Ahead of the annual Builder 100 list reveal, which ranks U.S. home builders by their new-home closings for the prior year, Zonda chief advisory officer Tim Sullivan and principal Mollie Carmichael presented the top 10 home builders on this year’s list in a recent webinar.

In addition to listing the top performers of 2023 and their closing data, Carmichael provided an in-depth exploration of how they achieved their successes, including key ingredients such as geographic positioning and product strategies.

“The three key factors for the top 10 are they target high-growth markets and diversify by location, target highest demand with affordable home solutions, and target diversity with product and lifestyle,” said Carmichael during the webinar. “I feel like there should be a drumroll to this, but here are the official top 10 builders.”

While the full list will provide even more information and data breakdowns on each of the companies, here is a sneak peek of rank changes, total new-home closings, including build-to-rent for some, and gross revenue.

2024 Rank2023 RankCompany2023 Total Closings2023 Gross Revenue (in millions)Regions
1 1 D.R. Horton 90,777 $32,296 Northeast, Midwest, South, West
2 2 Lennar Corp. 73,087 $32,459 Northeast, Midwest, South, West
3 3 PulteGroup 28,603 $15,599 Northeast, Midwest, South, West
4 4 NVR 20,662 $9,315 Northeast, Midwest, South
5 5 Meritage Homes 13,976 $6,057 South, West
6 6 KB Home 13,236 $6,381 South, West
7 7 Taylor Morrison 11,495 $7,200 South, West
8 8 Clayton Properties Group 9,957 $3,994 Midwest, South, West
9 10 Toll Brothers 9,597 $9,866 Northeast, Midwest, South, West
10 9 Century Communities 9,568 $3,604 Midwest, South, West

After analyzing the facts and data from the top 10, Carmichael drew the following conclusions and key takeaways.

  • The top three builders have unique strategies by comparison. D.R. Horton offers more affordable detached homes. Lennar offers minimal choice in options but more diversification of product and price points. Pulte offers a variety of home choices, locations, and lifestyles with the highest active-adult closings.
  • D.R. Horton is winning in five of the eight main regions.
  • Lennar wins California with more diversity.
  • NVR wins the East with significantly more attached overall (40% of its share).
  • The value proposition wins in both the East and West: NVR had the highest sales rates in 2023 in the East, while D.R. Horton had the highest sales rates in the West last year.
  • Homes sizes from 1,500 to 2,500 square feet are driving the highest performance.
  • Top regions fueling growth are in the South, particularly in Texas and Florida.
  • Affordability is winning. Texas and Florida represent 62% of total closings and the lowest price points across the United States.
  • Lennar and D.R. Horton remain ahead for the rest of 2024.

Watch the webinar replay for additional information here, and stay tuned for the full 2024 Builder 100 and Next 100 lists coming soon.