According to their SEC filings, their average selling price was $303K, which was up from $269K the previous year, which was up from $242K the year before that:
sec.gov
I'd say that pretty well kills any theories about triple digit increases in prices, as well as theories along the lines of fifty bucks a foot to build a house. When I build a house I count everything after closing the purchase of raw land, to a finished, landscaped home: access, grading, surfacing, plans, permits, utilities, foundation, plumbing, electric, mechanical - the whole 9 yards. I can absolutely guarantee you that no one is selling houses at fifty bucks a foot, including labor, on that basis. At the end of the day, my ROI is around 80% doing most of the work myself as an owner builder vs. Centex at 15% using their own crews.
Without bothering to look it up, I'd be willing to bet that at $150K on a 3,000 sf house, Centex walks out the door when the exterior is finished. It'll look great from the street, but you'll probably want to do something with the bare studs before moving in. Lots of outfits run their ads that way, but most folks are bright enough to figure out there's a catch to fifty bucks a foot in a market where a finished home is at one seventy five.
I think we've pretty well beat this one to death. I'd suggest you read their filings, which supports everything I've been trying to point out; including increases in materials prices, to continuing appreciation of selling prices consistent with cost increases, to an anticipated leveling out of the market going forward. |
