On a typical weekend almost 20 buyers ink contracts to buy a new home on River Islands at Lathrop where the upper end starting base price of homes are now in the mid-$900,000 range.

And if it weren’t for supply chain issues builders of the 13 neighborhoods that have lots ready to build could sell even more homes.

“We are having issues getting a lot of items including manhole covers,” noted Susan Dell’Osso, President of River Islands Development.

Supply issues have pushed back the sales start date for Del Webb at River islands from this October to March 2023.

As of Tuesday, River Islands has sold 2,859 homes since the first foundation was poured in 2015. Of those homes, 2,338 families have moved in.

River Islands had its best February ever selling 70 homes and will have sold 80 homes when this month ends. Strung together, it is the best two months of back-to-back home sales ever at River Islands.

If the pace continues River Islands could close out 2022 with 800 home sales. By comparison, all Manteca builders sold 695 single family homes in 2021. Altogether there were 849 housing starts in Manteca last year with the balance being apartment units.

River Islands is working toward building its first apartment complex in 2023.

The planned community of 15,001 homes has sold over a fifth of its planned lots or 3,700 lots to builders.

There are currently 13 active neighborhoods selling homes and two in the process of building out the last few homes they have sold.

Dell’Osso noted builders typically will release 3 or 4 lots for home sales at a time and then wait a weekend or two before releasing more even though their offerings typically sell out in two days.

With supply issues often taking it up to nine months to build a home, Dell’Osso said builders are trying to avoid getting too big of a back log.

Dell’Osso expects River Islands — and much of the South County —  will see strong demand remain even if there is a national slowdown in new home sales in the coming few years.

That’s based on a number of factors:

*Unlike 2006 when many buyers had little or no down payments, buyers of new homes today are typically placing 20 percent down.

*River Islands buyers are coming from the Bay Area where they are selling homes at a premium and then buying in the planned community with loan rates that are still historically low.

*The Bay Area Council of Governments has noted tech firms such as Google, Facebook, Apple, and You Tube are in the process of building 7.3 million more acre feet of campus work spaces.

*At the same time remote working isn’t going away as more and more tech companies switch to a hybrid in-office and remote work model. That makes commuting less of a chore and cost.

*Stepped up rail service via the Altamont Corridor Express commuter trains plus  the Valley Link connection to BART could be up and running by 2028 including a station at River Islands.

*Home prices based on demand are going up everywhere including San Francisco where in the early days of  the pandemic prices slipped as demand slowed.

The selling points of River Islands at Lathrop are numerous.

It features unparalleled riverside access as part of an 18-mile greenbelt and trail encircling the development.

*The employment center deliberately bans high truck volume concerns in favor of more worker intense concerns.

*The employment center is on the western edge of the development abutting the planned transit village. As such, traffic to and from the employment center when it is developed will not go through the residential sections of River Islands.

*There will ultimately be only four access points to the overall neighborhoods from across the San Joaquin River and Paradise Cut.

*The design of neighborhoods de-emphasizes cars. They also have access to a number of parks, man-made lakes and greenbelts to avoid the traditional subdivision feel.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com