Rolling Oaks Estates

Home prices start at $1.2 million in a new luxury development in Southwest Ranches.

Toll Brothers is starting home sales for the luxury development Rolling Oaks Estates in Southwest Ranches. The starting price: $1.2 million.

The development will be off Griffin Road and feature 18 two-acre home sites. The homes will be one or two stories and range from 4,568 to 6,983 square feet.

Among the features: Separate oneand two-car garages, master bedrooms with dual walk-in closets, master bathrooms with dressing area, soaking tub, and a separate shower with a seat.

Rolling Oaks Estates is the only planned development under construction now in Southwest Ranches, said Town Manager Andy Berns. He called the project “very unusual” be- cause it’s more typical for property owners to buy a single lot and build their custom homes.

Southwest Ranches is a rural community and it’s typical to find horses and livestock in people’s backyards. All single-family home lots in the town have a one-acre minimum.

Construction at Rolling Oaks Estates began this month and is expected to finish in 2019.

Nationwide, contracts for new, single-family home sales dipped in June by about 5 percent, according to the National Association of Home Builders. It was the lowest annual pace since October 2017 — “a reminder that builders must manage costs as affordability concerns rise,” according to NAHB. “While affordability conditions remain positive and the labor market sees low unemployment, prospective home buyers face increased uncertainties as interest rates trend higher and trade war concerns grow.”

Still, new home sales for the first half of 2018 are up 6.9 percent on a year-to-date basis compared to last year, said NAHB’s chief economist Robert Dietz. “This indicates solid demand for new home construction.”

In Broward, there was a 2.6 percent overall decrease in the sales of singlefamily homes, according to the Realtors of the Palm Beaches and Greater Fort Lauderdale. While the sales of homes in the $400,000 - $599,000 bracket increased, the higher priced homes were “lagging behind,” according to the group.

Toll Brothers is undaunted. A a spokesman said buyers are seeking expansive homes on large lots in such a “unique, desirable west Broward location.”