It’s a busy time in and out of Orange County for Landsea Homes, the Newport Beach-based subsidiary of China-based real estate company Landsea Group.
Last year, it boosted home sales in OC by nearly 70% to 135, its busiest year ever here, earning it the No. 12 spot on last week’s Business Journal’s list of the area’s largest homebuilders.
Those sales included the company’s first Orange County project, IronRidge, a 608-home development it launched in 2015. Offerings at the Lake Forest project start in the $500,000s.
Landsea didn’t have any trouble selling higher-end product in OC, either.
It recently sold out Lido Villas, a 23-unit townhome project near Newport Beach’s Lido Village shopping area.
Prices there ran close to $2 million for homes averaging close to 2,000 square feet.
“We want to maintain a strong presence in Orange County, and we’re working hard to acquire new properties to replace the ones that have sold out,” said Tom Baine, Southern California division president.
Ontario, Investments
Elsewhere in Southern California, Landsea has doubled up on its holdings in the Inland Empire.
In August, the company closed on 334 home lots at Ontario Ranch, the largest master-planned project currently under development in Southern California.
That project joins a 432-home project that Landsea has under construction in Ontario, called ShadeTree.
Garrett Walker
Landsea also is making a bigger push into other states in the western U.S.; late last month it became one of the larger builders in Arizona through the recent acquisition of Garrett Walker Homes.
The purchase, made on undisclosed terms, adds 18 communities in the Phoenix area, and more than 1,700 total lots to Landsea’s portfolio in the state. It had 1,400 lots there prior to the acquisition.
Landsea entered the Arizona market in 2018.
“Our strategic focus continues to be creating communities in highly desirable markets across the United States, and we are very bullish on Arizona,” said Landsea Chief Executive John Ho.
“With a robust local economy and continued job growth, the area is attracting new residents, and providing opportunities for current home owners to expand to accommodate their growing families,” Ho said.
Companywide, Landsea sold 214 homes in 2019. It expects to close 300 homes this year and an additional 450 homes in 2021.