Successful rental community adding units

This past spring, Lennar Corp. rolled out its Frontera at Pioneer Meadows, a single-family home rental community in Spanish Springs.

Leasing at the 80-unit community has been even stronger than the homebuilder anticipated, so Lennar pushed the idea of building more homes to accommodate that demand.

Lennar has plans to build an additional 156 homes at the approximate 40-acre site.

Dustin Barker, division president for Lennar Northern Nevada, said the company is currently under construction on the next phase, building approximately 10 homes per month.

“Two months into the start of the concept, we saw this as a success and decided to move forward with additional units,” Barker said.

The concept of a community entirely made up of single-family homes for rent was the first of its kind in the industry. Currently there are 63 units leased at the community.

What’s driving interest is the increased number of people looking to rent a single-family home rather than buy or that do not qualify for a mortgage.

While Lennar is seeing a large amount of young adults, including families interested in the community, Barker said what was surprising is the strong number of retirees interested in renting.

“There are plenty of retired couples coming from say, California, who owned a home and built up equity in that home and can live off that equity,” Barker said.

Barker said Frontera could also capitalize on the surge of new companies currently relocating to the Truckee Meadows or scheduled to land in the future.

“The rental population is growing. We are well-positioned to supply an inventory of homes that we will need,” Barker said.

Homes at the community range from 1,210 to 2,182 square feet, consisting of two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes available on a 12-month lease term basis. Rental prices have risen to $1,549 a month for the smallest units on up to $2,049 a month for the largest, an approximate $100 on average increase since Frontera’s grand opening in March.

All units are equipped with finished yards, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops as well as washers and dryers.

Lennar also provides additional services such as community landscaping and individual yard maintenance.

With its early returns of success on Frontera, Barker said the homebuilder is also still scouting areas to possibly develop similar rental communities around northern Nevada. However, he indicated the area must complement the siting criteria, such as close proximity to large business parks or industrial areas.

Lennar held an open house celebration for the Frontera community on Oct. 17. The sales office is located at 6618 Cloud Mountain Drive in Spanish Springs.