Southwest Florida – Lee Wetherington Homes has sold four homes recently for buyers building on their own lots. The tremendous interest in the custom lot division has picked up with the real estate market recovery in the Sarasota/Manatee county region. Custom home design is something the well-known Lakewood Ranch based builder has become known for over the years. “In the downturn we stopped marketing to this segment but with the market heating up, we’ve been inundated with requests for custom homes on buyers’ lots,” said Peter Mason, vice-president of sales and marketing for Lee Wetherington Homes. “Homebuyers can view one of our models in Lakewood Ranch which helps them visualize the space relationships, as well as architectural details that we can incorporate into a custom design.” The new home builder has sold three custom lot homes in Panther Ridge and one on Siesta Key and has re-hired Steve Nelson to help lead the growing division.
Lee Wetherington Homes welcomed back Nelson as Director of Architecture to lead the custom home design team. A University of Florida graduate, Nelson worked closely with Lee Wetherington for about eight years starting in 2000 and helped originally launch Wetherington Signature homes, a division specializing in the offsite market. “I am ecstatic to be back and the timing is perfect,” said Nelson. “There is a pent up demand for this unique product and we have so much interest with new clients wanting to build on the barrier islands or out east in areas like Panther Ridge. What we do better than anyone is design your home with the specific features you want to fit your lot perfectly. For instance a home we designed last year had to have views out the front to accommodate the unique position across the street from the Sarasota Bay,” said Nelson.
Nelson credits Lee Wetherington for teaching him most of what he knows now about custom home design. “Lee has a great sense of design and marketing and knows how to price a home competitively while providing the top-notch product that people demand,” said Nelson. As this market segment recovers quickly, Lee Wetherington homes will again include offsite custom home design as a major part of its business portfolio. “Our team, inspired by Lee Wetherington himself, excels at bringing people’s ideas to life with new home floorplans suited to their individual needs. We welcome this market back with open arms,” said Mason.
The homes sold are all over 3000 square feet and will be completed in 2013. Lee Wetherington Homes is also currently building new homes in Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota, and Venice.
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Lee Wetherington Homes is a locally owned and operated company located in Lakewood Ranch. Lee Wetherington Homes, named America's Best Builder by the National Association of Home Builders and Builder Magazine, has been designing and building high-quality single-family homes and custom homes in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, including the Bradenton and Venice areas since 1974. The mission at Lee Wetherington Homes is to provide customers with the best experience in home building delivering exceptional home designs, features, and value in a caring and professional manner throughout the entire construction process. For more information go to www.lwhomes.com
