Master-Planned Community Developers Optimistic Amid Supply Chain Concerns

Home sales in the nation’s 50 top-selling master-planned communities grew by a modest 5 percent in 2021 from 2020, reported RCLCO, Bethesda, Md., with a 14% decrease in sales in the second half of the year as supply chain issues manifested.

The company’s Semi-Annual Report cited a lack of new home inventory despite the consistent and growing demand for new homes as the reason for this modest growth by MPC developers, with supply chain disruptions, labor market tightness and cost surges among the top reasons given for the inventory shortages.

However, the report expressed optimism for 2022, which “could be a big year for MPCs if supply chain issues resolve and allow communities to capture more of the growing demand for new homes.”

“Demand for new single-family homes within MPCs remains high, with favorable demographic tailwinds suggesting this strong demand will continue in 2022,” said RCLCO Managing Director Gregg Logan. “However, supply chain disruptions and the lingering impacts of COVID-19 have prevented many MPCs from fully capitalizing on the growth in demand seen over the past year. As these challenges are resolved in the coming months, we are optimistic for the success of master-planned communities in 2022.”

The report said the top-selling community in the country in 2021 was Central Florida’s The Villages, with 4,004 sales, 65% ahead of last year’s pace. Sarasota’s Lakewood Ranch once again was the top-selling all-ages community in the nation with 2,574 sales. Las Vegas, Nevada’s Summerlin ranked third with 1,619 sales.