At The Oaks at Eclectic, the Sticker Price Is the Opening Number

At 36 Overcup Drive in Eclectic, a finished three-bedroom Cooper plan on homesite #0025 appeared on Lennar's Black Friday promotion page at $222,240, with a $15.5K reduction marked beside it. In early November 2026, the Cooper floor plan itself was listed on Lennar's community page "from $231,900." That put a house you could move into right away about $9,660 below the starting price of the same design not yet built.

That gap tells you how pricing at The Oaks at Eclectic works. Lennar opened the community on Sept. 4, 2026, with four single-story designs from 1,248 to 1,852 square feet, about 15 minutes from Lake Martin. If you're comparing those homes with resale houses around Eclectic and the south side of the lake, the base price is where the conversation starts. The final number depends on which house you choose, when you sign and how you finance.

A Builder That Sells for Volume

Lennar has said publicly how it handles a slower market. In its third-quarter 2026 earnings release, dated Sept. 16, 2026, Executive Chairman and CEO Stuart Miller described the approach in plain terms:

"Our consistent strategy has been to meet demand at affordability and build supply rather than wait the market out."

The same release puts numbers on that strategy. For the quarter ended Aug. 31, 2026, Lennar's average sales price was $372,000, "reflecting approximately 12.0% in incentives, along with base price adjustments necessary to sustain volume." The company also said it had cut completed, unsold inventory to 1.8 homes per community, down from 2.1 the quarter before.

Here's what that means for a buyer. A builder that measures success by steady monthly sales doesn't want finished houses sitting empty. Each one has already cost the full price of land, lumber and labor, and it earns nothing until it closes. So the discounts go first to homes that are already built, which is exactly what happened at 36 Overcup Drive. Those 12 percent incentives are a company-wide average across 1,713 active communities, so they don't predict what any one Eclectic home will carry. They do show that incentives are a routine part of how Lennar sells.

Same Community, Two Kinds of Price

Here's how The Oaks looked in early November 2026, with the advertised finished home next to the plan prices:

The Foster II is labeled a future release on Lennar's community page. Availability on the site can also change between the community page and the individual plan pages. So treat every figure in the table as a snapshot of a moving target.

The base prices already include a lot. Lennar's Everything's Included program builds quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, luxury vinyl plank flooring, and a washer and dryer into every home. That means you can't bargain the price down by dropping upgrades. The room to move comes from choosing a finished house and from the financing offer attached to it.

Why the Discount Often Arrives as a Rate

Lennar's Black Friday offer shows where much of that discount went. The headline figure was "as little as $1,106 per month for the first five years," based on a promotional FHA 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage at 4.750%, or 6.593% APR, with 3.5% down. Several conditions sat behind that number:

• The sample payment used a $174,942 sales price, which is lower than any home listed at The Oaks.
• The rate was fixed for five years and then adjusts once a year starting in year six.
• The payment included an estimated $210 for taxes, insurance premiums and HOA fees, and the fine print warns that the actual obligation will be higher.
• The offer applied to select move-in-ready homes in the greater Birmingham area when the purchase agreement was signed between 10/30/26 and 11/06/26, with closing by 11/30/26.
• It required financing through Lennar Mortgage, the seller's affiliate, though the fine print says using that lender isn't required to buy the home.
• Listed prices don't include closing costs or other buyer-paid fees, including a builder fee where it applies.

The signing window for that offer has closed. Its structure is still a useful example of how a builder pays for a sale.

Builders lean on rate offers because rates are what's squeezing buyers. The Alabama Association of Realtors' September 2026 market report put the average 30-year fixed rate at 6.86% for September, up from 6.67% in August and the seventh consecutive monthly increase. Miller made the same point in Lennar's release, noting the 30-year rate was about 6.8% at quarter end "and even higher since." When rates are the obstacle, a builder with its own mortgage company can lower the monthly payment without cutting the sticker price on every house in the community. A buyer shopping on monthly payment may never see the incentive show up in the price.

The Resale Clock Runs Slower

Now compare that with the resale side of the lake. Homes in the Lake Martin area market, waterfront and non-waterfront combined, averaged 118 days on market in July 2026, according to the Alabama Center for Real Estate's July Lake Martin report, the most recent one published. That same month, the area had 502 listings and 6.9 months of supply, with a median sale price of $549,900. That median is a lakewide figure, mostly lake homes, and doesn't compare directly with a 1,248-square-foot house on Overcup Drive.

The more useful number is 118 days. In July, the typical Lake Martin seller kept a home on the market for close to four months. A resale owner who has no carrying costs on the scale of a builder's finished inventory can hold out for their price. Lennar has said it would rather not wait. So a resale list price and a Lennar base price reflect two different selling strategies. The resale price is often where a seller plans to hold. The builder's price is where it starts selling, and finished homes may get marked down from there.

Regionally, The Oaks also sits at the low end of new construction. ACRE's July report for the Montgomery area put the area's new-home median at $359,095 for July 2026, with new-home sales down 18.1% from a year earlier. When new-home sales are falling across a region, builders have more reason to keep discounting.

The Paper Behind the Pavement

A new subdivision also leaves a public record that a resale buyer rarely gets to see. At the Eclectic Town Council's April 13, 2026, meeting, Lennar representative Steve Bowman explained that the sewer easement contract for The Oaks was written as a "blanket easement." He asked for an amendment that would define the sewer line's location instead. The council approved it with three yes votes and two abstentions. The minutes are posted on the Town of Eclectic's council page. For a buyer, this shows that the town has acted on the community's utility arrangements, and that the documents are worth asking about before you sign.

Questions That Turn a Sticker Into a Net Number

1. Which homes are finished or nearly finished right now, and what is each one's current price compared with its plan's base price?
2. What incentive is attached to each home, and does it require Lennar Mortgage?
3. If you use an outside lender, what incentive, if any, still applies?
4. What does the builder fee cost, and what other closing costs will you pay?
5. For any rate offer, what happens to the payment after the fixed period ends?
6. What is the HOA fee, and how often is it billed? Lennar lists approximate HOA fees of $16.66 without stating whether that's monthly, quarterly or yearly.
7. What recorded easements, including the defined sewer line, affect the specific lot?

Quick Answers

Is The Oaks at Eclectic on the water?

No. Lennar describes it as near Lake Martin, about 15 minutes away, not as waterfront.

Where can I see the model?

The Welcome Home Center is at 25 Overcup Drive, Eclectic, AL 36024.

Will the Black Friday terms come back?

That offer's signing window ended Nov. 6, 2026, and Lennar's fine print says it can change or withdraw any offer at any time. Ask what's being offered on the day you visit.

This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm any loan terms, fees or easement questions with your lender, attorney or tax professional.

Weighing a new build at The Oaks against a resale home around Eclectic or the lake is easier once you can see the net number for each one. The team at Lake Area Realty Inc (AL) can help you line up both side by side, from incentives to closing costs. Schedule a Free Consultation.