Real estate market is SA (San Antonio, Highlands: sales, custom home, bankruptcy)

[ko1212]

I'm thinking of relocating to SA. I hear the real estate market is still very reasonable in SA and there are many lovely new home developments throughout the area. Any opinions on who the more preferred builders are???

[adtobias]

medallion is the best

[kevcrawford]

That's a blanket statement if I ever saw one! Medallion's a decent builder, but there are sooooo many builders in so many different markets, that it's hard to know exactly what you're looking to find out.

As a very successful Realtor in SA, you're right, we're still in a very good market. It's not what is has been in the past few years, but our values haven't dropped at all and we're only down compared to the last two or three years, which were amazing for us.

When you ask about builders, what exactly are you looking to find out? Are you looking to know which production builders are reputable in a certain price range? If so, what range? Or are you looking for info on 100% custom builders?

Let me know a little more about what you're looking for and I'll see what I can answer for you. If I have very poor feelings about a builder, I can't really state them here, but I can via PM. If you'd like my candid feelings, PM me.

[ko1212]

Thank you KevCrawford. I'm wondering about the production builders in SA (priced $150K-$400K). I have an acquaintance working for Lennar in sales who is selling 7+ homes a month (don't know the location/community) which seems to tell me demand is still hot in SA but I wonder if it's based on her specific community. Guess I just want to know if certain area's are more 'hot' than others and if certain production builders are more respected.

[kevcrawford]

Lennar is OK. They're a typical production builder in that they'll have a lot of complaints about them, but they're a budget builder. If you go with a budget builder, you can't expect a custom home. Right now, Lennar appears to be hurting a bit. They're offering some pretty big incentives on their homes, which probably accounts for the number of homes they're selling a month. Their big thing is that you get a lot of square footage for the price. Not a lot of character to the homes though. Personally, I've not sold a Lennar, so I can't comment firsthand on the quality or a client's happiness with them.

They're equivalent to KB or any other production builders. They're a good choice for homeowners with a strict budget in mind.

[ko1212]

Thanks KevCrawford. I'm not a big fan of the 'budget builders'. I live in Orlando Fl. We have the same builders here but sometimes reputations differ throughout the country. I've always thought David Weekly and Centex (in Fl anyway) built very good quality homes and are the more impressive production builders. Do these builders have a similar positive reputation in SA? Of course our real estate market in Fl has taken a major hit this year and many of the production builders here are filing chapter 11, reorganizing, etc.

[George IYC]

David Weekley has a good reputation in San Antonio. Other good builders with houses in your price range (upper end) are Newmark and Perry. Medallion and Highland are OK (I like the others better in terms of style and floor plans, but that's a personal opinion).

My opinion of Centex is based on places other than San Antonio, so I'm not sure of their reputation here.

Regards,
George IYC

[kevcrawford]

Centex doesn't have a great reputation here. They built a good home for a while, but several years back, the head of KB homes went over to Centex and changed the way they do business. They're slapping together houses faster and faster and the quality has gone down.

David Weekly is OK. Highlands is a smaller builder, but builds good homes. There are some rumors that Newmark is filing bankruptcy. They say they're only rumors, but when we start hearing these rumors in the industry, most of the time they turn out to be true. Woodside is building a pretty decent home now in that range. So is Perry.

A lot of it depends on if you have a Realtor helping you or are getting outside inspections, or both. If you've got someone holding their feet to the fire, you're going to get a better constructed home. If they know you'll only sign on the dotted line and then leave them alone until closing day, you'll get a more shoddy house. It's a shame, but it's true (in most cases). There are some builders that really do stand behind everything they do.

[ko1212]

Thank you Kev and George.
Outside of production builders, what 'other' reputable builders/developments would you recommend I research?

[Steel Man]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

Centex doesn't have a great reputation here. They built a good home for a while, but several years back, the head of KB homes went over to Centex and changed the way they do business. They're slapping together houses faster and faster and the quality has gone down...

I was wondering why Centex homes were looking a little more "KB-ish" lately. This is apparent in newer parts (less than 2 years) of Villages of Westcreek and the nearby Rustic Oaks.