Landsea Homes, the 35th largest company on the 2023 Builder 100 list, is taking steps to ramp up its operations in Texas after relocating its corporate headquarters to Dallas in March.
The home builder recently purchased 84 finished lots in the Lariat master-planned community in Liberty Hill, Texas. Landsea plans to offer five different floor plans, including options for single- and two-story homes ranging from 1,500 to 2,200 square feet. Development is underway, and model home construction is projected to begin in July. Pricing for the homes will be announced at a later date.
“It’s an exciting time for the company and Texas division as we expand both our presence and our portfolio with the acquisition of these new homesites in the greater Austin metro area,” says Vince Ruffino, Texas division president for Landsea Homes. “[This] announcement further demonstrates our commitment to this region as we remain bullish about the Texas housing market. Our strategic focus continues to be about bringing our best-in-class homes to the state’s most desirable cities.”
Expansion was a point of emphasis during Landsea Homes’ recent second quarter earnings call, with president and CEO John Ho indicating Texas as a region the company views as a “big opportunity.”
“Back in March, we announced the relocation of our corporate headquarters to Dallas, signaling our commitment to the state and our intent on becoming a national home builder,” Ho said during the call. “Texas has established itself as a business-friendly state with favorable demographics and in-migration patterns. We are excited about the prospects of our current operations in the Austin area and look forward to expanding our presence in that market and others around the state, like Dallas and Houston.”
The lot purchases in Liberty Hill follow two recent expansions in the Austin market for Landsea Homes. The home builder closed on 38 homesites for attached townhomes in the Avery Centre master-planned community in Round Rock, located within 25 miles of Austin. It also is developing 880 single-family homes at Freedom at Anthem in Kyle, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Austin.
The home builder says strong employment opportunities afforded by the presence of several corporate and regional headquarters and a relative lower cost of living makes the Central Texas region a “magnet for new home buyers.”
“We’re really excited about what’s going on for us in Texas, particularly Austin currently. We are well underway at our Anthem community in Kyle. That’s a multi-segmented, multi-planning area, master-planned community. And we look to be going vertical with construction in early fall, as well as three other communities that we acquired over the last year,” president and chief operating officer Mike Forsum said during the second quarter earnings call. “We’re very excited about the progress that we’re making there and looking to add to our revenue base through our operations [in Texas] very soon, as well as some other opportunities that we’re looking at throughout Texas in general.”
