Richland Holdings is at work in West Deer and Richland townships

Jeff A. Martin, a past president of the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, has spent 35 years in the residential construction industry. So when he tells people that this is the right time to buy or build a home, they have reason to listen.

“Once this housing market breaks, and it is going to break,” said Martin, “the cost of the product and interest rates are going to start going up. You’ll pay more down the road for what you’re buying than you’ll pay now.”

Martin is a partner in Richland Holdings LLC, a residential developer and homebuilder. The company first developed communities in the Richland and West Deer townships, and continues to do so today.

In Richland Township, Fairwinds is currently under way. One-half acre lots sell for $80,000, with lot and new-home packages starting in the low $400s. The location of the community, said Martin, is “terrific.” One of its great advantages for families with school-age children is Fairwinds’ close proximity to Richland Elementary and Eden Hall Upper Elementary schools, which are part of the Pine-Richland School District.

Richland Holdings also has HyTyre Farms, a 92-unit carriage home community in West Deer, on McIntyre Road. A former horse farm, it is a planned, maintenance-free community that has a clubhouse and outdoor swimming pool. It has special appeal for both first-time buyers and empty nesters, Martin said. First-time buyers may, in fact, qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $8,000, if their home closes before December 1, 2009.

On the drawing boards but not yet under way, added Martin, is McIntyre Heights. Also in West Deer, the community will feature single-family homes in a “moderate” price range.