EXPERT ADVICE BANKING

Homebuyers Look to New Home Construction

to Bypass Crowded Housing Market

By Carlos Cedeno, Trustco Bank East Colonial Branch Manager

With more than 1,500 people moving to the Orlando area each week, it’s no surprise that it is one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the United States. That is reflected in the scorching hot, record-breaking housing market, according to a report from the Orlando Regional Realtors Association. The group’s May 2022 report showed the median home price in the Orlando area was $379,950, a $10,000 increase from April and a record high for the fourth month in a row.

While the inventory of available homes is beginning to loosen up, experts warn there still isn’t enough housing available to meet the demand for the projected 5.2 million residents who are expected to call the area home by 2030. Instead of competing with hundreds of other interested buyers for an existing home, many buyers are looking to Trustco Bank for new construction and home building loans to meet their needs.

The demand for new homes in Florida isn’t waning – this year will see more new homes built than in 2021, according to the University of Central Florida Institute for Economic Forecasting. Last month, Trustco processed 300 new home construction loan applications for the Sunshine State – a 200 percent increase over the same time last year. Building a new home is an attractive option for prospective buyers because it is a solution to finding their dream home in a tight housing market and can customize the home to their needs for a comparable cost to an existing home.

Prospective home buyers are concerned about a looming market crash, but if you’re waiting for the bubble to burst and for prices to drop – experts say that isn’t likely to happen in Central Florida because of the strong demand for housing and the rapidly growing population. Trustco’s home construction loan interest rate is locked in for 330 days, so buyers can rest assured that the rate they receive at the beginning of the process will be honored at closing time, even if the Federal Reserve increases rates during that time. Trustco clients who locked into last year’s low-interest rates are enjoying below 3 percent interest rates as they move into their new homes this summer, despite recent rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

There are a lot of benefits to building your dream home, whether you have a piece of land and want to build a home on it, or you’re working with a developer in a planned community. Consider that Trustco Bank offers one single closing date – there are no surprises or rate hikes throughout the duration of the building process. Our clients appreciate that we don’t require Private Mortgage Insurance for borrowers with a down payment that is less than 20 percent of the loan amount. We’re proud to be a portfolio lender, which means we loan money against customer deposits, keeping money in the communities we serve. We’re different from other banks in that we keep your loan on our books and will never sell it to another lender.

It’s exciting to see so many who want to call Central Florida home. Whether you’re new to the Sunshine State, a lifelong resident, or somewhere in between – Trustco is excited about the opportunity to be Your Hometown lender.

Carlos Cedeno serves as the Branch Manager of Trustco Bank’s East Colonial branch in Orlando, Florida. He came to Trustco in 2017 as an Assistant Manager before becoming Branch Manager the following year. Carlos has an MBA with a focus in management and with over 10 years of experience in the banking industry, sales and customer service, Carlos can match his clients to the mortgage, loan or product that best fits their finances. Trustco Bank operates 144 branches in total, 53 located within the state of Florida, 39 of which are in Central Florida. Trustco is known for offering a wide variety of great deposit and loan products and the bank specializes in residential mortgage lending. To learn more about the bank visit www.TrustcoBank.com.