THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609060197
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 46 lines
The next big suburban boom in Chesapeake will take place in the Deep Creek and Western Branch districts of the city. That's according to Residential Databank, a Virginia Beach market research firm.
``Western Branch and Deep Creek are big growth areas in the coming years,'' said Stephanie Young, director of Residential Databank. ``Great Bridge is just really built up and builders are having a hard time building big houses there for a decent amount of money.''
Young added that builders willing to take on Great Bridge and Greenbrier are having to build dense units in order to account for expensive lot prices, some costing $60,000 or more for 12,000 to 15,000 square feet.
``Some of the new homes are right next to each other,'' said Young.
By contrast, lot prices in the Deep Creek developments of Hunter's Glen and Sawyers Meadow average around $30,000 for 12,000 to 15,000 square feet, according to Young.
In addition to larger land parcels and less expensive homes, custom home builders are seeking out other portions of the city because of increased talk of new schools and newly added business development.
The Western Branch development Waterstone, located off Interstate 664, is just a stone's throw from Portsmouth Boulevard and the Western Branch business district which includes Chesapeake Square Mall.
``Its location makes it convenient for residents having to commute to the Peninsula or Norfolk or Chesapeake,'' said Young.
Residential Databank's second-quarter figures indicate a fairly healthy housing market in Chesapeake. Closing activity for the first six months of 1996 in Chesapeake were up by 1.5 percent over the first six months of 1995. The resale market in the city is picking up with a 23.6 percent increase from 1995. Resale activity accounted for more than 62 percent of all residential sales in the city during the first two quarters.
And the outlook for new single-family closings for the next few months looks good, based on permit activity during the first and second quarters. Chesapeake is expected to show a 31.2 percent jump in single-family closings, the highest in South Hampton Roads. By comparison, Virginia Beach is only expected to increase by 9 percent.
Chesapeake's busy housing market doesn't come without a price - a high one. According to Residential Databank, the average single-family home in Chesapeake costs $162,063, just $9,000 less than the average cost of a single-family home in Virginia Beach. by CNB