Cottages under construction in Woodbrook, a Neal Communities development in Manatee County. Neal marked the completion of the company's 9,000th residence on Wednesday, July 3, 2013, with a ceremony at the home of Stephanie and Dane Martinez. Staff Photo / Harold Bubil; 7-3-2013.
The news is not that Neal Communities has completed its 9,000th residence since the 1970s. Every few months, the company, headed by Pat Neal, passes another milestone.
In fact, the 9,000th home was moved into in March by Dane and Stephanie Martinez and their daugher, Eva. A second child, Alyssa, is due in six days.
Since then, the company has built or is building a couple hundred more houses -- and has logged 429 sales for the year. It is on a record pace for the year.
What IS news is that Neal is holding back on us.
Homeowners Dane and Stephanie Martinez with Neal Communities' Charlene Neal, center, at a ceremony marking the completion of Neal Communities' 9000th house. Dane Martinez his holding Eva, the couple's daughter. A second daughter is expected in about a week. The Martinez family moved into their home in Woodbrook, a Neal Communities development in Manatee County, in March. Staff Photo / Harold Bubil; 7-3-2013.
At Woodbrook, the Manatee County community where the Martinez family resides, sales are capped at three a month in the Celebration series, a standard 3/2 home like the kind Dane and Stephanie Martinez purchased in 2012.
Neal also builds houses in the Cottage series there, too, but there is no limit on the number of those than can be sold because all the floor plans and options have been preselected for each house.
The reason for the "allocation" is that houses can only be build so fast in today's tight market for skilled construction labor. So the company is tapping the brakes to keep up with demand and maintain quality, said Sales Director David Hunihan.
