I was at a meeting last week when Michael DeMarco of Laurel Haven Homes gave an update on his business.  Laurel Haven has built in the western Travis County area for a while and their specialty has been high-end homes.  By that I mean homes in the $800,000 and up range.  Michael said that they are not going to continue spec homes in the $1 million and up range.  There are too many on the market, especially in western Travis County.  In the Lake South Area of the Austin MLS there is about a 2 year supply of homes in this price range.  The biggest challenge for people like Michael is finding land to build on and come in with a price of $400,000-$700,000.  The problem is that lot prices have skyrocketed. 

There are currently 515 single-family homes on the market for over $1 million.  Over the past month, 40 homes priced at over $1 million have sold.  That gives us around a 13 month supply of homes priced at over $1 million.  If you look to the west, specifically in the areas in which Laurel Haven had been building, there is more like a 24 month supply of million dollar homes on the market.  So what this builder is doing is smart in my opinion.  As long as Michael can find tracts of land to develop on which he can build the less expensive houses, I like his strategy.