With Florida housing starts on a high in August, here’s a look at the builders leading new residential construction for the month.
Readers who have been following the HBW Blog are already aware of the fact that housing starts in Florida were on a high last month. The total number of new residential construction permits for housings starts spiked 27% from July to August in the HBW database. From the approximately 5,600 new permits and close to $1.6B in construction value, there were hundreds of active home builders leading housing starts in the areas of Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and the southwestern and southeastern regions of the state. While D.R. Horton was on top of new residential construction in Orlando and Jacksonville, Lennar Homes, GL Homes and Pulte Homes also made their mark in other areas last month. Here’s a closer look at the five major regions and the home builders who had the most housing starts in each area.
Orlando
In August, more than 170 builders were active with housing starts in the Orlando area. As previously mentioned, D.R. Horton stood out on top with 153 permits and more than $41M in total value. The bulk of D.R. Horton’s housing starts took place in the counties of Orange and Brevard, with the average value of new construction being nearly $270K. Lennar Homes was also active in the area with 112 housing starts and a total construction value in excess of $22.5M. Ranked third highest for the month, Pulte Homes had 101 new residential construction permits (total value > $31.8M) in the area, with the bulk of activity taking place in Orange and Osceola counties. Out of Orlando’s top five home builders, Meritage Homes (ranked #4) had the highest average value of construction ($402,439).
Orlando Top Builders by Total Permits – August 2016
Tampa
The Tampa area experienced a month-over-month increase of 21% in housing starts last month. Out of the more than 180 home builders with starts in Tampa, Lennar Homes had the most residential permits on file with 215 housing starts and a total value exceeding $61.2M. The majority of new construction led by Lennar took place in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. D.R. Horton was next highest for new residential construction for the period; coming in at #2, D.R. Horton has 137 new permits on file in the HBW database with a total construction value of nearly $30M. Next in line, Highland Homes ranked third highest with 76 housing starts and a total value exceeding $9.6M. Out of the top five home builders in the area, Taylor Morrison had the greatest average value of new construction which was close to $309K.
Tampa Top Builders by Total Permits – August 2016
Southwest
The southwestern region of Florida had the greatest number of active contractors of any given area. More than 215 home builders led the nearly 1,200 housing starts in the area. Pulte Homes had the most housing starts for the month with 114 new residential permits and a total value of nearly $32M. The builder was most active in Manatee and Collier counties. Not far behind, D.R. Horton had 108 housing starts in the area last month with a total value greater than $26.1M, while WCI Communities came in third highest with 90 starts and more than $22.3M in construction value. Out of the area’s top five home builders, Pulte Homes held the highest average construction value of just over $280k.
SW Florida Top Builders by Total Permits – August 2016
Jacksonville
Just as in Orlando, D.R. Horton led new residential construction in Jacksonville. Out of the nearly 150 active home builders on record for housing starts in August, D.R. Horton had 152 new permits and close to $28M in construction value. The majority of new construction from D.R. Horton took place in St. Johns County. Dream Finders Construction was also active with new residential construction last month; the home builder had 82 housing starts and more than $20M in value. Unlike D.R. Horton, Dream Finders Construction’s building activity could be found somewhat evenly distributed over four counties, with the most starts taking place in Clay and Duval. Dream Finders Construction also carried the highest average value of construction (~$245k) of the companies on the top five list. Ranked third highest for the month, KB Homes had 63 housing starts carrying a total construction value of nearly $10M. KB Homes was most active in Duval County.
Jacksonville Top Builders by Total Permits – August 2016
Southeast
Southeast Florida saw the greatest spike in housing starts since July having a month-over-month increase of approximately 40%. Out of the 169 builders with starts in the area, GL Homes stood out on top with 92 new residential construction permits and a total construction value in excess of $32.3M. GL Homes also had the highest average value of construction out of the companies making the top five list; with an average value of over $351k, all of GL Home’s housing starts took place in Palm Beach County. Next in line, Lennar Homes came up second highest for total new permits last month with 55 housing starts and close to $19M in total value. New construction for Lennar Homes took place in the counties of Palm Beach and Miami-Dade. Close behind and at #3, D.R. Horton had 53 housing starts with a total value close to $17.4M. The bulk of D.R. Horton’s starts took place in Miami-Dade with some activity in Palm Beach and several starts in Indian and St. Lucie counties.
SE Florida Top Builders by Total Permits – August 2016
Information utilized for the graphs and above listed figures for Florida residential construction was directly derived from HBW construction data reports. To gain access to the HBW database and receive custom and detailed reports on the latest residential and commercial building activity in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma, please contact HBW for details.