New Homes in Austin, TX
It seems like every week brings more headlines of bursting real estate bubbles and national homebuilders posting significant losses. Despite the shaky ground in many areas across the country, Austin's real estate market is holding steady, thanks in part to a foundation of superior local homebuilders. While the number of home sales nationally continues to slide, Austin has shown a month-to-month increase so far this year. In total 12,072 homes were sold in the first six months of 2008, with a single-month high of 2,410 homes sold in June. In that time, the average sales price in Austin has actually increased over last year, in part because of the quality of new homes on the market.
One such local builder is Buffington Signature Homes. The company is the newest venture from long-time Austin builder and investor, Tom Buffington, whose list of credentials includes Buffington Capital, a leading area acquisition and development company, and Buffington Homes, which became the second largest builder in Austin before being sold to a national firm in the late 1990s.
Today, Buffington Signature Homes represents a shift back to the roots of Austin homebuilding, with a locally-owned, locally-
The key to this ability is the leadership team's unprecedented knowledge of the Austin area and eye for the factors that make a community succeed. "There's a big difference between market research and market expertise,"
The same holds true for home designs. While many volume builders simply rearrange layouts or change the exterior colors from location to location, Buffington's design team carefully crafted each floor plan to best suit the needs and style of the Austin market. As those styles and needs change, the company can also adapt more quickly to better meet their customer's expectations.
"Since all of our communities are within a few minutes drive of our corporate offices, the leadership team has a much better understanding of how our products are selling and what our customers think about their homes,"
This flexibility is another key factor in Buffington Signature Homes' continued growth. A recent report indicates that the price of building materials increased by more than 10% from 2007 to 2008, with no signs of slowing. The flexibility to change designs and features or to develop relationships with new vendors, allows Buffington to maintain prices in a volatile market. Additionally, most of those materials come from vendors right here in Austin, so customers aren't footing the bill for the shipping company's diesel.
In their effort to keep costs as low as possible, many volume builders use a practice called "value engineering." More often than not, that's a nice way of saying "cutting corners."
"The key is to make sure we do it right the first time," explains Whittenberger. "A little extra work during the construction stage means less work for us in the long run and less daily maintenance for our customers after they move in. Most of our leadership team has worked with the national firms, so we understand where their processes fall short. We spent a lot of time on product development, making sure our designs and our features picked up where the others guys left off."
As part of that commitment to quality, every Buffington Signature Home comes with something they call Signature Features: more than 90 high-end fixtures, finishes and features that are included standard in every home. Signature Features include a 3rd car garage (homesite permitting), island kitchens with granite countertops and custom cabinets, rounded corners, energy efficient appliances, covered patios and fully sodded yards, all standard in the price of the home. Customers can also choose from a collection of Signature Options, optional designs and features to further personalize their homes.
And there's one more factor that's often overlooked by the national builders: the importance of community interaction. More than simple advertising or branding, local builders are active members of their community. From the ball fields to school activities, Buffington Signature Homes strives to help the community organizations around them.
"Obviously, when you work for a company, you're invested in its success,"
Buffington Signature Homes currently offers homes in several highly sought-after communities in the Austin area: Silver Leaf, located just off Gattis School Road in Round Rock; Forest Oaks, located near 183A and 1431 in Cedar Park; and two premier South Austin communities, The Bridges at Bear Creek and Southpark Meadows. Later this year, Buffington will also launch sales in Teravista, located in Round Rock, and Belterra, located just minutes west of Austin on US-290.
For more information on Buffington Signature Homes, visit www.BuffingtonSignatureHomes.com or stop by their model homes in Silver Leaf or Forest Oaks.
The Forest Oaks Sales Center
1200 Shiloh St.
Cedar Park, TX 78613
Silver Leaf Sales Center
209 Aspen Trail
Round Rock, TX 78664
Hours of Operation
Monday - Thursday & Saturday, 10am to 7pm
Friday & Sunday, 11am to 7pm
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
