Avenir, a master-planned community in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has drawn steady interest from buyers who want a brand-new home. Buying from a builder is a different process than buying a resale, though, and the contract is written with the builder’s interests in mind.
Kourtney Pulitzer, a senior global real estate advisor with Sotheby’s International Realty, lives in Avenir and says she has sold more volume and more transaction sides in the community than any other agent. Here is her advice for buyers weighing a new home there.
Pulitzer points to two main reasons. The first is lifestyle. The homes are new, the community has plenty of green space, and residents have a clubhouse, pickleball, and hiking trails close by. “It’s just a whole community,” she says.
Many residents get around by golf cart, whether they are heading to a manicure or a tennis match. That day-to-day ease is a large part of what buyers are looking for.
The second reason is price. Avenir is about 15 minutes from downtown West Palm Beach rather than five, and that distance shows up in the numbers. Pulitzer says prices start around $1 million and, outside the private club, top out around $4.5 million. “In our market, it’s a much more approachable price point,” she says.
Pulitzer compares picking a builder and neighborhood to dating. Most buyers already know which finishes and front elevations they are drawn to, and which neighborhoods feel right when they drive through.
Location within the community matters too. Some buyers want to be near the clubhouse. Those who come and go all day may want to be close to the entrance, while others prefer a home tucked far back in a neighborhood. Sorting out those preferences early narrows the options quickly.
“A builder will have you think that nothing is negotiable,” Pulitzer says. “I negotiate for a living, so I always like to think everything’s negotiable.” Part of her role is showing buyers what can actually be negotiated with a given builder.
She says even experienced buyers, including those who have bought and sold a lot of real estate, benefit from bringing their own agent into a builder’s sales center. They do not do this every day, they do not know every builder, and they have not closed several deals with the same builder in the past six months.
“Working with me is like a cheat sheet,” she says. That experience helps buyers understand how to negotiate, how to get what they want at the design center, and how to make the contract work for them. “It is designed to be a builder-beneficial contract,” she says.
Building new is not always the best route. Pulitzer says many resale homes in Avenir are only one or two years old, and some have barely been lived in. An investor or a seasonal owner may have bought one and spent little time there. Others belonged to New York buyers who planned to work remotely and were called back to the city.
“Even the resale homes are basically brand new construction,” she says.
The bigger advantage is time. A resale lets a buyer move in now instead of waiting 12 to 18 months for a build. Some neighborhoods are also sold out and fully built, so a resale is the only way to get into them.
On timing in general, Pulitzer’s view is simple. “The right time to sell is when you’re ready to sell, and the right time to buy is when you’re ready to buy,” she says. With a knowledgeable advisor, she adds, buyers and sellers can negotiate the right deal in any market.
About Kourtney Pulitzer
Kourtney Pulitzer is a senior global real estate advisor with Sotheby’s International Realty, Palm Beach Brokerage. She represents buyers and sellers on the island of Palm Beach, in downtown and historic West Palm Beach, and in Avenir in Palm Beach Gardens, where she lives.
Disclaimer
This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.
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