Naples, FL (July 18, 2011) – As the housing market continues its march toward improvement, statistic are validating that more and more buyers are getting serious about building their dream home in Naples.  Sales and home prices are improving and construction costs that were near a 10-year low now show signs of increasing.  All the more reason not to delay a home purchase.

Throughout this downturn, London Bay Homes has been keeping a keen eye on home buyer preferences.  They believe those people who want to build a luxury home have three things in mind.  Value, simplicity, and urgency.  So to address these prerequisites, their architects have revamped the company’s popular Reserve Collections of homes with new designs that deliver surprising value and a lot of design options that can be delivered in about eight months.

The Reserve Collection has featured many of the most popular floor plans that the company has built during its 21 years in Naples.  To the original nine home designs that comprised the collection, London Bay has recently added four new floor plans and re-priced the others to address current market conditions.  As a result, the price per square foot now ranges between $181 and $240…significantly below the average price of $275 from five years ago.

"The sentiment of buyers today has changed dramatically from those of the 2005-2006 period," said President Mark Wilson.  “People are now much more practical and even frugal when it comes to building a home.  You have to deliver value that’s on par with similar product in the resale market or you just can’t compete," he said.

The collection’s 4,651 sq. ft. Liana home is a perfect case in point.  With a price of $181 per sq. ft., the spacious Liana can be built for less than $850,000.  That’s a lot of home for the dollar according to Wilson, and savings of more than $400,000 from the market’s peak.  “For builders, this is the new reality,” he said.

Aside from their value, homes in the Reserve Collection also provide numerous opportunities for customization.  Some of the plans allow buyers to consider more than a dozen different design options, including structural changes such adding a second floor, additional rooms, or expanding bedrooms.  “The floor plans have proven to be very popular, but we also recognize the importance of allowing our clients to express their own personality and create a home perfectly suited to their lifestyle.  With the design flexibility in this collection, we seldom create two homes that are identical,” Wilson said.  A variety of architectural styles, from Traditional Florida to West Indies, and from Tuscan to Spanish designs are available.

In addition to flexibility, the process and time required to build these homes is greatly reduced.  The homes have all the trademarks of a custom home with high-end products and finishes, but through careful planning, London Bay’s construction team is able to build and deliver these homes in record time.  “We can sit with a client, design the home and be in the ground in less than a month,” Wilson said.  With a true custom home design, that process could extend more than a year.  There are a lot of people who just don’t have the patience for that process,” he added.  Once construction has begun, clients are moving into their new luxury home in as little as eight months.

Floor plans in the Reserve Collection range from just under 3,000 sq. ft. to just over 4,651 sq. ft., but depending upon changes and options, the homes can grow to almost 8,000 sq. ft. of total living area.  Base prices in the 14-home collection range from just over $700,000 to almost $900,000.  The homes can be built in any London Bay community or on individual home sites anywhere between Marco Island and Sarasota.

The homes come with an impressive array of standard features such as granite and marble countertops, crown molding, Kohler plumbing fixtures, Bosch kitchen appliances, impact resistant windows, ceramic tile floors, a structured wiring and security system, concrete tile roofs, paver driveways and pool areas, landscape packages and a high-efficiency HVAC system.
Buyers can also access designers at the company’s Romanza Design Center to assist with planning, options and feature selections.  Plus, the homes are more energy efficient than older homes in the resale market and come with a London Bay’s new home warranty.

Wilson said that in this economic environment, the Reserve Collection can prove to be a popular choice among new home buyer.  “It delivers a luxury home experience at a very attractive price and in a very timely manner.  The way the industry is moving right now, wise buyers can appreciate both of those attributes because costs are beginning to move up,” he added.