Texas-based homebuilder to build 900 single-family homes in northern Odessa, Texas, over next three years, reflecting intense housing demand amidst oil boom; company expects pre-sales to account for almost all of the 250 homes planned for this year

Allison Oesterle

Allison Oesterle

ODESSA, Texas , March 3, 2014 () – Lubbock-based Betenbough Homes is building 900 single-family residences in northern Odessa in the next three years, one of several housing projects reflecting the intense demand that persists amid the oil boom after a record year of building.

The Betenbough homes, north of 91st Street on 260 acres of land, represent a doubling-down for the company in Odessa. So far, Betenbough has built nearly 800 homes in the city, which are also in its North Park subdivision.

Vice President Ron Betenbough estimated a total investment from land purchase to completed construction for the homes at about $10 million and he expects to sell almost all of the 250 or so the company builds this year before they are even finished.

"Both sales and closings seem to match up with 2013," Betenbough said. "It doesn't feel any tighter or looser."

Last year was a record year for building single-family residences in Odessa and Midland, with 1,333 permits issued for new single-family homes, according to Karr Ingham, the Amarillo-based economist who prepares the Midland-Odessa Regional Economic Index.

"The prices have gone up the cost of land have gone up so the prices for these entry level homes is going up," realtor Steve Oliver said. "The economy is very vibrant there a lot of new homes and a lot people needing homes."

In 2013, homes in Odessa sold for an average price of $178,752 and the average time a home was on the market was 51 days, shy of the 180 days considered the industry standard for a balanced market, according to data from the Permian Board of Realtors.

Betenbough said his company's new homes will fall in the $150,000 to $200,000 range and forecast most buyers will be blue-collar workers, office folk and lower-level managers.

"These are the folks that do the work in the oil patch," Betenbough said.

Several economists who study the Odessa and Midland area have predicted growth rates to cool from the extremes of the past few years, giving infrastructure a chance to catch up and possibly relieve housing costs. But it remains unclear when and by how much.

"I think that lots are coming online and the homes will be built to help catch up," said Randy Brinlee, Odessa's director of planning. "But I think we are in the process of getting there."

Most announced development plans lie to the northern and eastern parts of Odessa, where Betenbough said the company had initially looked but found the land gobbled up.

Other significant developments include Legado Estates, a 25-acre lot of three streets near Parks Legado by D.R. Horton, a major builder based in Fort Worth. Among other projects in that area is the Old Course Estates, a community being built by Permian Homes near the 18th hold of the Odessa Country Club golf course.

In north Odessa, there is also the Desert Ridge subdivision off Grandview Avenue and 52nd Street planned by Houston Endowment and Leeco Proporties, proposed as about 70 town homes on 7.5 acres and 100 single-family residences on 34 acres. And there's Mardi Gras Estates, which the city approved last fall and will bring 574 homes near the northwest corner of East 87th Street and East Loop 338.

"There's still going to be quite a bit of catching up to do," said Guy Andrews, executive director of economic development for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce. "You just don't do it overnight, but it's steady."

Contact Corey Paul on Twitter @OAcrime on Facebook at OA Corey Paul or call 432-333-7768.

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(c)2014 the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas)

Visit the Odessa American (Odessa, Texas) at www.oaoa.com

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