The coming year brings many opportunities and challenges for master-planned communities. The housing market is still strong and there is demand for new housing.
Here at Cadence, we’ve continued to see strong sales the past few years and we’re anticipating that trend to continue. The community offers various home products at differing price points, making it ideal for buyers at various pricing thresholds. And, of course, homes in master-planned communities tend to hold value over time — a big perk for homebuyers.
Interest rates are set to increase a bit, however, they are still historically low. It is still an excellent time for buyers — because they can still stretch their dollar a bit more and get maximum value out of their purchase.
According to recent reporting, sales are keeping pace at most master plans throughout the valley. Diversity of home product is a huge draw and will continue to be this year and in the years ahead. Buyers want choices not only for what they select as their own home, but don’t want to see cookie-cutter rows of homes with everything looking exactly the same.
Some other benefits of master-planned living, including the integration of not just homes, but also streets, are amenities (parks, schools, retail, etc.), and residents can rest assured that everything will be maintained. Master plans tend to be larger in expanse with more acreage and integration with the city and county — and in many cases infrastructure already in place.
For example, for the more than 3,300-plus families already calling Cadence home, and those moving here in the year ahead, they have immediate access to day-to-day amenities, such as retail, grocery, restaurants, gas stations (many right here within the community), The Historic Water Street District; and Lifeguard Arena, the practice facility of the Henderson Silver Knights. Also, and this was incredibly important as we developed Cadence, was to have outdoor activities available, such as bike paths interwoven throughout the community, huge open spaces and parks available, swimming pools, pickleball courts, etc. Cadence is also a very short drive to Lake Mead Recreation Area.
Contrary to what some may feel, a solid homeowners association and strong CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions) allow the community to maintain value. Getting into a community early on is beneficial as costs will likely continue to rise for homes and supply chain issues for materials will take a while to unwind.
The best advice I can give, is to go into the home purchase with patience, especially now as builders manage the ongoing supply chain issues. They really are doing their best to secure materials such as lumber, garage doors, baseboards, etc. and they are still facing a labor shortage. This backup can in turn push back closing dates and increase build time before homes are delivered to customers.
The good news — master-planned communities continue to grow and builders are still building and offering plenty of new homes for potential buyers.
With that, I offer a couple tips/things to remember when visiting a master-planned community with the thought of buying:
■ Drive the area and see what’s being built and locations of schools, retail, etc.
■ Ask your sales agent or the community home finding center about assessments, what the plan is for the community and future growth.
■ Remember that it’s not just the home itself that you’re buying into — it is the complete neighborhood experience.
2022 and the coming years ahead are going to be fascinating in the valley as more people continue to move to Henderson and throughout Las Vegas at large.
Cheryl Gowan MA, APR, is the vice president of marketing for Cadence, a master-planned community in Henderson.
