Three fast-moving companies stand out from the country's top 200 builders. They are leading the industry with innovative solutions to challenges all builders face, and their success is documented by the BUILDER 100/Next 100 lists.
These three firms will be honored today at a special awards ceremony at the Housing Leadership Summit in Dana Point, Calif., sponsored by BUILDER, BIG BUILDER, and Metrostudy.
Fastest Growing Builder on the Next 100: Comstock Homes
The fastest-growing builder in the Next 100 list, which makes up the top 101 to 200 builders in the country, is California builder Comstock Homes, which had more than 150 percent growth in 2016 based on a discipline of scalability and targeting markets based on their economic fundamentals.
After Comstock Homes chooses a market, they match floorplan and elevation products to the buyer segment, whether that is entry level, active adult, or second homes in Sonoma County. The company focuses building exclusively in California in a price range from $450,000 to $750,000 and continues to expand, going from 102 closings in 2014 to 123 in 2015, almost tripling to 308 deliveries in 2016. Their target is 500 closings this year.
As CEO David Lauletta says, it’s all about discipline and processes that are consistent and scalable.
Fastest Growing Private Builder on the Builder 100: Wade Jurney Homes
The fastest-growing private builder on the Builder 100, Wade Jurney Homes, is an encore honoree who has received this award multiple times over the years.
The Greensboro, N.C.–based builder offers a price point that competes with resale across its five regions—Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro/Triangle in North Carolina, the coastal Carolinas, and Southwest Florida. Where president Wade Jurney had already created major efficiencies, he has been fine tuning his model. He moved remote selling from 90 to 100 percent of his homes, selling out of retail centers like Wal-Mart and Target. Through analyzing every aspect of his business, Jurney has needled down the perfect efficiencies at the right scale. “We try to fine tune everywhere we can,” he says.
The Fastest Growing Public Builder: AV Homes
The fastest-growing public builder this year, AV Homes, is also a two-time winner. In 2011, this Scottsdale, Ariz.–based builder closed 41 new sales. In 2016, the builder closed on 2,465, a 41% growth from the year before when they also won this award.
Since taking the reins at AV Homes in 2011, Roger Cregg redesigned the company’s balance sheet and was in a comfortable spot in 2014. Then, Cregg started buying. “I set off to look at growing the business from a greenfield standpoint organically and also through acquisitions,” Cregg says. In 2014, AV bought Royal Oak Homes, then added Bonterra Builders in 2015, growing sales and diversifying geographically.
In addition to spreading out geographically, the acquisitions brought variety to the company’s product portfolio. Now the average selling price for AV Homes is $310,000, which is leading to profits the company had not seen for years. Its success has transported AV Homes through the ranks of the Builder 100, moving from No. 44 in 2015 to No. 24 this year.
