How Would You Like to Live in This Neighborhood?

I went to Florida to check out some of the areas around Cape Coral a few months ago. I had been looking online at the houses and low prices and was thinking of possibly investing in something there. After going there and seeing it I thought NO way the same with Port Charlotte entire neighborhoods in foreclosure or vacant lots. Depressing for sure.

Wow, only two homes in the whole project?

Diane, I see a sad reminder of the past of residential real estate development. From now on we’ve got to focus on creating neighborhoods with character and connectivity, not one-way-in, one-way-out loops with stagnant, artificial ponds.

The real estate industry has a long, hard road ahead, and buyers are going to be very choosy, because there will be so much to choose from!

The clients we’re working with lately are demanding better design at all levels – from the hardware on kitchen cabinets to the streetscape of their communities.

We all know that the magic line of net buyers vs. net sellers has been crossed; the dwindling supply of future buyers aren’t going to accept the kind of weak slap-dash excuses for community that this photo depicts.

They’re looking for real, quality-designed places – new or old – and they won’t accept less.

Personally I couldn’t be more excited about that – a more demanding and alert home-buying public is helping to create better communities everywhere!

Thanks for sharing this!

Hi Diane – Our clients are looking for neighborhoods with recognizable organization, with common gathering spaces, with sidewalks, gridded streets, neighborhood retail, all that stuff that planners call Traditional Neighborhood Development or New Urbanism (although it’s really just good design).

The current buzzword is “walkable urbanism” but that applies more to town centers than suburban residential development. However, it’s to the town centers that buyers on both ends of the age spectrum are heading!

I sit on our local Planning Commission and we hear a great deal about this – the next wave of homebuyers are young, and they will buy the living experience first. They don’t want what’s in the photo because it doesn’t give them anything they can’t find on their own lot. They want to walk or bike to just about everything, including their jobs.

People want to be able to easily interact with their neighbors and their community in meaningful ways.

Yes, I think you’re going to see more community space in successful developments, and you’re going to see more neighborhood retail.

But new developments have to connected to the larger community, too. That’s one of the obvious faults with the community in the photo. It’s no surprise that the only two lots built on are the ones closest to the entrance!

LFD2D – thanks, if it’s me you’re complimenting (or did you mean that for Diane?)

More writing you might enjoy is at http://www.rtastudio.blogspot.com.

Best,