The 55-and-older community Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach sold its 500th home in 11 months as of October 2018, more than 6 months ahead of initial projections. The development will offer 6,650 homes total.
In Florida's Volusia and Flagler Counties overall, new home construction activity is the fastest its been in more than 10 years. As of September 2018, Volusia has issued 2,134 permits, exceeding 2017's total, and Flagler County has issued 1,002 new home permits, 21 permits fewer than the 2017 total. For housing starts, both counties are currently on pace to have the most in 12 years. Bill Bullock, president of developer Minto Communities’ Latitude Margaritaville division, tells The Daytona Beach News-Journal, “We are going to 11 starts per week beginning in November,” up from an average of nine a week.
One of the factors helping to drive growth in new home sales locally is the presence of Latitude Margaritaville, whose connection to singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett is helping to draw national attention, not just for that development but the greater Daytona Beach area, Hosseini said. The latest example is the nationally syndicated television game show “Wheel of Fortune,” which had a Latitude Margaritaville theme all last week. The grand prize options for the viewer contest included a free home at the winner’s choice at one of those two 55-and-older communities.
