New Home Construction Continues at a Brisk Pace in Keene's Pointe

Keene's Pointe is not immune to the difficulties that have been apparent in the real estate industry over the last few years, but it is weathering the storm much better than other upscale Central Florida communities. All one has to do is to drive through the community and see the new construction that continues to appear.

While most buyers continue to focus on dwindling new home inventory and resale homes, there are many families who have opted to build their dream homes. Purchasing existing inventory can have the best price, but the cost of building a new home is not far behind. The real discerning buyer wants what they want, but they also recognize that material, labor and land costs have fallen significantly since the highs of 2005 and 2006. After speaking to several of these homeowners and asking why they decided to build rather than to buy an existing home, there was one overriding sentiment that was common to all: After weighing all the factors, they preferred having the ability to select their home site, to design their home's architectural style, floor plan and to select everything which went in to the home.

We spoke to several of the Keene's Pointe custom builders to get their perspective on why this community, more than any other in Central Florida, continues to experience a healthy amount of new home construction.

Chris Morgan of Goehring and Morgan, www.goehringandmorgan.com, who has built approximately 25 custom homes in Keene's Pointe and who lives in the community, says that it's a combination of the Windermere location, the amenities that the developer has provided and the lifestyle offered in the community. "We've built and continue to build in some of the nicest custom home communities in Central Florida, but Keene's Pointe is the only one experiencing any degree of new construction."

Stonebridge Homes, one of the original custom homebuilders in Keene's Pointe, is also experiencing success with several new homes under construction in Keene's Pointe. When asked why she thinks Keene's Pointe is still experiencing growth in new home starts, Valerie Tucker, one of the owners, said she thought a large part of it is Keene's Pointe's unique location. "Being 30 minutes to the airport and downtown, 15 to 20 minutes to Disney, Seaworld and Universal Studios, 15 minutes to major shopping and dozens of restaurants and situated in the midest of the Butler Chain of Lakes gives Keene's Pointe an edge that few communities can claim." Valerie estimates that they have built 93 homes in Keene's Pointe and is particularly proud of the fact that she has had three repeat customers who have built two homes in Keene's Pointe, www.stonebridgecustomhomes.com.

Rick Carr, owner of Sunscape homes, www.sunscapehomes.com, who has been building new custom homes in Keene's Pointe since 1998, may have summed it up best. "Keene's Pointe is the last high quality golf/gated community to be situated around the Butler Chain of Lakes in Windermere. The combination of this fact along with the quality of the developer, Castle & Cooke, the leadership of the management team and the natural environment of the land made Keene's Pointe something special and something the likes of which will not be seen again in this area."