[Texans_JJWatt99]

Yeah, why all the animosity towards subdivisions (and new construction in general) in this region? Is there something I'm not seeing about living in a home devoid of modern amenities?

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I agree - there is a big desire for a lot of these nice "luxury" developments, even though many on here seem to hate the idea of any sort of "subdivision" made up of more than 2 homes.

When national builder Toll Brothers came to Glastonbury, they supposedly sold 13 or 14 of the 15 "phase 1" lots on the first day. When they came to Avon with even more expensive homes than Glastonbury, they sold a slew of them the first two years - I think upwards of 35-40 in 2 years (we know two people that bought with them in Avon, one for about $1 million, the other for about $1.5 million)

If there wasn't any desire for these types of homes, they wouldn't have sold.

(That said, I think there are local builders that definitely do a better job than Toll Brothers - but, they may not have the capacity to handle building 20 homes in a year)

[AMSS]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

So, in conclusion, everyone thinks the area they're from is the "next hot area".

Yep. Wherever I am is the place to be. Anyhow, I don't know if Oxford would be considered a "hot" area even though it has grown nicely, but Haynes wants to do some Quarry Walk project which sounds rather cool even though it might go against the rural character. Whether they'll get through zoninig, I don't know. Still, sounds neat.

[CTbrooktrout]

Said it in another thread. Norwalk. It's got the mall project along with quite a few other modern residential projects in the works. The increased development will put a priority on transportation next as much of the residential development is apartments aimed at commuters. I think property values will increase a lot in a few years once the projects are done and people start taking a closer look at this area. The word has been out on Stamford so I think they've seen their significant rise.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by AMSS

Yep. Wherever I am is the place to be. Anyhow, I don't know if Oxford would be considered a "hot" area even though it has grown nicely, but Haynes wants to do some Quarry Walk project which sounds rather cool even though it might go against the rural character. Whether they'll get through zoninig, I don't know. Still, sounds neat.

I guess the town could be considered the hottest suburb, considering its growth rate. I don't know if I'd call it "happenin'", though.

The Quarry Walk project has already started. It's going to have a grocery store (Market- something), a town green surrounded by boutique-y stores, and market rate apartments/townhouses above and surrounding. It goes against everything Oxford-ites seem to want, but I think it's a great progression into the new century. They're essentially building a "downtown" from scratch. People now want that, so I think it's a good thing for the town. Even better for their already reasonable mill rate!

[AMSS]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I guess the town could be considered the hottest suburb, considering its growth rate. I don't know if I'd call it "happenin'", though.

The Quarry Walk project has already started. It's going to have a grocery store (Market- something), a town green surrounded by boutique-y stores, and market rate apartments/townhouses above and surrounding. It goes against everything Oxford-ites seem to want, but I think it's a great progression into the new century. They're essentially building a "downtown" from scratch. People now want that, so I think it's a good thing for the town. Even better for their already reasonable mill rate!

That's cool. I hope it works...it should.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I agree - there is a big desire for a lot of these nice "luxury" developments, even though many on here seem to hate the idea of any sort of "subdivision" made up of more than 2 homes.

When national builder Toll Brothers came to Glastonbury, they supposedly sold 13 or 14 of the 15 "phase 1" lots on the first day. When they came to Avon with even more expensive homes than Glastonbury, they sold a slew of them the first two years - I think upwards of 35-40 in 2 years (we know two people that bought with them in Avon, one for about $1 million, the other for about $1.5 million)

If there wasn't any desire for these types of homes, they wouldn't have sold.

(That said, I think there are local builders that definitely do a better job than Toll Brothers - but, they may not have the capacity to handle building 20 homes in a year)

This is interesting since Toll's newest community in Glastonbury seems to be selling very quickly. Last I looked more than half the 30+ lots are sold in a community only opened a few months ago. Their previous developments here also do very well with resales. Personally I do not care for their home style or quality but understand that transferees like them. I think it has to do with the comfort of knowing what you get and being in an area of many similar homes. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Texans_JJWatt99

Yeah, why all the animosity towards subdivisions (and new construction in general) in this region? Is there something I'm not seeing about living in a home devoid of modern amenities?

This is New England. It is one of the oldest and densely populated parts of the country. There is little vacant land left and people do not want to see it destroyed for tract housing. We also like the charm and character of the region and know that it is impossible to replace once destroyed, so we are very protective of change. Any home can be upgraded to include "modern amenities" so rather than keep building new, we would rather see reuse. Jay

[BPt111]

West Hartford Residents Speak Against Allowing Taller Buildings In The Center - Courant Community

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

This is interesting since Toll's newest community in Glastonbury seems to be selling very quickly. Last I looked more than half the 30+ lots are sold in a community only opened a few months ago. Their previous developments here also do very well with resales. Personally I do not care for their home style or quality but understand that transferees like them. I think it has to do with the comfort of knowing what you get and being in an area of many similar homes. Jay

I agree that the quality is not as good as local builders of similarly priced homes - the people that bought the $1 million and $1.5 million homes in Avon both were not thrilled with both the process and overall quality. That said, I think a lot of higher end builders in this region of the country (southern New England, NY, NJ) are better overall quality than Toll. However, I think they are as good as, or better than, other high end builders in many other areas of the country. Not all areas, but many of them.

We looked a at a few of their homes in Avon - typically, the first floor layout is really nice and open, and the master bedroom and bath are great, but the other bedrooms are often small - and, from what I hear, if you don't micromanage the construction process, you'll end up with things like one central air return in total for the other 3 upstairs bedrooms. (You typically should have one register and one return in each bedroom, or more than one for larger rooms like the master - not one return in the hallway for 3 bedrooms!)

The people that bought the $1.5 million home had an upgraded "step down" family room, but when it was built, Toll Brothers forget to make it a step down. While mistakes can happen during construction, that's a rather big boner to make that nobody caught . (The homeowner caught it when she went to visit the site - and, then the project manager tried to blame her for not catching the mistake...)

[EUPL]

I think the next hot are in CT will be Florida.