Real Estate Value & New Urbanism

Focus on the Resident “End-user”

The focus here is on “end-user” product, something which is built and produced with the consumer in mind, catering to the needs and desires that will certainly be had in the future.  A new urbanism community is a product that we are involved with, that we are building to satisfy the customer in the long term.  We are not in it to make a buck and be done; this is evidenced by the time, effort, and money that we have devoted to making the property in our project worth every cent and more.  With what we put in, the user is guaranteed a level of comfort and ease of access to modern amenities, usable through the duration of their ownership, which is hopefully forever.

Cut-and-Run Developer Contrast

In contrast to our end-user-friendly philosophy is the alternative used by many competitors, and that is a cut-and-run product.  This literally means that a developer buys a large tract of land, cuts it into smaller parcels, sells them, and discontinues any further relationship to the land and the customer.  While this may be a way to make a quick buck, it by no means ensures any future money to be made on the part of the initial investor, and it does not ensure a rising value for the land in the future, as building a community does.  This is where our design philosophy, New Urbanism, comes into play.

Place making: “Recovering Conversation and a Sense of Place”

Parallel — and resonant with — the new urbanist movement is a world-wide movement focused on “place-making.” This takes the form in America of a concern with third places, the public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact. In contrast to first places (home) and second places (work), third places allow people to put aside their concerns and simply enjoy the company and conversation around them.

“What suburbia cries for,” writes Ray Oldenburg in The Great Good Place, “are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly, and pleasurably — a ‘place on the corner,’ real life alternatives to television, easy escapes from the cabin fever of marriage and family life that do not necessitate getting into an automobile.” Third places host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work. They promote social equality by leveling the status of guests, provide a setting for grassroots politics, create habits of public association, and offer psychological support to individuals and communities.

This is to say that New Urbanism is trying to recover that sense of community that is proliferated by interactions between people on a common ground.  This is the important part, common ground, where everyone is put on an even playing field, thus fostering the sense of equality, integral to the kinds of interpersonal relations people look for.  All of this is cultivated by the walkability of the town, the fact that anywhere in the community is reachable by foot. When people walk instead of drive, it gives them a chance to stop and say hello, have a conversation, smell the roses, as it were.

New Urbanism and ECI Development Philosophy

The New Urbanist focus is the creation of urban space in three dimensions, with a full understanding of the role that architectural form, details of buildings, and character of streetscapes play in creating and reflecting the values of diverse, economically successful, human-scale, and ecologically respectful communities.

With New Urbanism, we create communities with unique images that continue the best traditions of their respective localities, provide a more convenient lifestyle, and prove to be the most successful communities in their regions.

The reason this will work in Central America is that people who consider moving here will want a community environment, especially if they are moving to a new country.  This knowledge that they will be surrounded by like-minded individuals in a real community where interpersonal relationships are promoted can be the deal-maker in a decision to buy a home.  The environment is both naturally spectacular and emotionally secure in terms of feeling like home, especially in a neighborhood that is likely far, far away from where someone used to call home.

ECI’s product is all of this and more: the essence of community in a place where no one has yet ventured with a similar idea, with a goal of creating a stimulating and inspiring environment, set in the stunning natural beauty that Central America has to offer.  New Urbanism is a huge trend in the United States, and it makes sense to transfer the trend to Central America, a region where it can be achieved with relative ease of construction and low costs, yet where it can be something entirely new and innovative.

The fact is, a community set-up such as this one is attractive to the people who are likely looking at moving down here; the “target audience” is a group from middle to high income ranges, but also a group with very specific wants and needs taken into account when moving or buying a home. This makes a new urban community much more valuable when considering this demographic than properties that are independent of any community.  Not only for the planning and infrastructure that will make a move more seamless, but for the built in community that is the goal of this kind of development.

New Urbanism Creates Higher Property Prices

The fact is, there is a difference between new urban communities and traditional development communities, in more than just the set up and community feeling.  The other big difference is cost and ability to generate returns.  Properties within a development adhering to certain standards ensures a higher value for a property, as well as the potential to retain and increase the initial value.  Case studies abound, all over the United States and the world.  Values within New Urban communities start higher and continue to increase as the areas develop and grow into real neighborhoods and communities.

For example, in Santa Rosa, Florida, the community of Watercolors creates a high market value for its lots, due to its golf course, and the fact that it is a gated community.  A 1/12 acre lot half a mile from the coast sells for nearly a million dollars.

Once you move outside the gated community, however, you find a much different story.  Outside you can find a 2 bedroom, 2 bath beach cottage, less than a mile off the beach, close to a golf course, for less than a third of the price.

The difference between these two properties?  A mere 6 miles separates them, but a price variation of more than 300% makes it clear that location within a developing community has a huge impact on the value of a piece of property.

Florida is not the only place that this phenomenon is happening.  We find a similar case in South Carolina, in and out of Habersham community.

Inside the development we find lots starting at $120,000.  Habersham prides itself on the community that it is building through its town center, walkability, and communicative environment, and it is these very factors that justify the price tags they have.  In contrast, once you have left Habersham, which is in Beaufort, South Carolina, the picture changes again.

Also located in Beaufort, but outside of Habersham, these lots are available for half to a third of the price.

Even within five miles of one another, the price discrepancy is clear: inside the community can pull two to three times as much for a piece of land.

These cases make it clear that New Urbanist communities have something to offer, and people are willing to pay more—a lot more—for the chance to own a piece of it.

Guidelines set up by the New Urbanism Council:

1. The neighborhood has a discernible center. This is often a square or a green and sometimes a busy or memorable street corner. A transit stop would be located at this center.
2. Most of the dwellings are within a five-minute walk of the center.
3. There are a variety of dwelling types—usually houses, rowhouses and apartments—so that younger and older people, singles and families, the poor and the wealthy may find places to live.
4. At the edge of the neighborhood, there are shops and offices of sufficiently varied types to supply the weekly needs of a household.
5. A small ancillary building or garage apartment is permitted within the backyard of each house. It may be used as a rental unit or place to work (for example, office or craft workshop).
6. An elementary school is close enough so that most children can walk from their home.
7. There are small playgrounds accessible to every dwelling — not more than a tenth of a mile away.
8. Streets within the neighborhood form a connected network, which disperses traffic by providing a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination.
9. The streets are relatively narrow and shaded by rows of trees. This slows traffic, creating an environment suitable for pedestrians and bicycles.
10. Buildings in the neighborhood center are placed close to the street, creating a well-defined outdoor room.
11. Parking lots and garage doors rarely front the street. Parking is relegated to the rear of buildings, usually accessed by alleys.
12. Certain prominent sites at the termination of street vistas or in the neighborhood center are reserved for civic buildings. These provide sites for community meetings, education, and religious or cultural activities.
13. The neighborhood is organized to be self-governing. A formal association debates and decides matters of maintenance, security, and physical change. Taxation is the responsibility of the larger community.