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Real Estate - Residential

Townhomes Construction Picks Up

By Cece Nunn, posted Jun 8, 2015
At least nine of 22 dwellings in Spartina, a townhome development near Wrightsville Beach, have been sold, developer Jim Wallace said. (Photo by Cece Nunn)
Townhomes are among the types of homes under construction and in the works in the Wilmington area because, local Realtors, developers and homebuilders say, they appeal to an increasing demographic.

“I think the biggest thing for us that we’re seeing is that it’s a carefree lifestyle,” said Ann Gueffier, CFO of Richard Wallace Builder, which celebrated the start of the second phase of construction on its 14-townhome Carolina Beach project, Bimini Townes, on June 2. “There’s no maintenance.”

One hassle-free example at Bimini is the use of impact-resistant windows, “so residents don’t have to worry about putting shutters up if a hurricane’s coming and they’re not in town,” Gueffier said. “Things like that make it very easy for them to feel comfortable that their home is protected.”

Townhome residents don’t have to worry about upkeep chores that are often taken care of by a homeowners association, as is the case with Bimini Townes, Gueffier said.

At Bimini Townes, the townhomes start at $299,000 and range from 1,987 to 2,167 square feet. The small development includes a pool exclusively for residents and their guests.

Although some buyers are downsizing when they choose a townhome, many of the floor plans are still spacious and come with guest rooms to allow for children and grandchildren to visit, builders and sellers of townhomes said.

At least nine of the 12 townhomes built so far in Spartina, a 22-townhome development near Wrightsville Beach, have been sold, said Jim Wallace, the developer of Spartina who is also founder and CEO of Intracoastal Realty Corp.

“When you buy a townhouse, you actually own everything inside your townhouse as well as the ground underneath it,” Wallace explained in a recent interview. “Banks like to finance townhomes more than they like to finance condominiums, especially when you get into construction loans.”

At Spartina, residents have access to the shops, restaurants and other businesses at next-door commercial development Lumina Station via a private-access gate, Wallace said. And Lumina Commons, a shopping center anchored by a Harris Teeter grocery store, is also nearby.

“It’s a walkable community, which is what everybody’s looking for,” Wallace said.

As with many aspects of real estate, location is one of the keys to success for a townhouse development, he said.

“I think there’s a market for it in the right location and the right design,” Wallace said. “It’s like anything else: you have to be careful about the location you choose and the demographics of the buyer when you choose a site.”

In the case of Spartina, where the prices range from about $335,000 to $530,000 for two- to three-bedroom apartments, that demographic includes people who are ready to move out of homes in Landfall and on Wrightsville Beach, Wallace said.

“They love this area, but they no longer want to take care of a big yard and a big house and all that goes with it,” he said.

Nationwide, during the economic downturn, the townhome market took a dive, according to Census data analyzed by the National Association of Realtors, after peaking at 14.8 percent in the first quarter of 2008. But in 2014, the number was back up to 12 percent, an NAR report published in February said.

“The recession knocked a lot of townhouse and condominium activity back. Single-family homes resonated more with buyers during that tough time,” Wallace said. “But now that the economy’s improving, people are looking at townhouses and condominiums again.”

And although North Carolina was not among the states identified as having a strong outlook in a recent NAR survey on Realtor confidence about the townhome and condominium market, local industry professionals say the Wilmington area is in a unique position to take advantage of that niche for several reasons, not the least of which is the continuing increase in retiree interest in the area.

“If they want to close up for a month and travel, they can do it,” said Realtor and broker Sherri Ingle of Intracoastal Realty Corp., explaining the attraction some retirees have to townhouses like Muirfield Townes at Echo Farms.

Ingle was greeting prospective buyers recently in the sales office, a model home, in Muirfield Townes, a community off Carolina Beach Road where sales and construction activity has been on the rise after developer Mike Pollak bought the foreclosure property. Prices there start at $299,000 for homes of 2,200 square feet and more.

Townhomes starting at about $300,000 are also on the rise in a new community not far from Muirfield Townes called The Forks at Barclay (formerly The Forks at Gallery Park) off 17th Street and Independence Boulevard.

Located within walking distance of Cameron Art Museum, Halyburton Park, the Gary Shell Cross-City Trail and property where a new movie theater is planned, The Forks at Barclay will eventually include 52 townhomes and 72 single-family houses on 46 acres. Trusst Builder Group is building the residences, for which the townhome sizes range from 1,872 to 2,285 square feet.

Elsewhere in Wilmington, 104 townhomes are part of the plan for Summerwalk, a mixed-use project at Oleander Drive and Greenville Loop Road that’s under development by Howard Penton.

Townhouse development will likely continue in the Cape Fear region in the future not only because of an influx of retirees, Gueffier said, but also because of price changes.

“Prices are increasing; land values are going up,” she said. “Wilmington is a destination for not only the retirement community and the vacationing community but as you can see, with all the commercial construction activity that’s going on, it’s a workplace destination also.”
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