In real estate, the mantra always has been “Location. Location, Location.” In today’s home sales environment, it’s “Inventory. Inventory. Inventory.” and Coldwell Banker Exclusive Realty & Management has a partnership in place to help make sure there is plenty of inventory to go around.
“One of the gaps you always hear about is no inventory, no inventory, no inventory,” said Trent Smith, co-owner of Coldwell Banker Exclusive Realty & Management in Anderson. “We decided to try to fix that by building spec houses and Cox Builders was the perfect fit for that.”
Established in 1988 by John Cox, Cox Builders began by constructing utility buildings. The business expanded into residential construction and at one time was one of the largest builders in Anderson County, according to owner Brian Wilson, who acquired the company seven years ago from Cox’s widow, Jill.
A full-service builder, Cox has four divisions: commercial, residential, agricultural and utility buildings. The residential division works with Coldwell Banker Exclusive Realty & Management, offering new home construction that includes townhomes, lake homes, spec houses ranging from $250,000 to $300,000 and $500,000 to $600,000, and custom home construction.
“Our relationship with Coldwell Banker is to provide inventory for our agents to be able to list properties,” Wilson said. “We have 52 lots available now and we’ll build 25 to 30 houses per year to get inventory built up so that we can recruit agents better by having inventory.”
Cox Builders has acquired dozens of lots in older neighborhoods throughout Anderson County such as Normandy Park off Broadway Lake Road, with several spec homes presently under construction, Wilson said.
“We’re putting a resurgence on some of the older neighborhoods with new construction that’s a like construction – it looks the same – but it’s a new home in established, nice neighborhoods,” Wilson said. “There are hundreds of lots in Anderson County that way.”
And homeowners get more value in Anderson County where taxes and construction costs are less and lot sizes are larger at three quarters of an acre to an acre in size, Wilson said.
“We just sold a house today right outside of Williamston on Hwy. 29,” Wilson said. “Their whole thing was it was two minutes from the Interstate, 15 minutes to downtown Greenville. They got three-and-a-half acres of land with a five-bedroom, three-bath house for $480,000.”
Like much of the Upstate, home sales in Anderson County are being driven by new jobs announcements, and Lake Hartwell is a draw for retirees and second homes. Pent up demand for new home construction also is a factor, Smith said.
“A lot of the boom we’re seeing is just catching up to pent up demand from ’08 and ’09,” Smith said. “Builders went out of business, they quit building, so we have a huge deficit that has been created over the last 10 years in housing because the fear of ’08 is still lingering.”
One hurdle for those who presently have an FHA or VA loan and want to build a new home is coming up with the 20 percent or 30 percent required for a construction-to-permanent loan, Wilson said.
“A uniqueness of our company is that if you come to us and you have that type of loan and you’re approved, we’ll find the lot for you, we’ll build the house, and then you take your VA loan or FHA loan and you’re able to come in with two or three percent down.”
For more information on new homes for sale in Anderson County, contact Coldwell Banker Exclusive Realty & Management at (864) 225-3788 or visit cbhdpros.com.
