Uncategorized

One of the perks of the digital age is the number of newsletters and magazines that are delivered to your email every month.  This month we found an article on popular features in new homes that we would like to share.  In reading the article, we found that Rieger Homes has been ahead of the curve all along, as most of these items are featured in many of our homes and communities.  Enjoy!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

NAHB Reveals Most Popular Features Found in New Homes

March 27, 2014 – During New Homes Month in April, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is sharing with home buyers the most popular features in new single-family homes in 2014. Builders from across the country were surveyed on what features they were most likely to include in a typical single-family home this year, revealing that convenience, livability and energy efficiency are top priorities.

“Newly constructed homes can suit the specific requirements of today’s home buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del. “And now is a great time to consider buying a new home, as consumers can take advantage of competitive home prices and low interest rates to find the perfect new home for their families.”

Home builders are including features that are practical and functional for the daily lives of today’s home buyers. The features that are most likely to be included in a typical single-family home this year are:

• a walk-in closet in the master bedroom
• low-E windows
• a laundry room and
• a great room

Energy efficiency is a key theme with Energy-Star rated appliances, programmable thermostats and Energy-Star rated windows at the top of the list. These features help make the home more comfortable and can save the home owner significant money over the long term. On a median per square-foot basis, home owners spent 78 cents per square foot per year on electricity, while owners of new homes spent 65 cents per square foot per year, according to data from the 2009 American Housing Survey (AHS).

Builders also list features such as granite countertops, a double sink and a central island as winning elements in new-home kitchens, and a linen closet and a private toilet in the bathroom. Additional features likely to be included throughout the home include first-floor ceilings at least nine-feet high, a front porch, outdoor lighting and a patio.

Home buyers can access home buying and home building information and resources at nahb.org/forconsumers.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Rieger Homes is your Orange County new home builder and Dutchess County new home builder of choice.  We have been a leading home builder in the Mid-Hudson Valley for over 50 years.  A family owned company under its second generation of leadership, we are committed to building a successful relationship between our family of professionals and your family.  Rieger Homes has developed its Energy Efficient, High Performance Home Program that utilizes energy efficient products and building practices in our homes and to make them as cost effective to maintain as possible.  Our goal is to assist you and your family in building a new home of your dreams.  We are proud of our superb reputation throughout New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley.  We hope that your home purchase is an exciting and memorable event. We would love to be your builder!  Please check out our beautiful neighborhoods and exciting homes and floor plans and contact us to plan your new home.  Happy home shopping!

Ian Rieger of Rieger Homes was interviewed recently for the following article published in the Times Herald Record on Sunday, April 27, 2014. Rieger Homes, the builder of choice in the Hudson Valley for over 50 years, has new homes available in Sugar Loaf, Village of Washingtonville, Town of Marlborough, Town of Poughkeepsie and Hopewell Junction, NY. Contact us to arrange a visit and learn more about Rieger Homes’ Energy Efficient, High Performance Homes.

Market heating up for home builders

Some putting up new units on speculation

By James Walsh
Times Herald-Record, Published: 2:00 AM – 04/27/14

“The economy's gotten better,” says Ian Rieger, seen at a new building site in the Rieger Homes subdivision in Sugar Loaf. “Plus, there's a pent-up demand.”ALLYSE PULLIAM/For the Times Herald-Record

Builders of new homes in the mid-Hudson are rolling into the construction season with growing optimism, some going so far as to build houses on speculation, a chance rarely taken since the real estate meltdown in 2008.
Their confidence is buoyed by continuing low interest rates, a small inventory of newly constructed houses, and what some builders perceive as growing consumer confidence.
The bright outlook follows a frigid winter that was particularly brutal for residential developers. Buyer traffic was practically nil as the weather kept people away, and freezing weather brought work to a halt. Now, as the sun finally warms the Hudson Valley and Catskills, some builders find themselves busier than they’ve been in years.
“The economy’s gotten better,” said Ian Rieger of Rieger Homes Inc. “Plus, there’s a pent-up demand. It’s like a pressure cooker. It has a lot more oomph behind it now.”
Rieger’s looking to take some of that pressure off with his eight-lot Fox Hill subdivision in Sugar Loaf. Framers were finishing up last week on a 2,300-square-foot spec house. The crew will soon be hammering away on another house that sold pre-construction. Rieger said multiple buyer prospects surfaced in recent weeks for houses priced between about $400,000 and $500,000. They measure between 2,300 and about 3,200 square feet.
“And we haven’t even started our marketing yet,” Rieger said. “It’s all part of the pent-up demand.”
Jonathan Shafran, president of the Hudson Valley Builders and Remodelers Association, said the industry has taken a positive turn.
“I’m hearing from subcontractors that a lot of guys are real busy,” Shafran said.
He’s also building a house on speculation at his Eagle Crest development in Sugar Loaf.
Laurel Sweeney, associate broker at Prudential Nutshell Realty in Stone Ridge, said building a spec house makes sense from a sales perspective.
“Most people cannot envision a constructed house from a floor plan or schematic,” Sweeney said. “It is in a builder’s best interest to build on spec, so potential buyers can see what they’re getting.”
The Ulster Board of Realtors’ multiple listing service showcases 75 new-construction houses. Eight of those have accepted offers and are in various stages of construction, Sweeney said.
“Generally speaking,” Sweeney said, “the availability of good-quality newly constructed homes does not meet demand.”
The Lanwin Group of Hopewell, N.J., has two spec houses going up, one for $450,800 in the Town of Newburgh’s Forest Ridge, and another priced at $409,000 in the Mailler Oaks subdivision in Cornwall.
“We are very optimistic,” said Philip Evans, Lanwin’s managing partner. “We think there will be a slow but steady pickup of new homes being sold in the area.”
Evans said spec building lets people see the quality of the construction.
Lanwin is breaking ground for five houses at the 48-lot Forest Ridge within the next two weeks. Prices in the subdivision run from the mid-$300,000s to the mid-$400,000s.
Michael Walker’s 18-lot Woodmere at Goshen has just two lots left for homes priced from about $370,000 to a bit over $500,000. He’s planning a subdivision of 75 clustered lots next spring on about 260 acres in Goshen.
A model house that opened in Woodmere in January sold within a month. Walker also cited demand outstripping a small supply of new houses.
Mal Meyerson of Malmark Construction Corp. has found his geothermal packages a draw for buyers. His 12-lot Woodland Lake Estates in the Town of Mamakating has just five lots left after opening a year ago. There have been enough buyer inquiries lately to prompt building driveways to the remaining lots.
“It’s like someone flicked a light switch,” Meyerson said.
Likewise, Shafran, the builder association president, said his Eagle Crest project has been “swamped” with inquiries from prospective buyers.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “It’s probably been seven years since I’ve been this busy.”
jwalsh@th-record.com

Rieger Homes is your Orange County new home builder and Dutchess County new home builder of choice.  We have been a leading home builder in the Mid-Hudson Valley for over 50 years.  A family owned company under its second generation of leadership, we are committed to building a successful relationship between our family of professionals and your family.  Rieger Homes has developed its Energy Efficient, High Performance Home Program that utilizes energy efficient products and building practices in our homes and to make them as cost effective to maintain as possible.  Our goal is to assist you and your family in building a new home of your dreams.  We are proud of our superb reputation throughout New York’s beautiful Hudson Valley.  We hope that your home purchase is an exciting and memorable event. We would love to be your builder!  Please check out our beautiful neighborhoods and exciting homes and floor plans and contact us to plan your new home.  Happy home shopping!