\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By Michelle Quesada<\/div><\/div>\n

Some buyers camp out overnight to be first in line when a new-home development debuts, and a new Westlake community with 4,500 lots says it\u2019s still not enough.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Brand new homes in South Florida are not immune to the outrageous demand in the housing market. Buyers are finding out it all comes down to what you are willing to sacrifice.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Owning a new home has always been Terrance Diaz\u2019s dream, but he never foresaw the challenges he would face in a market with little inventory, high demand, and increasing prices.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about your will. How bad do you want it?\u201d Diaz said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It turns out you have to want it bad.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely way more challenging than it\u2019s ever been with new construction,\u201d said real estate agent Karen Moody. Moody said she doesn\u2019t always jump at new construction these days. The competition is nothing like she\u2019s seen before.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these buyers are having to put in offers at the sales centers, and they don\u2019t know what they\u2019ll get,\u201d she said. \u201cYou go over $100,000; are you competing against the sales center? Or are you competing against another buyer?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bidding wars are a new part of the insatiable demand for new homes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no shortage of buyers,\u201d said Tonia Abrahamsson, vice president of sales at Minto Communities, a known developer in the area currently building a master plan neighborhood in western Palm Beach County. At the Minto Communities\u2019 building site located in Westlake off Seminole Pratt Whitney Road, developers build a city within a city. Even with a plan to build 4,500 homes in the next 10 years, though, more buyers than lots are available.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are limiting the amount of home sites that we release at a time just to control what\u2019s going on in the market,\u201d Abrahamsson said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With supply chain issues and worker shortages, Abrahamsson said it\u2019s all-new territory for builders who must order materials six months in advance instead of 60 days.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, when someone came in, in the beginning, prior to the pandemic, and what\u2019s going on, our build time was anywhere from six to eight months,\u201d Abrahamsson said. \u201cNow, what we\u2019re looking at about 11 months.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, what do buyers have to do if they want that new home?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMe, I\u2019m always reaching for the stars,\u201d Diaz said. Diaz and his wife, Veronica, live in Broward County and set their heart on a brand-new home for their growing family in Westlake. \u201cThey have a resort, living style waterpark. Let\u2019s start with that, for the family,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m more excited because I\u2019m back in my hometown, you know, Palm Beach County.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ken H. Johnson, a real estate economist and Florida Atlantic University\u2019s associate dean of graduate programs, said a higher percentage of people move into Palm Beach County than move south to Miami-Dade.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPalm Beach County, for example, in the next 10 years, is expecting an increase in population of slightly over 14%,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThat all puts a strong high demand on homes in Palm Beach County.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Diaz, that meant it wasn\u2019t going to be easy to get his dream home. \u201cWe slept in the back of her SUV, and it was all night, all morning,\u201d Diaz said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He and his wife learned the system to purchase at Sky Cove homes in Westlake. A few lots are released every couple of weeks, but only to those willing to be the first in line.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou think, how many times am I going to have to do this?\u201d said Veronica Nieto-Diaz, Terrance\u2019s wife.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Two times the Diazs waited outside the sales center on release days, hours before the office would open, but were too late. Other buyers arrived before them and got the first pick for the only three lots released. He arrived 20 hours before lot release time the third time, spending the night in his car.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you got there, you took your picture, you signed in,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cThe tough part is, you couldn\u2019t leave; you had to stay.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Not all new developments at Westlake have the same system. Minto Communities has a confidential electronic system where those buyers on the waiting list are sent an email to submit a form when lots are released. The first buyers to submit the form get a chance to secure the very few lots released. This process can take months for many buyers before they are first in line.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Diazs overnight adventure landed them on spot No. 2 out of three. They secured a lot, but it\u2019s going to cost more. Every release date, the lots to build are increasing at different increments. Sometimes those increases are $10,000, $20,000 even up to $40,000.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t go by the signs you\u2019re seeing on the road,\u201d said Moody regarding homes no longer selling starting in the $300s.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The market\u2019s challenges and demand are driving up new builds costs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you keep waiting, prolonging it, it\u2019s only going to go up,\u201d Diaz said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While demand is not slowing down, the Diazs are finally in the home stretch.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA story that we have to tell behind this home,\u201d Veronica Nieto-Diaz said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be our \u2018Happy New Year\u2019 present. At the latest, January of next year, we should be moving in,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cIt\u2019s brand new, from the ground. Yes, American dream.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Realtors say if you have your heart set on a brand-new home, there are a couple of things that can help you above the competition in this market:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n