Content area
Full Text
REAL ESTATE: Brisk business has developer on hunt for more land
Strong sales at the recently opened Lambert Ranch development in Irvine have given its Aliso Viejo-based developer confidence to look for more homebuilding projects in the area.
"In the next two years, we could have five or six projects under construction" in Orange County, said Larry Webb, chief executive of The New Home Co., the developer of the 169home Lambert Ranch project that opened earlier this summer along Portola Parkway in North Irvine.
Sales at the 50-acre gated community - with starting prices averaging more than $1 million - have exceeded the company's already- formidable expectations, according to Webb.
"When we started, no one was selling one house a week (per community)," Webb said. "We wanted to sell even more."
About 65 homes have sold since Lambert Ranch's model homes opened in April - nearly all that have been put on the market so far.
"It's been the best-selling project (in California) at this price point over the past few months," Webb said. "We've seen more than $80 million of revenue in three months."
Lambert Ranch's first residents are expected to move in next month.
'This project gives us...