Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010

Toll buys troubled luxury

With its purchase of the Hasentree golf community, Toll Brothers is betting on the long-term viability of the luxury home market in northern Wake County, The N&O's David Bracken reports.

Tom Anhut, a division president in Raleigh for Toll Brothers, said the builder plans to offer lower-priced homes than those now for sale in the community. The prices haven't been determined, he said.

Toll Brothers completed its $23.46 million purchase of the property last week. Anhut said the company's golf division began operating the golf course Friday morning. He said the company is keeping most of the staff.

Hasentree includes 494 lots. Toll Brothers bought 318 of them. The rest had already been sold. About 55 homes have been built in Hasentree.

Anhut said Toll Brothers' purchase is proof of the company's commitment to the Triangle and its belief that the market will bounce back.

"We're big here," Anhut said, noting the company's involvement in the 1,700-home Brier Creek development. "We like it here. It's a good market. It's down now. It will come back and we'll be ready for it."

He emphasized that the housing market, particularly the market for higher-end homes, remains soft and that Hasentree is a long-term investment for the company.

"I think we're going to be challenged in the upper end for a while," Anhut said.

"We've got mortgage issues," he said. "We've got confidence issues. And I think there's some supply that still needs to burn off."