Woodforest Custom Program Sees Activity Surge

Woodforest’s custom home program has seen a 133 percent increase in activity this year, reflecting the rising trend of sales of Houston homes priced at more than $500,000.

The Houston Association of Realtors has reported double-digit increases in year-over-year statistics for higher-priced homes during the past six months, including a 42.3 percent gain in May and the most recent 23.9 percent increase in August compared to a year ago.

“We have certainly seen a rise in activity, particularly in Montgomery County,” said Diane Kink of The Kink Team, a realty office in The Woodlands that represents custom builder Jeff Paul in Woodforest. “We’ve seen a consistent increase since January, not just in existing custom homes, but also in new builds. It’s quite a change from 2009 and 2010.”

In Woodforest, buyers have opted to buy custom homesites through a program that allows property purchases today with the option of delaying home construction for up to two years. With several recent sales, only 11 of 39 one-acre homesites remain in Eagle Pointe. Just seven homesites remain in another custom neighborhood, Elk Reserve.

“Our ‘buy now, build later’ program has been very succesful this year, especially as buyers have acted to secure current pricing,” said Virgil Yoakum, general manager of Woodforest. “Prices throughout Houston have been on the rise this year as the national housing market has shown signs of improvement, and that includes homesites.”

Home prices in Houston increased an average of 6.3 percent in August over a year earlier, as compared to a 4.6 percent national increase. Plus, preliminary findings by CoreLogic, a private real estate data provider, indicate national housing prices will increase 5 percent in September, compared to 2011.

“I wish I had bought a year earlier,” said Claudia Frederick, who recently purchased a custom property in Woodforest, and also is a sales representative for Newmark Homes in the community. “Prices increased and I nearly missed out on the lot I wanted.”

Frederick said she has chosen to live where she works because Woodforest feels like home, especially with her son and his family living in the neighborhood.

“I sold a home to my son about two years ago, so having him and his family here is certainly a draw,” she said. “But of all the neighborhoods I’ve worked in throughout the years, this is the first I can truly say I wanted to live in.

“The community has a very relaxed, family-friendly feeling and with all the trees, the development is beautiful. I had never seen a roadrunner before I worked here and I see deer in the community frequently.”

Kink said larger homesites and proximity to South Montgomery County attractions such as the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Market Street and Lake Conroe have made Woodforest a favored choice among custom buyers.

“The price point in Woodforest is fantastic,” she said. “To get the quality of a home built by someone like Jeff Paul in a gated community for under $800,000 is phenomenal. We’ve been getting many calls from buyers wanting to look at plans and I expect the interest to continue.”

For more information on Woodforest, a project of The Johnson Development Corp., visit www.woodforesttx.com.