Aug/Sep 2013
| Business World Magazine | 35
tools, marketing and a partner who believes
in them.”
What Gary finds particularly exciting is
how the loan models for new homes have
changed. She explains that in the past, banks
would supply loans that would cover 100 per-
cent of the cost to purchase land and lots and
as much as 80 percent of what it cost for con-
struction. Today, banks are only providing
construction loans to firms who have already
purchased the lots or land on which they’re
developing. Gary says this has prompted
builders to partner more with mainly lo-
cal investment firms or individual investors
who actually buy the land for one project at
a time which, in turn, enables the builder to
secure the needed construction loan. Gary
says such relationships have helped infuse a
lot of money in Atlanta’s market. Now that
the Atlanta market is showing strong signs of
recovery, this is attracting some really large
national investors that are allowing build-
ers to increase market share and grow their
companies at a much quicker pace. She says
this kind of funding creates opportunities
to develop massive, master-planned com-
munities while allowing the builder to pur-
chase multiple sites. Whereas builders may
have once only focused on a few lots within
a neighborhood, there is now greater em-
phasis on creating residential spaces that en-
compass sustainability practices, amenities
and multiple-price points in home values.
“It changes the entire dynamic of building
