Building Momentum

No one is calling it a full-scale recovery, but new houses priced in the half-million-dollar range are sprouting in some Hartford suburbs.

In Farmington, the Timber Brook subdivision priced from $400,000 to $500,000 is going up in the shadow of Westfarms Mall. So far, five of the 12 lots nearing completion have buyers, authorities say.

Across town, in the Unionville section, nearly half the 45 lots in Langdon’s Quarters, a subdivision off River Road, have orders for houses starting at $445,000, says an official for Plainville developer JFC Endeavors. Demand is so strong, JFC has raised Langdon’s prices several times since sales began in May.

“Builders right now seem to be able to build to their hearts’ desire, as long as they keep the price below five-hundred thousand,’’ said Farmington planner Jeff Ollendorf.

Despite a 38 percent falloff in housing permits statewide through August from a year ago, pockets of residential construction in other communities such as Colchester, Cromwell and West Hartford could be an indication of a slow resurgence in the state’s housing market, observers say.

“We’ve got a rising tide,’’ said West Hartford Town Manager Ron Van Winkle, who also is an economist. “No question, the worst is past. We’re now in a recovery.’’

Some builders complain that too much of the demand is confined to construction priced well outside the affordability of most Connecticut households and thus falls short as a true gauge of the market’s recovery.

“There’s a greater demand for houses in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range but we can’t afford to build them,’’ said Cromwell builder George LaCava, president of the Greater Hartford Home Builders Association.

But others say the market comeback has to begin somewhere, and it usually starts once vendors home in on where the demand is greatest.

Barry Rosa, vice president in the new home and land division of Prudential Connecticut Realty in Rocky Hill, calls it “targeting a niche.’’

“There is a market out there,’’ LaRosa said. “It’s a different market than it used to be; we all know that. But if you target a specific market, you can make a go of it.’’

West Hartford builder Tom Falik has a specific market in mind for his planned three-acre development of seven luxury single-family houses priced from $650,000 to $800,000.

Falik, who has built houses in Houston and Atlanta, is counting on what he and others say is a pent-up desire to live in West Hartford to drive sales of his Still Brook project on Still Road, across from the Wampanoag Golf Course.

“I expect there will be a lot of demand once [buyers] realize what’s going on there,’’ Falik said.

At 1092 Farmington Ave., a short walk from West Hartford Center, builder J. Matthew Group is preparing to lay the second foundation for a pair of luxury triplexes.

Co-owner Mark Zweifler says he has deliberately paced construction of Centre Commons to allow the market time to catch up once the six three-bedroom, three-bath townhomes are ready in spring.

The units are priced from $400,000 to $449,000 to qualify them for conventional mortgage financing.

“We think we’re coming out of a slow time into a busier time,’’ Zweifler said.

In Farmington, demand is literally through the roof for Langdon’s Quarters, said sales and marketing chief George Santos.

The development took 10 orders the opening week of sales in May, with some buyers relocating to Connecticut to work for United Technologies Corp. and ESPN, Santos said.

The least expensive unit, at 2,200 square feet, started out priced at $445,000.

But with demand so strong, JFC raised prices on some models five or six times, adding on an extra $40,000 “and they’re still selling,’’ Santos said.

“We found that today that’s the price range [buyers] want to be in,’’ he said.

All that activity hasn’t escaped the attention of lenders.

Collinsville Savings Bank in Canton is financing development of Langdon’s Quarters. President Dennis Cardello declined to say how much his bank has invested, but said it is part of a $110 million residential-loan portfolio — one that three years ago peaked at $140 million.

Cardello says his bank is making efforts to fill loan demand as larger lenders have pulled back.

“Like everyone else, we’re being more selective,’’ he said. “Things are picking up ever so slowly. I wouldn’t call it a resurgence.’’