In a corner-to-corner move, Miami-based Lennar Corp. has acquired 650 home lots in the Seattle area from the privately held Premier Communities and has opened in Portland, Ore., adding a third national builder to the Pacific Northwest's mix of home providers.
In its Monday announcement of the expansion, Lennar said Ryan McGowan, who operates Premier, "will be responsible for Lennar's operations in Seattle." Ryan Selby, who had been with D.R. Horton, will run Lennar in Portland, where the company has acquired "primarily distressed finished homesites" in 11 communities.
Last month, Toll Brothers bought out CamWest Development, giving it ownership of about 1,300 lots and control of 200 more in King and Snohomish counties. Seattle is in King County.
In August, The Wall Street Journal reported, Denver-based MDC Holdings Inc., which puts up houses under the trade name Richmond American Homes, acquired SDC Homes, Seattle’s third-largest builder.
The Journal said Lennar's move "probably says more about Seattle than it does about the builders. As the U.S. housing market continues to hobble along, both Portland and Seattle have seen small boosts in home prices since the beginning of the year, although Seattle’s prices dipped in September."
