Dive Brief:

• Miami-based Lennar, through its recently acquired WCI Communities, broke ground on Parkland Bay, a 552-home community in Broward County, FL, the South Florida Business Journal reported. 

• The 400-acre development is on one of the last swaths of land available for large-scale single-family housing production in the county, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Four other housing communities are left in the area’s development pipeline, including another one by Lennar. Future housing will focus on high-density, multifamily projects.

• Parkland Bay will feature a 178-acre lake and a clubhouse with a pool, fitness center and culinary arts space. Its one- and two-story homes will be priced from the $500,000s to $1.5 million-plus. 

Dive Insight:

Inventory in Broward County is constrained, with 28% fewer homes on the market today than in 2012, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Tight inventory has led to higher prices, which are causing residents to move west, away from the coast, even if it means longer commutes.

The trend is happening in affordably priced markets nationwide. On the West Coast, price growth in coastal markets is pushing residents inland — creating more price competition in cities like Nashville, TN, and Provo, UT. Higher prices are impacting current and potential homeowners. In a Redfin survey of real estate agents last month, two-thirds of respondents said low inventory was holding back would-be sellers in their market. Existing owners trading up is critical to opening typically lower-priced inventory to new, often first-time, buyers.

The market had a 3.8-month supply of existing homes and a 5.2-month supply of new homes in March, down on both accounts from the prior month.

Lennar, which was the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder by total closings in 2015, acquired WCI in September 2016. The move brought the builder 14,200 home sites in high-growth Florida markets, including the Parkland Bay property. 

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