By Meghan Hall
A single-family development frenzy has hit the Puget Sound as national firms look to buy up accessible and well-located pieces of land for future projects. Just before the New Year, and as the market continues to heat up, Toll Brothers and Lennar both acquired land in Black Diamond, Wash., for a combined $40.3 million. The seller of both properties, according to public records, was Bellevue-based Oakpointe Communities.
In the larger of the two deals, Lennar paid $25,322,222.222 for two parcels. In the second deal, Toll Brothers paid an even $15 million for a portion of one parcel. Public records indicate that the parcels are all within Oakpointe’s planned Ten Trail development.
Oakpointe began developing Ten Trails in 2009. Once fully built out, the development will offer more than 1.2 million square feet of commercial office and retail space, as well as more than 4,800 residences. The project will also offer accessibility to several parks and trails. A number of national builders have already come aboard to build out the project, including JK Monarch and Pulte.
The development is located on the outskirts of King County, but is still accessible to Tacoma and Seattle. Lake Sawyer Regional Park, as well as the Black Diamond Natural Area are nearby. A number of other developments are popping up, including Overlook at Summit Park by Tri Pointe Homes, Lennar at Cedar Creek Park, Wilderness Hills by DR Horton America’s Builder, and others.
The Seattle single-family housing market remains one of the most competitive in the country, according to analysis by Redfin. In November of 2021, Seattle home prices were up 2.7 percent compared to last year, selling for a median price of $770,000. On average, homes sold after an average of seven days on the market. Redfin also noted that homes tend to sell about three percent above asking price.
