REAL Exclusive Magazine

Neal Communities Celebrates With Trade Partners.

Neal Communities hosted an event to thank the vendors for their contributions to the home builder’s continued success. About 100 people representing carpentry, electrical, roofing, environmental, plumbing, landscape and many other trades enjoyed the event at Neal’s newest community. River Sound. The Lakewood Ranch-based home builder estimates that it impacts 769 local jobs by hiring their respective companies in some role of development and construction activities.

Neal Communities’ Pat Neal welcomed the crowd and thanked them for their hard work and dedication, especially during the recent housing decline. “We’ve hit the bottom and are climbing out. This is the new normal, which is really the old normal,” he stated referring to the real estate market. In addition to the barbeque, the guests enjoyed seeing the fruits of their labors – the finished products. They were also delighted to have a chance to unwind after work and see colleagues in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Neal Communities has written almost 300 contracts for new homes in 2009, making this one of the most successful sales years in its 40 year history. With each home constructed, the builder contracts with about 50 different companies providing services such as land surveying, drywall, electrical, sod installation, plumbing and air, garage door installation, painting, masonry, flooring, cabinetry, tile work, roofing and even site cleanup. These various companies employ almost 800 people in the area. Those jobs are affected by the success of Neal Communities.

“We’re building homes at attractive price points because we’re now building smarter,” Neal said as he renewed his commitment to maintaining that economic pricing structure. “We design on an electronic platform, have our own purchasing department that is vigilant and have created home designs that are more efficient to build.”

Examples of the new efficient design are in River Sound’s new Cruise Series of models. With the strong names of Valor, Spirit, Freedom, Glory, Liberty and Splendor, the Cruise Series features homes from 1,028 square feet to 1,936 square feet. The base prices range from $129,900 to $180,400.

“These are the same Neal brand of outstanding quality,” Neal explained. “Our goal is to build high quality homes, small, in good locations close to town, and sell them at very attractive prices.”

Pictured below: Some of the Neal Communities employees and trade partners at River Sound