvine Company commisisoned wellknown
builders and new builders as part of
its new-home collection, including TRI Pointe
Homes. With over a century of combined
industry experience from three principals, TRI
Pointe Homes, which quickly formed before
the developer put together its executive
builder plan, offers 95 single-family homes at
the higher price-point range, starting from the
high $700,000s. Before Sonoma's opening at
Woodbury, 17 of the 18 single-family detached
homes in TRI Pointe's first phase sold out.
The earth-friendly homes include tankless
water heaters, low-VOC water-based wood
finishes and low-VOC interior paint, upgraded
insulation, radiant barrier roofing material,
high efficiency EPA WaterSense-rated water
closets and a high efficiency heating system
filter. Kitchens and bathrooms include Energy
Star dishwashers, water-efficient fixtures and
Energy Star bathroom fans.
Located in Woodbury, Lennar's $600,000-
plus attached duplex and triplex townhomes
live like single-family homes, and according
to Valerie Roos, vice president of sales and
marketing for Lennar California Coastal
Homebuilding Division, the Residence One
floorplan has been extremely popular. Unlike
the other two elegant floorplans, which range
from 1,656 to 2,643 square feet in one- and
two-story units, Residence One's interesting
layout provides an interior courtyard with a
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fireplace, while one of the rooms is a separate
casita with a full bath and can be used as a
guesthouse, a home office or an artist's studio.
The immense interest from homebuyers in
these Pottery Barn and West Elm decorated
models reflects the entire development. "The
new floor plans and designs we introduced
have proven very popular, but this is also
testimony to the unmatched lifestyle found in
Irvine," said Daniel Young.
As the most expensive of the eight
neighborhoods in Irvine's Woodbury and
Woodbury East, with its last sales release
priced from just over $900,000 to $1,018,000,
Carmel offers buyers large homes ranging
from 2,615 to 3,250 square feet. "We have
not heard of any other community in the
U.S. selling at this kind of rate. Irvine offers
extremely compelling reasons for families to
buy, and we are very fortunate to be a part
of the Irvine Company's team," responded
Joan Marcus-Colvin, vice president of sales,
marketing and design for The New Home
Company, a new builder comprised of four
industry-leading partners.
Recently, the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based
builder discovered that they will be
extending the Irvine Company program with
38 new lots, as a result of Carmel's success,
which marks the builder's first community.
"Carmel has been the perfect way for The
New Home Company to begin," said Larry
Webb, chief executive officer and partner of
The New Home Company. "We have great
homes in an outstanding community."
As of the week of July 20, Carmel sold out
through phase 9, with 58 homes sold; the
builder expects sales for their new lots to begin
in early September. Unlike the slight decline
seen in the lower-price points, Carmel has not
been affected by the expiring homebuyer tax
credit. Marcus-Colvin attributes the positive
responses and customer satisfaction to the
quality of the company's construction and the
landscape opportunities offered. Additionally,
the company's architectural details, fresh floor
plans and customization -- with an on-site
design studio -- distinguishes itself from other
neighboring communities.
As a GreenPoint Rated neighborhood,
Carmel includes green features, such as a
WeatherTRAK Smart Irrigation System, which
helps buyers save water, money and time by
using a satellite weather monitoring service to
eliminate overwatering, tankless water heaters
and low-e insulated and dual-glazed windows.
"We look forward to introducing these types
of products in our future communities along
with applying the latest technologies available,"
noted Marcus-Colvin.
With advice for other builders about learning
from the Irvine Company's collection, as well
as Carmel, Webb says, "Do your research, listen
to your buyers and hold yourself to a higher
standard! Big picture, we love what we do ...
and it shows."
Kristen Eichenmuller is the editor at Builder
and Developer magazine and may be contacted
at keichenmuller@penpubinc.com.
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