How Tri Pointe Homes Is Making Its Large Land Acquisitions
All companies face the challenge of obtaining space to build in hot markets.
Early November has been a busy land acquisition time for premium move-up developer Tri Pointe Homes. The company announced on the 5th that it had obtained 210 homesites in the Phoenix metro area that would have houses across three different communities. Depending on the specific area, the homes will run between 2,400 square feet and 3,200 square feet, with three to five bedrooms
Then, on November 8th, came the acquisition of 392 lots in Liberty Hill, Texas, within the 688-acre Lariat community with houses that will be between 1,600 square feet and 3,000 square feet.
“This is all new home, for sale,” James Attwood, division president, Tri-Pointe Homes Arizona, tells GlobeSt.com. The company is focused on its traditional approach of building and then selling houses rather than expanding into the popular build-to-rent market.
Tri Pointe has had an extended view toward land acquisition. “It’s certainly a competitive environment for land right now,” says Attwood. “We’re fortunate. We have really strong land positions that we’ve acquired over the last couple of years while some companies are frantically trying to replace properties that are selling rapidly.”
But the acquisitions can’t end because of previous work. “It’s building our pipeline for the future,” Attwood says. That means extending views in time and space. “We’re having to anticipate a longer development cycle from where we begin development with home models and anticipating longer construction timelines and communications with customers to set expectations for those long timelines. We’re acquiring land predominantly for homes that are going to deliver in 2024 and beyond.”
To get that land, Tri Pointe has to look farther afield than it might have in the past. “We’re focused on the infrastructure in place, the places people want to live, and proximity to the strong employment bases for our market,” says Attwood. “That, just like housing, has continued to expand.”
Securing land is not only critical to selling houses at all, but to having the space to offer options and shared amenities to create “our community positioning.”
“One thing that we benefit from is we have full entitlement and development functionality in our company. We’re able to create value,” Attwood says. “That differentiates us from some of our competitors.”