There’s no getting around the fact that Florida is both literally and figuratively a hot-spot. There are many reasons why it’s a great time to be a Floridian, the real estate and construction markets here are booming with new growth.

Many new home communities are popping up in Manatee and Sarasota Counties and many nationally ranked builders are creating beautiful homes. Let’s take a closer look at some of them in no particular order.

First is M/I Homes.

M/I Homes is a new home builder out of Columbus, OH, and has been building homes since being founded in 1976. The company’s value proposition is to “always treat the customer right,” and they’ve built over 120,000 homes.

The builder prides itself on its industry leading, 15 year transferable structural warranty and whole home energy certifications.

M/I homes is ranked the number 13th builder in the US based on the quantity of homes they sell and they’re currently building communities in TX, NC, OH, FL.

In Sarasota, they’re currently building Rivo Lakes, Sienna Park at University, Hidden Creek, Worthington, and Promenade Estates in Palmer Ranch. In Manatee County, they’re currently building in Amberly, Woodleaf Hammock, Riverside Preserve, Twin Rivers, Summerwoods and Trevesta.

The second builder is Maronda Homes.

Maronda is a new home builder based out of Pittsburgh, PA and was founded in 1972. The company’s goal is to create affordable homes without sacrificing excellence and style in home designs.

Maronda prides itself on its community philanthropic giving and their commitment to the energy star program.

Maronda Homes remains a private family-owned and operated business, building new homes in Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia.

In the Bradenton/Sarasota area, Maronda is actively building in the Twin Rivers and Glen Creek communities.

Next is Taylor Morrison

Taylor Morrison has a long history after originally being founded in 1880 all the way in the UK. Needless to say they’ve been around the block a time or two.

Taylor Morrison is ranked number 6 in the US as the builder building the most homes and has been labeled America’s most trusted home builder for the past 5 years.

One on the pillars of their business is that they build distinctive communities driven by consumer preferences. I’ve seen this to be accurate as they are one of the builders that offer so many options to new home builders.

They are currently building communities in 11 states and in the Manatee/Sarasota area, they’re currently building Artisan Lakes, Azario Lakewood Ranch, Esplanade Golf and Country Club, The Heights and Phillippi Landings.

 

Moving onto Neal Communities.

Neal Communities was founded in 1970 by Pat Neal and is ranked number 54 on the list of US builders with the most homes sold.

Number 54 seemed low on the list but is a great achievement considering Neal is a family owned, private builder. They build exclusively on Florida’s gulf coast from Parrish down to Naples.

The company is headquartered in lakewood ranch and is currently building Canoe Creek, Riverfield and Silverleaf in Parrish, Poinciana in Bradenton, Indigo in Lakewood Ranch and Windward and Grand Park in Sarasota.

Meritage homes is next and is ranked the #7 builder in the US based on quantity of homes.

The company is headquartered in Scottsdale AZ and was founded over 30 years ago.

Meritage prides itself on being a year-over-year award winner of the energy star award and they currently build in 9 states.
Locally, they’re building Woodleaf Hammock at Lakewood Ranch, Crestview in Riverview, Cross Creek in Parrish, Eaves Bend at Artisan Lakes, Heron Landing, Savanna at LKWR.

DR Horton is ranked the number 1 home builder in the US with the amount of homes they build. They also build homes under the names Express Homes, Emerald Homes and Freedom Homes.

DR Horton has been building homes since 1978, is headquartered in Fort Worth, TX, and they build homes in 29 states
They also offer financing services a title company and an insurance company.

Locally, DR Horton is building Bella Lago in Parrish, Southern Oaks, Ever Green in Bradenton, Glen Creek in Bradenton, Palisades in Lakewood Ranch, Solera in Lakewood Ranch, Bay Landings and Garden Village in Sarasota.

 

Next we have Lennar Homes which is ranked #2. Lennar is a powerhouse builder that has been buying up smaller builders across the country as of late.

Lennar was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Miami FL.

The company prides itself on building communities that cater to all lifestyles, with new homes for all stages of life, whether you are a first-time or move-up buyer, a multi-generational family, or Active Adult.

They offer financing services, settlement and title, insurance and an international division.

Lennar currently builds in 21 states and locally they’re building Lakewood National, Lorraine Lakes, Polo Run and Arbor Grande in Lakewood Ranch, Gran Paradiso in Venice, and Sarasota National in Sarasota.

Pulte homes has been in business for over 70 years and is ranked #3 in the US as the homebuilder with the most homes sold.

They are currently building in 22 states and also build under the names Centex, DelWebb, and DiVosta.

Pulte is headquartered in Atlanta GA and really caters to the homeowner with innovative floor plans and lots of personalization options.

Locally, Pulte is building Mallory Park, Sapphire Point and Shoreview in Lakewood Ranch. They’re building Hammock Preserve on Palmer Ranch in Sarsota and under their Del Webb Brand, they’re building Del Webb Lakewood ranch which is an active 55+ community.

Last, but certainly not least is KB Homes.

KW was founded in 1957 in Detroit MI and is currently headquartered in Los Angeles CA. They hold the distinction as the first homebuilder to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

KB builds in 42 markets across 8 states and is building locally at Grady Pointe in Sarasota, Avaunce in Bradenton, Brightwood at North River Ranch in Parrish.

In an upcoming video, we’ll dive deeper into some of the smaller, local builders.