While the economy’s slow recovery has kept some developers from beginning new projects and restarting others, one local couple has decided the time is right to jump back into the housing market. Jaime and Louis Marquez are the developers behind a new townhome project in Edgemont Highlands that broke ground last month.
The development, Elements at Edgemont Highlands, will include 32 townhomes on almost 9 acres along County Road 240, about six miles east of Durango.
Jaime Marquez said the first six homes will be finished by the end of the year.
The project is one of the first major subdivisions the county has seen in a while, she said. County data show that in the last two years, a total of 11 subdivisions have been approved and issued building permits. The number of lots in each subdivision was not immediately available.
Signs of a rebounding real estate market have been showing at Edgemont Highlands, the 500-acre development on the north side of County Road 240 across from Highlands Ranch, master developer Tom Gorton said. The sale of company lots grew from four sales in 2010 to 11 sales in 2012. So far in 2013, 15 sales have closed or are under contract.
Last year, about a quarter of the 110 building permits for single-family residences in the county were for lots in Edgemont Highlands, Gorton said.
The townhome concept represents a trend among homebuilders to create homes that are a little bit smaller and sell at a lower price point, Jaime Marquez said.
“It’s somewhat a response to the economy with the consumer wanting to be more conservative but not wanting to compromise on (interior) finishes and location,” she said.
The Marquezes also own a general contracting company and a real estate company that will oversee all townhome sales. Jaime Marquez said she already has a list of about 20 interested people.
The homes are likely to sell in the $300,000-to-$500,000 range, she said.
Income and housing affordability data, however, indicate that the county is most in need of housing on the lower end or below that price point.
A little more than 50 percent of La Plata County residents earn $10,000 to $75,000 per year and are able to pay between $50,000 and $300,000 for housing, according to local real estate and U.S. Census Bureau statistics. Yet homes in this price range are in the shortest supply.
Even so, Roger Zalneraitis with the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance said Elements could provide an outlet for buyers looking for higher-end homes, which takes pressure off existing housing stock and keeps prices from rising as rapidly.
Meanwhile, recession-related cost-conscious tendencies among consumers have caused plans for another major subdivision to remain in a holding pattern.
Indian Shadows, a 49-unit luxury-home development near Hesperus, has been on hold throughout the recession and isn’t likely to begin construction in the near term, said Ed Wendler, a development manager associated with the project.
“We’re just sitting and doing nothing. I just don’t think it’s time for high-end resort properties yet,” Wendler said. “The economy has to really recover and has to recover for a couple of years. High-end resort properties are an absolute luxury, and people don’t tend to buy luxury unless they’re feeling pretty comfortable.”
Lots in the subdivision probably will sell for $500,000 and homes will sell for about $1.5 million, Wendler said.
ecowan@durangoherald.com
