Filling a Void with Urban Infill Development

Posted by FieldStone Homes on September 16, 2011

David Greminger, President of Fieldstone Partners California, speaks about infill development at the 2011 PCBC show. Here are some excerpts from the above video. Watch Builder TV to view the video in it’s entirety.

Tremendous Opportunities in Infill Development Today?

Infill development is typically in area’s that are built out, by definition. Those areas are built out for reasons. Either they are a place that people really want to live, their coastal, or have other amenities that have drawn people there and that’s why they are developed. They are typically around jobs. So we think there is tremendous opportunity because that’s where people want to live.

Model Homes in the Infill Development?

When you are building a very small project like we are, there just isn’t the budget to invest in the models. Yet, you still need to have a physical structure people can walk through. We have setup our systems so that we can start the homes, building them on spec, and take them through almost finished condition. We will hold out the items that we fill buyers are emotionally attached to and allow them to make those choices late in the game. We would also be comfortable making substantial changes if the buyers request them.

Fieldstone has just begun construction on a 6-lot infill development project in the city of Dana Point. These new homes in Dana Point are located at the corner of Del Obispo and Camino Del Avion. Construction will also begin on an infill project in Encinitas. The Encinitas Bungalows are located on Requeza Street east of Beach Street less than one mile from the beautiful Encinitas beaches. These Encinitas Homes will range from approximately 1,747 to 2,199 square feet and offer three architectural styles.

About The Fieldstone Group of Companies

The Fieldstone Group of Companies (Fieldstone) traces its history back to 1981. Since that time, companies within Fieldstone have acquired, managed and developed numerous communities in Southern California, Texas and Utah ranging in size from small subdivisions to large master planned communities. Since inception, Fieldstone as a home builder, has completed the construction and sale of more than 26,000 attached and detached homes with revenues totaling approximately $6.7 billion. In addition, Fieldstone provides fee building, property management and consulting services to financial institutions, investors and other land owners. Companies within Fieldstone are privately-held with offices in Irvine, California and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Shortcomings of Short-Sales and Foreclosures

Posted by FieldStone Homes on August 2, 2011

When Tom and Kathy Jones, who have lived in San Diego County for 45 years, began looking for a home, they investigated buying a property on the short sale or foreclosure market.

They weren’t encouraged by what they found.

“The short sale process takes many months of waiting for something that you have no guarantee that you are going to get,” said Tom Jones. “If someone else gets the home, you have to start over again. Short sales and foreclosures are sold “as-is” and they could have cracks in the foundation or plumbing and electrical problems that could be a costly major repair.

“You have the short sales price and the remodel price. You are paying way more than the home is worth. Why not buy a brand new home?”

The Jones discovered Rancho Santalina, a new master-planned community built by Fieldstone Homes in San Marcos, where home prices begin in the mid-$300,000s.

“Why fix up a 25 year old home when we were able to buy a brand new home that had spacious living space, a wonderful neighborhood with camaraderie among neighbors and was clean and never lived in,” said Kathy Jones. “We looked in North County for two years and Rancho Santalina’s floor plans, quality and value are hands down the best”

Like all other Rancho Santalina home buyers, the Jones’ chose from among six flexible floor plans offering three to six bedrooms in home sizes ranging from 2,238 to 3,516 square feet. Energy Star® rated appliances, large family rooms and maple carpentry come standard in every Rancho Santalina home. Some floor plans include a downstairs bedroom and bathroom as well as options for a loft or home office.

“The Jones’ experience is not only typical but illustrates the advantages of buying a new home”, said David Greminger, division president of Fieldstone.

“When you compare the real costs of buying a used home through a short sale or foreclosure with spending the same amount of money, or even less, for a new home with features you customize for your family’s needs in a community like Rancho Santalina, the value quotient is clear,” he said.

“Combine the prices at Rancho Santalina with historically low interest rates and this is the ideal time to purchase a new home.”

Located 40 miles north of San Diego and just 10 miles from the beaches of the Pacific ocean, Rancho Santalina blends convenient commuting in one of the fastest growing cities in San Diego County. Proximity to entertainment, shopping and dining including Old California Restaurant Row are just minutes away. Convenient recreational opportunities include Eagle Lakes Bowling, Legoland and Twin Oaks golf course in a sweeping setting of rolling hills augmented by seven acres of preserved open space next to the community.

Neighborhood parks with basketball courts, play structures, picnic tables and open areas enhance the family-friendly flavor of Rancho Santalina as does the San Marcos Unified School District which serves the community.

