Author Archive
New Communities and New Faces
Posted by on October 8, 2010 | Comments
Highland Homes would like to introduce our newest faces. Make sure to say hello to them when you visit. While we are certainly well-known for building Lakeland homes, we hope you’ll also consider buying a home one of our new home communities in Ellenton, Bartow, Winter Haven or Zephyrhills.
The company has just announced that Deb Slavin, from Sarasota, Florida is the new community sales manager for South Oak, the company’s newest community. South Oaks is located in Ellenton, Florida of Manatee county and Deb is excited about generating new sales for this community. Deb has years of experience in new home sales as well as past experience with sales training and sales management with some of the nations largest home builders. The community has just 45 lots, so Deb is expecting to sell those in the first 10 to 12 months and then move into another community.
Buddy Allman was recently promoted to manage Wind Meadows, the company’s Bartow, Florida community with prices starting in the low $100′s. Read More→
Market Watch: Housing To Climb into 2011
Posted by on October 4, 2010 | Comments
A September “Market Watch” bulletin shows that housing starts increased 10.9% in August of 2010. Permits for single family homes rose 1.9%. While the report seemed to point to an upturn in the weak U.S. housing market, most economists downplayed the better-than-expected number. They pointed out that data for multi-family starts, which surged 32.2% in August, is notoriously volatile and represents just a small portion of the housing market.
New construction of single-family homes, which account for 75% of the housing market, rose a much smaller 4.3% to an annualized rate of 438,000. Although it was the first increase in four months, construction of single-family homes is still 9.1% lower compared to year ago. Read More→
Home Ownership is Better Than Renting
Posted by on September 30, 2010 | Comments
A recent study showed the owning a home is better than paying rent. Why does this seem to be old news? The question has often come up and it is always the same…………..YES, its more economical to buy a Tampa new home than rent. Tampabay.com recently blogged on this subject and stated many logical reasons why it is a great time to buy Tampa homes.
People are constantly faced with housing issues and the question of renting versus buying and unless your credit score is less than 580 it’s much better to own than rent.
The government still offers loan types with 100% financing, so for those whose income levels meet the generous requirements for USDA, you can own a home for zero out of pocket. For the buyer who earns in excess of $100,000 annually and does not qualify for the USDA program the most common loan is FHA and for veterans, the VA loan is still very popular. With Read More→
Home Buyers Migrate Back to Florida
Posted by on September 24, 2010 | Comments
Good news on the home front for Florida builders! It was recently reported that Florida is beginning to see a trend of people migrating back to the state and the population from migration has increased from 2009 to 2010. This is good news for Highland Homes as we continue to be the leading, independent builder in Central Florida. We continue to expand our footprint for building in new communities throughout central Florida and now build in 6 counties including the following cities Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, St. Cloud, Zephyrhills, Leesburg, Bartow, Ellenton, Winter Haven, Davenport, Auburndale and Riverview Area
The news of migration into the state is also magnified by the fact that consumers in Florida are convinced that home prices have stabilized and that NOW is the time to buy a new home. This news coincides with a recent study done by Fannie Mae who polled renters and home owners between January and July of this year. The survey reported: “A large majority of Americans (78 percent) believe that home prices either will remain flat or go up over the next year, up five points from the beginning of the year. Forty-seven percent believe prices will hold steady, while 31 percent think they will go up.”
Highland Homes is taking notice of this and purchasing land where the demand is high for new homes. The company continues to buy new communities in Central Florida Read More→
Students Awarded Scholarships from Highland Homes
Posted by on September 20, 2010 | Comments
Highland Homes was featured on TV in Tampa, Fl in early September for our sponsorship to the Bucified Bert, Ole is Alive Foundation. Earlier this year Highland Homes awarded 4 scholarships to deserving students involved in Bucified Bert’s program. It was the first year Highland Homes participated in this event and we are proud to be an integral part of this program.
“Bucified Bert” is a foundation for children started by Albert Owen and his excitement about the program is contagious. A longtime employee of Tampa’s news station, WFLA, Channel 8, Owens was asked to spread the Read More→
Central Florida Builder Shares Hurricane Safety Tips
Posted by on July 28, 2010 | Comments
During this Hurricane Season, we want to keep you safe! That is why our homes are built to the latest hurricane standards, to protect you in the event of a storm.
Here are some hurricane safety and planning tips to prepare your home in the event of a storm.
Family Hurricane Plan:
- Locate the safest room are area in your home
- Determine escape routes from your home
- Have an out-of-state contact
- Make a plan for your pets, and have cages ready to transport them comfortably
- Post all emergency numbers where you can easily find them
- Put together a First-Aid kit
- Review your insurance policy and keep a copy in a safe, water-tight place
- Have at least one phone in your house that does not need electricity
- Fill up your vehicles with fuel and have a basic tool kit and maps stored inside Read More→
Bartow High Ranks Nationally
Posted by on July 21, 2010 | Comments
Highland Homes has great news for buyers who are considering in Bartow, Florida. Newsweek placed Bartow High in the top 10 percent of the nation’s best high schools, ranking it 168th in the nation.
This is Bartow High’s 7th time making Newsweek’s annual list.
The list ranks a total of 1,623 high schools from across the country. High schools are ranked based on a ratio of the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests taken by students at a school divided by the total number of graduating seniors.
Bartow High attracts students from all over Polk County. In addition to operating as a traditional high school, Bartow is noted for their International Baccalaureate program and Summerlin Academy, a military program.
Highland Homes has two communities zoned for Bartow High School, Wind Meadows and Oakford Estates, offering homes from 1,100 to over 2,800 Read More→
