“As the national and local economies continue to strengthen, interest in new homes in St. Charles reflects the confluence of low interest rates and outstanding value for our new homes," said St. Charles Companies CEO, Alan Shearer.
St. Charles, MD (PRWEB) July 24, 2013
St. Charles, Maryland marked the first half of 2013 with 117 new home sales contracts, as low interest rates and a desire to live in an amenity-rich, master planned community continued to attract new home buyers to townhomes and single family homes built by national homebuilders, Lennar and Ryan Homes. The sales numbers were a 6% increase over the same period in 2012, with 110 new homes sales, and a 52% increase over 2011, with 77 new home sales. St. Charles is the best-selling new home community in Southern Maryland, reflective of consumers' confidence that master-planned communities provide stronger long-term investment results for homebuyers. St. Charles is just 11 miles south of the Capital Beltway and observed its 40th anniversary in 2012.
“As the national and local economies continue to strengthen, interest in new homes in St. Charles reflects the confluence of low interest rates and outstanding value for our new homes," said St. Charles Companies CEO, Alan Shearer. “Buyers today are drawn to the new St. Charles High School, a state-of-the-art facility scheduled to open in 2014. With the redistricting process complete, homebuyers are motivated to live in what will be walking distance for many to this exceptional school.”
New homes in the master-planned community start in the $200’s for townhomes and $290’s for single family homes.
The Company also announced that Kettler Property Management, which operates the 2,500 unit St. Charles apartment portfolio, successfully completed the lease up of The Nines at Gleneagles, a 120-unit market rate apartment property in St. Charles' Fairway Village in the first six months of 2013. The Company plans to begin construction of the third Gleneagles apartment community, which includes an additional 213 apartment homes, in late summer 2013.
Overall occupancy at the company's portfolio of 2,500 apartments in the St. Charles planned community now stands at approximately 94%, reflecting the popularity and appeal of St. Charles to a wide segment of consumers in the new home and rental housing markets.
Earlier this year, St. Charles opened the Gleneagles neighborhood center, the ninth in St. Charles. The new center features views of the White Plains Golf Course and includes a swimming pool, wading pool, and walking paths that connect to the community center to Charles County's White Plains Park. A second new community center is will open in September in St. Charles’ Fieldside neighborhood where Ryan Homes is building new single homes and townhomes from the $220’s.
In 2014, the1,600-student St. Charles High School will begin offering unique educational opportunities to students and the community alike. Built on a 100-acre site donated by The St. Charles Companies, the new facility will include programs on environmental and natural resource management, technology, and current issues related to these fields of study, as well as cutting edge learning experiences such as a digital classroom and “Science on a Sphere.” This feature, co-developed by NASA, provides students with visual instruction about science, the Earth and the environment.
St. Charles is the best-selling new home community in Southern Maryland and is considered one of the most successful master planned communities in the country. St. Charles is just 11 miles south of the Capital Beltway and observed its 40th anniversary in 2012. In the past few months, St. Charles was featured in The Washington Post (Lower Prices Draw More Buyers, Renters to St. Charles) and was profiled alongside the Washington area’s top master planned communities in The Washington Times (Master-Planned Towns, Age 50, Innovative Still). Over the past year, St. Charles achieved record-level sales as buyers and renters recognized the advantages of a mixed-use community with unique features such as the Regency Furniture Stadium, the new West Waldorf library, and the new St. Charles High School, a state-of-the-art facility scheduled to open in 2014. Named by CNN’s Money Magazine as one of the top twenty small cities to live in America, St. Charles is known for its diverse and abundant neighborhoods, lively retail centers, recreational opportunities and excellent schools. St. Charles appeals to all ages and lifestyles and was featured in 2011 in the Washington Post’s “Where We Live” section and named by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s top bargains for places to retire. St. Charles invites you to like us on Facebook at St. Charles MD or visit us at http://www.stcharlesmd.com.
The St. Charles Companies includes American Community Properties Trust, The Apartments of St. Charles, American Land Development and St. Charles Community, LLC. The St. Charles Companies’ lines of business include the residential and commercial development of St. Charles, a 9,100 acre planned community in Charles County, Maryland and the ownership of an operating apartment portfolio of approximately 2,500 units in St. Charles.
Federal Capital Partners® (http://www.fcpdc.com) acquired The St. Charles Companies in December 2009 through its FCP Fund I, L.P. Federal Capital Partners (FCP) is a privately held real estate investment company that has invested in or financed more than $3.0 billion in assets since its founding in 1999. FCP is seeking debt and equity investments in commercial and residential real estate throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, including Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia, New Jersey and the Carolinas. FCP buys assets directly as well as through joint ventures with local operating partners through equity, preferred equity or mezzanine debt investments. The firm, based in Chevy Chase, MD, manages $769 million of discretionary capital. FCP is currently investing its second fund, a $529 million commingled, discretionary fund closed in 2012.
