But the builders and organizers of this year’s luxury home show say despite declining homeownership and a housing market heavy with foreclosures, the demand exists for higher priced homes.
Homearama is back this year after a year off in 2010 due to the poor economy. Five houses have been added to the Foxborough subdivision in West Chester Twp. for the luxury home show Saturday through June 26.
The homebuilders say there’s demand for houses in the price range of this year’s show, $672,000 to $1,077,000. Two of the houses pre-sold and a third has a buyer in hand if it doesn’t sell during the show.
However, only one house, which could be one of the same houses, has sold for more than $600,000 in West Chester Twp., Hamilton and Middletown as of Thursday this year. A total 98 houses have sold above that much so far this year in the entire Cincinnati metro area compared to 114 in the metro the same time last year, according to numbers pulled from the Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati.
“This is a dream house for us. Everything we always wanted to make a home,” said Jeff Hitchcock, an owner of one of the show’s houses.
Homearama’s organizers say the biggest challenge is getting builders the loans to pay for construction costs, especially without a buyer. At least three more builders wanted to be in the show but couldn’t get financing even with 25 percent down, said Terry Sievers, regional president of The Drees Co., and Rex Gordon, president of Homebuilders Association of Greater Cincinnati, the show’s sponsor. It’s hard to find buyers because they can’t sell the homes they’re in, they said.
These houses in the $650,000 to $800,000 price range are usually move-ups, not the first homes for the owners and in more demand than price points of $1.5 million the show has seen in the past, Sievers said. The Drees Co. of Cincinnati is one of the partners in the Foxborough division and built one of the houses in the show.
Homearama, now in its 49th year, had 10 houses 10 years ago, Sievers and Gordon said.
Drees didn’t have a buyer and was still able to get a loan as it’s a larger company than some of the other builders participating, Sievers said.
Jack H. Wieland Builders, Inc., pre-sold its $672,000 house in the show, which will be the first house it finishes this year. The Fairfield company has started eight houses so far and expects to build 17 homes from $172,000 to $900,000 by the end of the year, said Jeff and Mike Wieland. Last year it built 10 houses in the Greater Cincinnati region, they said.
Jim Daniels of Daniels Homes said his $1,077,000 Homearama house is one of two it started this year. In the past, Daniels sold 15 houses a year in the range of $500,000 to $2 million.
The demand is still “not nearly as many as we’d like,” Daniels said.
Jeff Wieland said the demand in homebuilding has shifted to houses made for buyers on any piece of property, away from subdivisions with houses ready to go.
Jeff and Brenda Hitchcock of Liberty Twp. bought their show house from Justin Doyle Homes, a new high-end builder in the area. They originally planned to update and remodel their house of 17 years in Liberty Twp., but it was more expensive than it was worth if they sold it. Since last fall, they looked at about 30 houses and unsatisfied, turned to a custom home builder.
“This is our last house,” Jeff said.
Sandra Peters, a real estate agent for Sibcy Cline in West Chester Twp., said she’s sold 15 houses in the past two weeks, three in the $600,000 range and three in the $500,000 range. Peters was the top selling agent in the state last fiscal year.
She’s outsold herself this year, with most of the high price houses in Mason. The busy season this year, normally April and May, has been delayed to June and July, much to do with people struggling to sell their current houses, she said.
“We’re seeing more of a market in it,” Peters said. “I do think there’s buyers out there.”
The 2010 census showed a decline in homeownership in Butler County’s largest cities, including drops of 4.8 percent in Hamilton and 6.2 percent in Middletown. Experts say the decline is driven by economic conditions.
This year unemployment declined from January to 8.5 percent in April, according to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Foreclosure filings were made against 311 properties in April, a decrease from 529 in March, according to RealtyTrac, Inc., a firm that tracks default notices, bank repossessions and scheduled auctions.
Schellie Scott, of Liberty Twp., went to the last Homearama and will probably go this year.
“My husband and I like to go and get ideas for our house,” Scott said. “I think more of it like entertainment.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.
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