To all the agents in the house,
Irvine, California real estate developer Five Point is building a development on the northern tip of Los Angeles County that promises 20,000 new homes. Do a Google search of this gargantuan project -- the tract lies in unincorporated Valencia, just north of Santa Clarita -- and the first hit is a website, stating, "Five Point Valencia: Newhall Ranch Development."
The Five Point Valencia website features a sleek font, high res photos of exurban homes, pictures of attractive people playing with their dogs, and reminders to sign up for a mailing list. In other words, what you might expect from an official project website.
But the website is actually run by Wendy Devine, the former president of Century 21's Santa Clarita branch. Despite Devine's glowing presentation of the megaproject, the real estate agent says she has tangled with Five Point, and the website now disclaims "It is not connected to the development in any way."
Devine is blunt about the reasons behind her endeavor. "It was something that I felt in my own way I could make a lot of money on in the long run," as an agent representing possible Five Point Valencia homebuyers.
Devine's gambit is unusual, but is that unusual? On the fringes of L.A. and across the country, big new residential developments are popping up. The thoroughly documented and memed lumber shortage slows building down, but it perhaps hasn't deterred ambitious project plans.
Given the equally thoroughly documented low inventory, how many are joining Devine in turning to new construction?
Agents, are you trying to get in on the ground floor, as it were, to point buyers to new projects more than you did before? Are you more aggressively seeking partnerships with home builders to be the listing agent of choice?
I'd like to know! Please email me anonymously at mblake@housingwire.com.
Sincerely,
Matthew Blake
Senior Real Estate Reporter
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