Spec home construction on rise in SoFla

Speculative home builders have returned to South Florida in a big way, a sign of sector confidence that the region’s housing recovery is legitimate.

Builders abandoned the strategy of constructing a single-family residence without a buyer locked down after last decade’s housing collapse. But a paucity of for-sale inventory has companies like Landmark Custom Homes bringing speculative development back as 2013 winds down, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Landmark plans to build Palazzo Paradiso, a 24,000-square-foot mansion, in Southwest Ranches.

Up north in ritzy Manalapan, developer Patrick Carney has finished construction of a spec residence at 800 South Ocean Boulevard. The 18,000-square-foot mansion is currently listed at $45 million. Carney already sold a spec home on an adjacent property for nearly $25 million to prominent motivational speaker Tony Robbins.

Residential observers say speculative construction is always risky, but high-end projects on waterfront sites should succeed in the rising market. [Sun-Sentinel] — Eric Kalis