Heartland Everywhere prepares for a busy building season

It’s been said, sung and written that there is a season to everything. Brad Roth, director of operations for Heartland Everywhere, a builder of custom homes for individual property owners, knows firsthand that the season for buying and building a new home is at hand. Not only is it the right time of year, but a number of factors —interest rates, housing values, and incentives among them—have aligned to the benefit of new-home buyers.

In addition, Metropolitan Pittsburgh has shown itself to be safe haven compared to other housing markets. “Housing values here have proved to be very stable,” said Roth. Over the past year, in fact, they have shown slight appreciation, while home values in many other markets have cratered.

Roth believes Pittsburgh has successfully weathered challenging economic times thanks in large part to its thriving healthcare, educational and technology underpinnings, which have anchored it securely. “We should all be holding our heads high,” he said. “Pittsburgh has enjoyed a stable economy, and that’s been an exception to the rule.”

This economic vitality has kept new-home construction in the Pittsburgh region at a level superior to less fortunate communities, which is good news for Heartland Everywhere. A division of Heartland Homes, Heartland Everywhere is a scattered-site builder, designing and building new homes for property owners. Clients can choose from more than 40 new-home designs, which can be customized. The design-build company brings its know-how and commitment to wherever the property is located. Currently, that includes sites in Upper St. Clair, Peters Township, and Fox Chapel. The builder does, however, go even farther afield. Most recently, Heartland Everywhere built in Morgantown, West Virginia, in a community known as The Summit at Cheat Lake.

While buyers are free to place financing of their new home as they see fit, Heartland Everywhere has an affiliation with Princeton Financial LLC, a mortgage banking company. The mortgage banker offers buyers the opportunity to qualify for a permanent mortgage, eliminating the need for a construction loan, which usually involves monthly interest payments.

Another incentive that makes this the right season in which to buy and build, Roth said, is a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 to first-time homebuyers, including those building new homes. The Internal Revenue Service defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a principal resident for three years prior to buying or building a home. Single taxpayers with incomes of up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1,2009 and before December 1, 2009.

Because of the time limits on qualifying for the tax credit, buyers who want homes built on their own lots need to get things started now. Judging by the calls to Heartland Everywhere, it’s going to be a busy season. “There’s no shortage of people interested in building on their own property,” said Roth. “The phone is ringing every day.”