For additional information, please visit www.RanchoSantalinaHomes.com or stop by the sales office located off I-78 and Rancho Santa Fe Road at 1650 Las Flores Drive, San Marcos. The office is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You may also call (760) 599-7110 to schedule an appointment.

Home Maintenance – Do You Pass the Test?

Posted by FieldStone Homes on June 20, 2011

Home Maintenance - Tool Belt While buying a new home brings a peace of mind in terms of having to fix, change, or replace something around the house, keeping up with routine maintenance around your home will keep it in tip top shape. We came across this home maintenance quiz from NAHB and wanted to pass it along to all our buyers. On some of these issues, we even created a few short “how to” videos. Make sure to check them out.

You will want to read the entire article, but below are some of our favorite questions we wanted to pass on:

How often do forced-air furnace filters need to be changed?
According to the article, the air filter should be replaced at least every three months during the heating season. Blake, a Fieldstone Customer Care team member, walks you through how to replace an air filter in a home.
How often should the moving parts of garage doors be oiled?
According to the quiz, the garage door should be oiled every 3 months. In addition to oiling the tracks on your garage doors, Blake talks about other items on garage door maintenance that everyone will take to review.
What faucet part needs to be cleaned every three to four months?
We completely agree with the answer to this question. It is the aerator—the screen inside the end of the faucet. So why does it need to be cleaned out so often? According to Blake, it will lose water pressure over time. Not sure how to replace the aerator in your faucet? Blake will walk you through how to replace your faucet aerator.

Make sure to read the remaining questions on this test to see if you “Pass”. Your home is your biggest investment and taking proper care will help your home retain its value and provide you the most enjoyment. Please feel free to leave a comment about your home maintenance experiences and provide any tips for others.

David Greminger Participating in Real Estate Conference

Posted by FieldStone Homes on May 1, 2011

FIELDSTONE HOMES PRESIDENT DAVID GREMINGER TO PARTICIPATE IN PANEL DISCUSSION AT UPCOMING NATIONAL REAL ESTATE CONFERENCE

Fieldstone Homes, an award-winning residential builder and developer with 30 years of experience, announced today that David Greminger, president of Fieldstone Partners California LLC, is scheduled to speak on a panel next month at the Crittenden National Real Estate Conference in Las Vegas, Nev.

Greminger, past president of the Orange County Building Industry Association, will participate in the discussion, “Single-Family Homebuilders Fill a Void with Urban Infill,” at 2:30 p.m. on May 3, 2011. Other participants include Brett Whitehead, president of Brandywine Homes, and Jason Kliewer, partner and general counsel of Trumark Homes. Arthur Nelson, director of the Metropolitan Research Center at the University of Utah, will moderate the session.

The Crittenden National Real Estate Conference is scheduled for May 2-4, 2011 at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Las Vegas. For more information, please visit http://www.crittendennational.com/national-conference-schedule.html.

About The Fieldstone Group of Companies

The Fieldstone Group of Companies (Fieldstone) traces its history back to 1981. Since that time, companies within Fieldstone have acquired, managed and developed numerous communities in Southern California, Texas and Utah ranging in size from small subdivisions to large master planned communities. Since inception, Fieldstone has completed the construction and sale of more than 26,000 attached and detached homes with revenues totaling approximately $6.7 billion. Companies within Fieldstone are privately-held with offices in Irvine, California, Salt Lake City, Utah and San Antonio, Texas. For more information, visit www.fieldstone-homes.com.

New Home Construction is Increasing

Posted by FieldStone Homes on April 20, 2011

Housing Demand

Could it be that families are looking to begin looking for new homes? According to the latest new home construction numbers just released, home builders have begun increasing their production of new construction. That is the first sign that the big public and private builders are preparing for an increase in new home demand this spring.

New home construction rose 7.2% in March nationally, but more importantly building permits rose 11.2%. The higher increase in building permits is a future indicator that more home construction is on the way. Although the overall volume is down from years past, the positive increase in the short-term is a great sign that the economy is stabilizing and new home affordability is returning to normal.

Home Construction Drives Economy

Although all areas of the country saw an increase in new home construction, the West saw an impressive 27.2% increase. The building of new homes has a huge impact on the overall strength of the economy. According to the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders), each new home creates about 3 new jobs over the course of a year and generates more than $90,000 in taxes.

About Fieldstone Homes

Fieldstone Homes is one of the award-winning home builders with nearly 30 years of home building experience. Since 1981, Fieldstone Homes has built more than 28,000 quality homes. Currently, Fieldstone Homes has new homes in San Marcos, and 2 other communities coming soon in Dana Point and Encinitas. We are a respected home builder within the home building industry and a leader in building quality homes that constantly exceed our home buyers expectation.

