Neal quarterly sales up 85%

SARASOTA — With 47 closings in March, Neal Communities Inc. ended the first quarter of 2011 with 107 sales, up 85% over the year.

“Talk of the demise of the housing market is greatly exaggerated,” states Pat Neal in a company statement.

“This is a strong and steady market rebound; the kind of recovery that lasts,” Neal adds. “We are also seeing the second homebuyers return, and Manatee and Sarasota remain favorite locations for these vacation and retirement homebuyers.”

Sarasota-based Neal Communities has built roughly 8,000 homes in Southwest Florida. In February, the company purchased 60 finished home lots in the Arlington Cove community for $840,000. “We have been trying very hard to buy lots now, because of the upswing in the market,” Neal explained following that transaction.