Florida Homebuilder Centerline Homes | Real Estate Blog

The Garage. Locally, we sometimes refer to it as the “Florida Basement” as it tends to become the defacto storage area for any number of items ranging from bicycles, lawn care tools and all variety of sports equipment. Some strange people even actually insist on using it as a place to store their automobiles. Go figure.

The garage, especially an attached garage, hasn’t always been a part of a new home purchase. Its popularity began in the early 1950’s. When Levitt & Sons built the first two-thousand “Cape Cod” style homes on Long Island in 1947, they did not include a garage. When they surveyed the residents of those homes, they learned two very interesting things. The first was about the homes’ living area orientation. The original large picture window faced the street. Secondly, they learned that the house was largely considered female space. Sixty plus years ago, male and female roles were much more ridged in their definitions. Based on these observations, Alfred Levitt (the architect) made two modifications to the fifteen thousand “Ranch” models that they began building at Levittown in 1949. The first evolution involved flipping the house around so that the large picture window faced the rear lawn living area, and secondly this new model included carport. Finally, a place where a man could truly be the king of at least a portion of his castle. The carport became the social gathering place for the neighborhood men and the ideal place to discuss everything from Pontiac’s dramatic new post-war Chieftain convertible to the proper way of grilling steak.

A decade later, the two-car garage began to appear in more upscale housing communities. In true American fashion, it was a great idea that was enlarged and made better. Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s, the two-car garage gradually became a standard feature on most new homes. In the go-go 1980’s, the garage again evolved. Now a three-car garage was becoming the norm on all new homes above a certain price point. It made sense. Upwardly mobile families had two cars to store and logic dictated that the lawn mower, bicycles, work benches and extra freezers also need a place. Thus the garage third bay became a must-have feature. This feature became so popular that architects scrambled to devise clever ways of incorporating a third garage even on smaller lot homes. The tandem garage, Hollywood-style garage and odd-car opposing garages all became design trends that showed up more and more frequently in new homes. These new garage configurations also added the advantage of disguising the streetscape monotony that was sometimes an unwelcome by-product of the original three-car garage neighborhoods. 

In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, some builders even toyed with offering a four-car garage. What could be better than a place to secure two automobiles, bikes & mowers and now even better “big-guy toys” such as wave runners, bass boats, small recreational vehicles and even personal golf carts? The 4-car garage has remained more of a luxury home feature, and hasn’t yet trickled down to the main-stream new home market –yet. Will there be a 5-car garage in America’s future? Simple logic might suggest that enough is enough, but as social trends evolve to include multi-generational families sharing homes and boomerang kids, you never know. It may become the next right answer.

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Centerline Homes’ Vice-President of Sales, demonstrates the selling process to the 8th grade class of Storm Grove Middle School

Vero Lago, Centerline Homes’ premier community of single family homes in Vero Beach recently hosted a field trip for the 8th grade class of Storm Grove Middle school. The students were given a demonstration on the building, selling and marketing of a new home community. “Ms. LaToya is a great teacher, and we were thrilled to be able to host this event,” stated Deb Marton Vice-President of Sales for Centerline Homes. “Her students seemed to really enjoy the field trip.” In addition to pointers on selling a new home, the class was also given a tour of a home under construction by Project Manager Billy Drohan. Most of the students seemed surprised by the amount of materials and labor involved in the construction of a new home. They asked a number of excellent questions, and several class members indicated that they were interested in a career in the housing industry. The class was also given a guided tour of the furnished models at Vero Lago. Marketing Vice-President Jeffrey Auchter explained the thought process and planning behind the design of a home as well as the logic behind the interior merchandising of a model. Centerline Homes’ San Simeon model was the popular favorite with this class. They especially loved the teen loft on the second floor and all agreed that it would be a great place to hang out with their friends. The secondary bedrooms, themed as a teen fashion diva suite, Barbie room and soccer room were also a big hit. They even noticed that the hat and pennant hanging in the soccer bedroom were from their school.

Centerline Homes was honored to host this event and want to especially thank Ms. LaToya for encouraging her students to attend.  Vero Lago, priced from $189,900, features 3, 4 & 5 bedroom single family homes that include Centerline Homes’ legendary standard feature package. Furnished models are open daily 10-6. Take I-95 to exit 147 (State Road 60) and proceed east to 58th Avenue. Left on 58th approximately 3 miles to Vero Lago’s entry on the right.

For additional information call 1-888-356-9512 or visit www.CenterlineHomes.com

On Tuesday, May 31st, NBC national news featured a story about how this particular time is the worst yet for the housing industry. Bunk. In typical news reel fashion, the media lumped the entire country together in order to maximize the doom and gloom value of their report. Although there are major metropolitan areas that are still fighting for survival, South Florida – and especially Broward County are continuing to show signs of improvement. The newscasters, their producers and writers fail to factor in the indomitable American spirit. Families are assessing their housing needs on a household by household basis. Home buyers are again purchasing new homes for all the right reasons. Perhaps a new baby necessitates an additional bedroom. Some families desire better schools and recreation for their kids. Or just a better quality of life. Still others are tired of throwing their money away on rent every month. These are some of the reasons that Americans have historically bought a new home or townhome. A home as in quick-money investment is a relatively new concept. As home prices continue to stabilize, homeownership will get back to being the cornerstone of building personal wealth.

A look back at the cyclical housing market (over a period of decades), still indicates that homeownership is a solid investment, with the added benefit of providing a better quality of life for your family. One generation ago, people bought homes first and foremost as a place to raise a family. Gains in equity were an added bonus, and not the driving force behind the buying decision.

Centerline Homes, Florida’s premier homebuilder, offers a great selection of new townhomes, single family and estate homes in both south and central Florida. To find out more about these great opportunities, visit www.CenterlineHomes.com

Centerline Homes Increases Rank on BUILDER Magazine’s 100 List

BUILDER magazine, long respected as the shelter industry’s leading publication, has released their annual Top 100 Builders in America list for 2010. Centerline Homes, Florida’s premier home builder and developer, ranked #67 in 2010 – up from #79 in 2009.

Additionally, Centerline Homes was one of only five of the top one hundred builders in America that experienced growth during a very difficult year. “Our founding philosophy of creating a quality home in a great location that represents a real value to our customers, helped us be successful in a very down market,” stated Deb Marton, Vice-President of Sales for Centerline Homes. “We never got away from the basics and our customers responded to our exceptional locations and our incredible value.” Centerline Homes is currently building communities in South Florida and Greater Orlando.

For more information, visit www.CenterlineHomes.com 

Centerline Homes, Florida’s premier homebuilder for the past 18 years, has announced their next great neighborhood, The Ranches at Cooper City. These 4, 5 & 6 bedroom estate homes, priced from $439,900, also include country-sized homesites that measure over 17,000 square feet (112’x153’).

“We are very excited to be building in Cooper City,” stated Deb Marton Vice-President of Sales for Centerline Homes. “There are few other cities that can match Cooper City’s highly regarded schools, top-notch and abundant recreation and overall convenient location. If you’re looking for a new house in Cooper City, The Ranches may be the perfect address for your family.”

The Ranches at Cooper City embodies Centerline Homes’ reputation for legendary value, innovative design and quality construction.  Four brand new one and two-story designs will debut at this intimate neighborhood of only twenty estate homes. Every home at The Ranches includes impact-resistant windows and sliding glass doors throughout, granite kitchen and bathroom countertops, maple cabinetry, three-car garage, stainless steel Whirlpool appliances (including wall oven and double dishwashers) and 18” x 18” ceramic tile throughout all first floor living areas. 

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