National home builder, Meritage Homes, the ninth-largest public home builder in the United States, is coming to Atlanta. The builder recently announced that it has selected Atlanta as the home for its regional headquarters for its new South Region. This new region will also include the Charlotte, N.C., Nashville, Tenn. and Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C. markets.
Along with its creation of a new South Region, the company has purchased Douglasville, Ga.-based Legendary Communities for $130 million. Founded in 2009, Legendary Communities is a privately-held home builder that closed nearly 500 homes and generated $156 million in revenue in 2013. In addition, as of June 30, 2014, the company owned or controlled nearly 4,000 home sites. Currently, Legendary Communities builds in 18 communities in Cobb, Cherokee, Bartow, Douglas, Dawson, DeKalb, Forsyth and Fulton counties in metro Atlanta. Legendary also builds in both North and South Carolina.
Through the acquisition, Meritage Homes is gaining a presence in Nashville, Atlanta and Greenville-Spartanburg, while it is significantly increasing its market share in Charlotte. According to information released by Meritage Homes, Atlanta is the second-largest and fastest-growing housing market in the nation based on single-family permits in 2013. In addition, the company stated that the Greenville-Spartanburg market is expected to experience growth in single-family permits of about 20 percent from 2013 to 2015.
Scottsdale, Arizona-based Meritage Homes has built more than 80,000 homes throughout the past 28 years. Homes from this single-family builder are geared towards first-time, move-up, luxury and active adult buyers and, as of March 31, 2014, the company had 189 actively selling communities. Meritage Homes has a reputation for its quality construction, distinctive style and positive customer experience, as well as being an industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding. As the 2013 and 2014 recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award, Meritage Homes was the first national home builder to be 100 percent ENERGY STAR qualified in every home it builds.
The South Region is the fourth region for Meritage Homes, which currently has a West, East and Central region. James Thrower has been hired to lead the new region as South Region President. For more information on Meritage Homes, visit www.MeritageHomes.com.