|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Scottsdale, Arizona-based Meritage Homes has made an impressive addition to its leadership function with the addition of industry veteran and new vice president of strategic sourcing Jeff Lear.
Lear, previously acting as VP of construction for Taylor Morrison, boasts 25 years of industry experience, including 18 at PulteGroup, one of the largest home builders in the country.
While its VP may have departed, Taylor Morrison has capped off an incredible impression year. In January 2022, the company announced that it had been named “America’s Most Trusted Home Builder” for the seventh consecutive year by Lifestory Research, an annual study that ranks US consumer trust in home builders across the country.
“It is so special to be recognized for the very virtue our organization’s foundation is built on and it fills me with pride to know that home shoppers have consistently rated us as the most trustworthy home builder,” said Sheryl Palmer, chair and CEO at Taylor Morrison, in a prepared statement. “With our highest trust index score yet, this year’s award is a testament to our strong brand, tremendous team members, and dedication to show up for our customers day in and day out.”
The honor marks the company reaching its historical best trust index with a score of 123.6, up from 120.4 the previous year. The same index showed that trust in the entire industry rose an average of 1.3 percent year-over-year; Taylor Morrison adoubled that average growth.
Taylor Morrison is the fifth-largest home builder and developer in the country. Along with its latest awards, it has made headlines with its intention of moving ahead with what might be the next big thing in rental housing: build-to-rent communities.
The name explains it all. Home builders are constructing entire communities of rental homes. While the idea isn’t necessarily a new one, it didn’t take off entirely until after the Great Recession of 2008. In an environment where homeownership is currently below 66 percent and expected to continue to decline over the next 20 years, the move makes sense.
In June of 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported that the number of BTR homes in the pipeline was only around 6 percent of all new homes under construction, but economist Brad Hunter predicted in the same piece that those numbers would double by 2024.
Taylor Morrison has said that BTR business could potentially represent half of its overall output if the uptick in BTR’s continues to rise as predicted. The company’s push into rental housing was initially pushed by two main emerging markets: divorcing baby boomers and millennials.
“There are a number of different reasons that people are renting versus buying today,” Palmer told the National Apartment Association. “Affordability is an issue with some consumers and the timing is just not right for them to buy. For another subset, buying today isn’t the right decision because of a family situation, job, travel or not wanting to settle down. But that doesn’t mean that they still don’t want the experience of that single-family, detached lifestyle.”
Builders Wholesale Flooring, an ADG company, has been servicing the Carolinas homebuilders in new construction for over 20 years with a detailed focus on customer service. We congratulate Jeff on being recognized for his outstanding work! Please visit us at builderswholesale.com
