Housing Giants | Housing Zone

Taylor Morrison acquisition finalized for $955 million

dbarista — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:33:50 +0000

PHOTO: Taylor Morrison CEO and President Sheryl Palmer

Beazer Homes CEO steps down, replaced by CFO

dbarista — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:38:01 +0000

Beazer Homes USA today announced that Allan Merrill has been appointed president and CEO and has been elected to the board of directors. In addition, Robert (Bob) Salomon has been appointed EVP and CFO. Merrill succeeds Ian J. McCarthy, who is leaving the builder after 17 years of service and has resigned from the board of directors.

KB Home, PulteGroup top Professional Builder's ranking of largest builders in California

dbarista — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 04:58:04 +0000

With more than 1,900 closings in California in 2010, KB Home tops Professional Builder's ranking of the top 30 home builders in the Golden State. The builder, which ranked No. 5 on PB's national Housing Giants list, had 1,910 closings in California to top the list. PulteGroup had 1,809 closings in 2010 to take the No. 2 spot on the list, followed by Lennar (1,753), D.R. Horton (1,329), Standard Pacific Corp. (1,161), Shea Homes (1,081), and Sares-Regis Group (1,014).

S&P/Case-Shiller: Home prices back to mid-2002 levels

dbarista — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:09:03 +0000

Home prices nationally declined by 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 after having fallen 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 and have now regressed to their mid-2002 levels, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released this morning.

Pulte to slash more executive positions as part of consolidation plan

dbarista — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:42:54 +0000

As part of its multi-year effort to consolidate its management structure, PulteGroup will eliminate as many as 10 executives at the divisional president level or higher, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The cuts come several months after Pulte downsized its operations from six regions to four and eliminated the COO position.

Clear Capital report: Home prices double dip nationally

dbarista — Sun, 08 May 2011 04:34:59 +0000

Clear Capital released its monthly Home Data Index (HDI) Market Report, and reports prices have double dipped nationally 0.7 percent below prior lows experienced in March 2009. This month’s HDI Market Report provides the most current (through April 2011) and relevant analysis of how local markets performed compared to the national trend in home prices.

Report highlights include:

Report: Increased competition in strong markets hurting builders

dbarista — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:57:53 +0000

As more home builders flock to housing markets that have remained relatively healthy through the downturn, the increased competition is starting to impact sales, according to new data from John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

MDC Holdings acquires SDC Homes, moves into Seattle market

dbarista — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:46:24 +0000

Denver-based MDC Holdings has acquired the assets of SDC Homes, LLC, the third largest home builder in Seattle, for an undisclosed purchase price paid in cash and restricted stock. The acquisition marks MDC’s entry into the Seattle market.

David Weekley partners with Estridge Group, enters Indianapolis market

dbarista — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:32:23 +0000

PHOTO: Home sales by the new company will begin in May in the Anderson Hall community and soon thereafter at Highland Green.

David Weekley Homes, the nation’s second largest privately held home builder, has formed a partnership with Carmel, Ind.-based builder Estridge Group to expand into the Central Indiana market.

North Dakota, Minnesota top list of states with healthiest housing markets

dbarista — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:54:20 +0000

With an unemployment rate of just 3.7 percent and a low debt-to-income ratio, North Dakota ranks as the state with the healthiest housing markets for 2011, according to data from LendingTree.

The report, published by CNBC.com last week, analyzed all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on five key criteria: debt-to-income ratio, unemployment, homeownership, negative equity, and the average loan-to-value ratio.

The top 10 states are:

MHI acquires Austin builder Wilshire Homes

dbarista — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:48:51 +0000

Houston-based McGuyer Homebuilders (MHI) has acquired the assets of Austin-based Wilshire Homes, giving MHI a stronger presence in the Austin and San Antonio markets. The new entity, called MHI Central Texas, has plans to build more than 600 homes annually throughout Texas by 2014, according to a Austin American-Statesman report.

Investment group buys Taylor Morrison and Monarch for $955 million

dbarista — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:08:31 +0000

A consortium of private investment firms has acquired the U.S. and Canadian operations of U.K. home builder Taylor Wimpey for $955 million in a deal that is expected to close in May.

M/I Homes enters San Antonio market with TriStone Homes acquisition

dbarista — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:03:58 +0000

M/I Homes, Inc. announced that it has acquired the assets of TriStone Homes, a privately held home builder based in San Antonio, Texas, for an undisclosed purchase price paid in cash.

