THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 26, 1994 TAG: 9411240503
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAIGE FLEMING, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
While Virginia and North Carolina play tug-of-war with the precious contents of Lake Gaston, lack of a viable, dependable, long-term water source is hitting home - literally, say area builders and developers.
Virginia Beach has been left in the lurch, according to real estate industry spokesmen. Many people are searching for a new home but because land prices are being forced higher and higher by lack of water and tighter restrictions, there is less and less to chooser from, says Steve Peppler director of the new homes division of Long & Foster Realtors.
In November 1993, there were 16 active multifamily home sites priced under $120,000 in Virginia Beach. Today only four remain, according to his figures. And there are no more after that.
Builders can't get anymore water, Peppler says.
Tracts of land are sometimes developed years before they are built on. At this stage, the land is cleared and the plat recorded by the city. The plat shows the number and size of the lots plus water, sewerage, streets and drainage, says Larry Goldrich, a partner of Frye Properties in Norfolk.
The recorded plat guarantees that water and sewers will be there when the subdivision is eventually built, Goldrich says.
``If you didn't have a recorded plat on your land by July 1992, you couldn't get water,'' Peppler says. ``Now, we've reached a point in Virginia beach where there are no more recorded plats. And without recorded plats, no more new homes can be built. This, in turn, drives the price of existing homes higher, creating a lack of affordable housing.''
As Goldrich see it, tight restrictions are strangling the developer, who ``is required to build the lots, which means putting in the infrastructure. Sidewalks, sewer, water, drainage. By the time you add the cost of the raw to this, costs are driven up. Then, the cost is further escalated by the city's water moratorium and the Green Line.''
The ``Green Line'' was established by Virginia Beach in the early 1980s to protect the city from overcommitment. Planners wanted to make sure all available land was built upon within a certain area before the go ahead was given to develop further.
This is important to the city, says Goldrich, because it doesn't want to have to build new schools, fire stations and the like until these things are really needed. However, this makes building south of the Green Line impossible.
Peppler says that one way to offer new affordable housing lies in apartments being turned into condominiums. ``You can look at apartments built in the '80s and see that's what the builders were thinking about. They're flat on flat, multifamily units that can be converted, turned and flipped,'' he says.
Affordable housing is considered $100,000 or less. ``We still have a demand for new homes here in Virginia Beach. Not so much from people moving into the area from out of town but from needs created within the area,'' Peppler says.
``Kids are growing up and getting married or someone starting out on a normal income just out of school cannot affords to pay $150,000 to $160,000 for a house.''
Peppler feels that until restrictions are lifted, refurbished apartments offer those who want a home the freedom to buy one. by CNB