A North American homebuilder is making another bet that U.S. buyers will prioritize price and quality of life over a commute with a mixed-use, master-planned development in a South Florida suburb.
Mattamy Homes has launched sales at the 4,200-home Newfield in Palm City, Florida, about 40 miles north of the Palm Beach County job center. The Toronto-based company expects the Martin County project to take about 15 years to complete.
The first neighborhood, Rosette Park, will feature 1,000 single-family houses, townhouses, villas and apartments, according to Mattamy. The for-sale units are priced from the $400,000s and range from 1,800 to more than 4,000 square feet, with the builder expecting the first residents to move in by early 2025.
As home and land prices increase in metropolitan areas, builders are looking to the suburbs to start new developments. Consumers who work in Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and other large cities are moving farther into the outskirts to live comfortably in less-expensive homes.
The Newfield homes likely will attract first-time and move-up buyers as well as baby boomers looking to retire, noted James FitzGerald, director of community development in Mattamy's Southeast Florida division.
"Part of it is pricing and part of it is lifestyle," he said in an interview. "We're very well-positioned from an access perspective. I think it's about 35 minutes from West Palm Beach and Palm Beach International Airport. It's not a crazy commute."
Small-town charm
In the third quarter, the median price for an existing single-family house in the Miami-Dade-Broward-Palm Beach metropolitan area was $630,000, up 5% from the third quarter of 2023, according to the Florida Realtors trade group. In the Port St. Lucie metropolitan area that includes Palm City and Martin County, the median price was $420,000, up 2% from the prior year.
From the Homes.com blog: How to Get a Mortgage: A Step-by-Step Guide
More Florida buyers are moving to Martin and neighboring St. Lucie County, citing affordability, less traffic congestion and small-town charm. Florida-based GL Homes is building 55-and-over developments in St. Lucie to appeal to baby boomers who want out of bustling cities.
"The new reality since the pandemic is that people can live and work and play from anywhere, and we have seen this outflow to suburban areas in markets across the Southeast, not just in Florida," said John Hunt, principal of the MarketNSight housing research and consulting firm based in Cave Spring, Georgia, in an email. "Land is cheaper and more plentiful in suburban areas, and so market activity has moved further and further away from city centers."
Mattamy is Canada's largest homebuilder, according to Builder magazine. The publication ranks Mattamy as the fourth-largest private homebuilder in the U.S. based on 4,578 sales last year. Across Canada, it has developments in the Toronto area, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, while it builds in 11 U.S. markets, including Dallas, Phoenix and Orlando, Florida.
Rosette Park and the other nine Newfield neighborhoods will incorporate traditional neighborhood designs of front porches, rear garages, village squares and public parks, according to Mattamy.
Newfield also will have a farm and main street, along with trails, shops, restaurants, small offices and recreational facilities. A town center for the entire development is being built in Rosette Park.
The Kiplinger family, publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice, owned the 3,400-acre property for more than four decades. About 70% of the land has been set aside for open space and public use.