Meritage Homes named Energy Star 2011 Partner of the Year

dbarista — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:29:45 +0000

Photo: To give prospective homeowners an inside look at its energy-efficient features, Meritage has created innovative Building Science Learning Centers within partially deconstructed model homes at many of its communities.

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NAR: Pending home sales up 2% in February

dbarista — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:11:04 +0000

Following a two-month slide, the Pending Home Sales Index rose 2.1 percent to 90.8 based on contracts signed in February, according to the National Association of Realtors. A forward-looking indicator, the index reflects contracts, not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.
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NAR: Pending home sales down 2.8% in January, but remain well above cyclical low

dbarista — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:24:12 +0000

Pending home sales eased moderately in January for the second straight month, but remain 20.6 percent above the cyclical low last June, according to the National Association of Realtors.
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NAHB: Housing starts to climb 21 percent in 2011

dbarista — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:18:21 +0000

NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe is forecasting 575,000 single-family home starts in 2011, a 21 percent bump over an estimated 475,000 units started in 2010, according to his annual state of the market report at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando last week.
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Real estate stocks outperform general market

dbarista — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:17:27 +0000

For the second straight year, real estate stocks ended the year with gains twice as high as the general stock market, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to Dow Jones, REITs were up 27 percent as of Dec. 28. And while that figure is down slightly from last year’s gains of 28.5 percent, it more than doubled the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up 11 percent on the year as of Monday. Similarly, the S&P 500 was up 12.86 percent in 2010.
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Habitat for Humanity reaches 400,000-home milestone

dbarista — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:00:36 +0000

Habitat for Humanity’s U.S. branches have passed the 400,000-house milestone in the United States during the 2010 fiscal year, the Lexington Clipper-Herald reported.
During the 2010 fiscal year, Habitat helped 74,960 families worldwide either with construction, rehabilitation, or repairs.
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David Weekley Homes launches buyer project-tracking website

dbarista — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 04:17:56 +0000

Home building giant David Weekley Homes has launched a website that allows its buyers to stay updated on the progress of their new home. Upon signing the sales contract, home buyers receive log-in details to their personal buyer home page at MyDWHome.com.
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Study: KB Home, Pulte lead public builders in sustainable practices

dbarista — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:47:46 +0000

America’s 10 largest publicly traded home builders have started to improve their policies and practices relating to the environment and resources, but much progress remains to be achieved, according to a new study by Calvert Investments, a sustainable and responsible investment firm. KB Home and Pulte ranked at the top of Calvert's list, while Meritage Homes, Toll Brothers, and Standard Pacific all improved against Calvert’s previous ranking. DR Horton and Ryland Group lost ground.
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Beazer Homes settles stormwater violations in 21 states for $925,000

dbarista — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:28:57 +0000

Beazer Homes USA, Inc., a national residential homebuilder, has agreed today to pay a $925,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites in 21 states, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. As part of the settlement, Beazer will also implement a company-wide stormwater program to improve compliance with stormwater runoff requirements at current and future construction sites around the country.
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Survey: Housing market will see increased demand for rental properties

dbarista — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:06:56 +0000

The U.S. housing industry is likely to see increased demand for rental properties, according to the latest Fannie Mae National Housing Survey, which collected data from 3,417 households. For the first time in the survey’s history, delinquent borrowers are more likely to say that they would rent their next home instead of buying.

Fifty percent of survey respondents said they would rent their next home (a 10 percentage point increase since January 2010) and 45 percent said they would buy (an 11 percentage point decline since January).
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7 million U.S. mortgages are delinquent or in foreclosure

dbarista — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 02:28:56 +0000

More than 7 million mortgages in the United States are either at least 30 days past due or in the process of foreclosure, according to Lender Processing Service (LPS). Although the delinquency rate essentially remained the same, foreclosures are on the rise.
Of the 7.04 million mortgages, 2.09 million have been referred to an attorney for foreclosure. The remaining 4.95 million are 30 or more days late but not in foreclosure, and 2.24 million of those are at least 90 days overdue.
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NAHB: Builder confidence improves slightly in November

dbarista — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:54:21 +0000

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved slightly in November, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI rose one notch to 16 from a downwardly revised level of 15 in the previous month.
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