Housing Market – Won’t Double Dip

Posted by FieldStone Homes on April 12, 2011

Finally, some good news for the Los Angeles area’s housing market. Housing prices are not in another free fall.

This is a widely watched market indicator released each month that tracks repeat sales of previously owned houses in major markets across the country. The index for the L.A. area also includes Orange County.

“You don’t have a double dip from our perspective. You just have a lot of worried people,” said Paul Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Price Index Committee responsible for the Standard & Poors Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

The index is a complicated mathematical formula that analyzes prices and allows for variables like the size and price range of home sales. There is something else going on, but it hasn’t gotten much attention. Housing markets tend to be local and go their own way.

“There is a lot of worry out there but there doesn’t seem to be any underlying economic force that’s going to be driving prices down,” he said. (read more)

About Fieldstone Homes

Fieldstone Homes is one of the award-winning home builders with nearly 30 years of home building experience. Since 1981, Fieldstone Homes has built more than 28,000 quality homes. Fieldstone Homes has three divisions and builds California Homes, Utah Homes, and San Antonio Homes. We are a respected home builder within the home building industry and a leader in building quality homes that constantly exceed our home buyers expectation.

Is it time to Buy Your New Home?

Posted by FieldStone Homes on April 7, 2011

Are you sure now is the time to buy a new home? Are prices on new homes going to continue downward? Would it be smarter to keep renting vs. buying a new home? These might be some of the questions you are asking yourself today. As the economy continues to gain strength, more media outlets and real estate experts are weighing in about how and why now is the time.

What are the true indicators of a stable housing market or what conditions should exist before buying a new home? According to a recent CNN article, “It’s time to buy again“, the editor interviews Mike Castleman, CEO and founder of Metrostudy. Over the past 30 years, Metrostudy has been compiling data on new home inventories across the nation and clients include the major banks and home builders.

In the article, two factors identified as the main driver are the amount of new home construction and the steep price declines over the past several years. The lack of new home construction is mainly due to no demand from home buyers. The steep price declines have made buying new homes affordable again. In many of the major markets, it is actually cheaper to own your home instead of renting a similar size home.

New Home Selling Season Begins

Posted by FieldStone Homes on February 9, 2011

New Home Construction

Homebuilder executives and economists predict a post-Super Bowl bounce in demand for residential construction as Americans turn their attention from football to another national pastime: house hunting.

The chief executive officers of six of the 10 largest U.S. homebuilders cited the potential of a sales comeback in the spring, traditionally their strongest season, during conference calls in the last four weeks. Housing forecasts from Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association show the new-home market will begin a rebound that will last through at least 2012.

Spring is a popular time to buy because house hunters often want to have their home finished by July or August, before the start of the U.S. school year in September, said John Burns, CEO of John Burns Real Estate Consulting Inc. in Irvine, California. The weekend after the Super Bowl is traditionally when prospective buyers start looking, he said in an interview.

To read the full article from Business Week, click here.

Southern California Home Builder Marks Return

Posted by FieldStone Homes on January 10, 2011

Irvine’s Fieldstone Group of Company’s. is cautiously restarting its Southern California homebuilding operations. The company, which also operates under the Fieldstone Homes name, was one of the area’s largest privately held builders near the peak of the market, selling close to 2,000 homes a year. It’s sold more than 26,000 homes since the early 1980s.

The past few years have been focused more on shoring up Fieldstone’s balance sheet, with little building locally. That’s set to change, according to Chief Executive Bill McFarland, who took over the company’s top spot last year.

Fieldstone has four projects totaling about 50 homes in the works in Southern California, right now, including two in Orange County. Each is expected to see construction this year.

“We’re going to try to be opportunistic,” said McFarland, a former executive vice president and director at Newport Beach’s Irvine Company. Fieldstone is looking for other deals in coastal areas but doesn’t plan to be overly aggressive on land buying, he said.

9 Reasons to Choose a New Home Over Resale

Posted by FieldStone Homes on December 13, 2010

Newly built properties can offer fewer hassles, greater efficiency and more customization.

By Luke Mullins of U.S. News & World Report

As the mortgage crisis continues to inundate the market with distressed properties, house hunters have no shortage of cheap, foreclosed homes to pick through. But despite all those deals in the market for previously owned homes, consumers shouldn’t overlook the potential benefits of buying a new home.

Read this article in its entirety…(9 Reasons To Choose A New Home Over Resale)

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