River Islands at Lathrop is poised to turn in its fourth straight month of selling 50 plus new homes.

As such, the 15,001-home planned community continues to buck national trends that have gone up and down in recent months. That is thanks to how River Islands  has been positioned itto address the housing needs of not just the Northern San Joaquin Valley but that of the job-rich Bay Area as well.

The seven builders as of Monday had recorded 50 home sales.

River Islands since it first started building nine years ago has sold 3,200 homes. That reflects a population of 10,000 plus residents.

“We’re right where we want be,” noted River Islands CEO Susan Dell’Osso.

The target for Cambay Group — the developers of the 5,600-acre planned community — has always been to sell 600 homes a year.

That’s because it is an optimum situation allowing them to develop adequate infrastructure in a timely manner.

During the pandemic when sales shot up to 70 to 80 homes a month and more, it was creating a situation where some buyers had to wait for up to a year for their homes to be completed.

And it wasn’t just a supply chain issue.

Dell’Osso said it is difficult to get needed infrastructure is in place in timely manner if more than 600 or so home are sold in a year.

She noted that 600 homes generates roughly 300 students or a basically third of a school’s capacity.

River Islands — and other new home builders in the South County — are still benefitting from a trend that started in the pandemic — the hybrid workplace.

That means a job that allows employees to work from home several days a week not only reduces commute time and expenses but allows workers to enjoy the lifestyle that moving out of the Bay Area can afford their families.

The strong sales underscore the belief by many new home builders that the price drop in 2022 was more of a market correction than a sign of a slowing market.

Average new home prices rose 25 percent during the pandemic due in part to supply chain issues.

Buyers who are now in the market for a new home are doing so more with a firm grasp of what it involves. That has resulted in a plunge in the number of people cancelling contacts after three months.

Unlike in 2008, buyers today are putting 20 percent down, have employment that qualifies them for mortgages that they secure, and view home ownership in the long range and what it does to stabilize their household rather than flipping it for a big gain and moving on.

What is happening in River Islands is reflected in the overall South County new home market as well.

 To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com