Dive Brief:
- It is unlikely to happen again this year as doubts about the legs of the housing recovery keep coming up, but 2013 was an excellent year to be the CEO of a publicly-traded homebuilder because pay raises averaged 37% and hit a median of $7.9 million.
- That still does not touch 2005's record-high median of $11.3 million, but it's well above 2012, according to figures from FPL Associates, a compensation consulting firm that focuses on the construction industry.
- The highest total compensation – which adds bonuses and incentive grants to base salary – in 2013 was $13.6 million for Stuart Miller at Lenna, and the lowest was $4 million for Allan Merrill at Beazer Homes USA.
Dive Insight:
Another reason that the top honchos may not get a 2013-style raise this year is that their companies' stocks did not do as well. Returns to shareholders from the 13 companies added together rose 13% and the CEOs benefited in part from an increase in home sales of almost 17% over 2012. Predictions for 2014 are not in that league.