At Bellarado, just east of Carmel Valley, D.R. Horton, Western Pacific Series offers new townhomes modeled after the style and grace of Italy in prestigious Torrey Highlands.

The year 2003 saw 13,333 new home escrows open countywide, reports MarketPointe Realty Advisors. Most of those were in North County’s Highway 78 corridor and in South County south of Highway 94. Each of those areas have 24 percent of the market. Greater San Diego, the area including Mission Valley to Downtown, had 19 percent of the share with 8 percent in Downtown San Diego.

MarketPointe’s figures include newly built houses, condominiums and condo conversions.

A small number of builders are producing the majority of most new homes. “The few are doing the many,” says Russ Valone of MarketPointe. “It’s fascinating that it took the top 10 builders to generate half of the new home sales in the county. In 1988 it took the top 30 builders to generate half of the sales.”

What makes this possible? “Some of it has to do with mergers,” Valone says.

D.R. Horton held fast to its top spot as San Diego County’s No. 1 for-sale housing company. D.R. Horton, which includes Continental and Western Pacific divisions, opened 2,259 escrows in 2003, a 33.9 percent increase from 2002. That figure represents 17.1 percent of the county’s new-home escrows.

Greg Hastings

“We found ourselves in the heart of the marketplace,” says Greg Hastings, division president for D.R. Horton’s Continental homes. “We did quite well with a lot of attached sales in San Marcos, Otay and Mission Valley.” Continental took old apartment sites and converted them into attached subdivisions. “We found ourselves in price points that were in the most demand,” Hastings says. “Some were priced under $300,000 when we started. D.R. Horton loaded up on land a couple years ago and all the projects hit the market at the same time.” Next year the builder will sell a mix of attached and detached homes.

Pulte Homes Corp. jumped onto the list this year to land at No. 3 with 544 homes in escrow at the end of 2003. Pulte in April 2003 acquired ColRich Communities Inc., which placed No. 18 in 2002. “It’s all part of an aggressive push to grow our business in San Diego,” says Leonard Steinberg, division president of Pulte Homes’ San Diego division.

Leonard Steinberg

Although Pulte is one of the largest home builders in the United States, having built more than 300,000 homes in more than 40 markets across the country, its focus has not been on the West Coast until recently. It also owns Del Webb, a builder of active retirement communities.

Steinberg says 2004 looks strong. Plans include continued building in North County and South County’s EastLake. “We’re working on other locations,” he says, “but every builder is facing a dilemma in regard to land (limits). All we can do is our research and make clear choices. We are very excited to be a part of the San Diego community.”

McMillin Homes attributes part of its success to the acquisition of Kyle Carter Homes last summer. McMillin opened 518 escrows last year to rank No. 4. The success also can be attributed to the market, a healthy local economy and high demand for homes, says Sandy Perlatti, senior vice president of marketing for McMillin.

“The industry is enjoying an incredible marketplace,” Perlatti says. And it shows no sign of slowing. “The demand doesn’t seem to stop,” she says. “Even since the first of the year our grand openings are seeing thousands of people come out. There is so much enthusiasm and desire in young families.”

Keeping its place at No. 5, Pardee Homes opened 514 escrows. Pardee put a lot of its 2003 efforts into catering to buyers who are interested in a home’s energy and environmental considerations. The company’s houses have received Energy Star EPA approval. “Pardee is focused on energy efficiency,” says Joyce Mason, vice president of marketing for Pardee. “The whole idea resonates well with energy conscious buyers.”

Kathleen Courtney

Pardee is building throughout the county. “We don’t just build homes, we build communities,” Mason says. “People purchase neighborhoods; that’s one of the things that sets Pardee apart.” That and longevity. “2004 is going to be very exciting,” Mason says. “We are celebrating 50 years of building in San Diego. This year there will be about 600 living smart homes available and we will continue to grow our program. Land is scarce, building continues to be a challenge. But we’ve been here a long time and plan to be here a long time in the future.”

William Lyon held fast at No. 7 with 471 opened escrows. Kathleen Courtney, William Lyon director of sales and marketing, reports the firm’s escrows were in developments from San Diego and Riverside.

No longer an upstart, CityMark Development has made its mark in San Diego with unique urban housing projects. Among its newest is The Egyptian, a Hillcrest building inspired by the classic Art Moderne architecture of the 1930s and 40s.

“2003 was an excellent year for all builders,” Courtney says. “It was a strong market and it stayed strong. We haven’t been able to build as many houses as (San Diego) needs because the land is just not available.” She attributes much of the success to interest rates. “Most people can only pay so much each month.” William Lyon built most of its homes in South County and Rancho Bernardo last year. In 2004 the focus is on Kearny Mesa and Escondido. “We plan to close 597 in 2004 from current sales,” she says. The Kearny Mesa project is attached homes, a shift in focus for William Lyon.

Working on urban infill mid-rise projects, CityMark Development appeared on the list at No. 19 for 176 units in escrow at the end of 2003. To date, the company reports closing escrow on 140 units. Only 4 years old, the “locally raised company” takes pride in its projects. “A typical project takes 18 to 20 months to build,” says Russ Haley, CityMark vice president. “This isn’t like tract housing where you can build a house in five or six months. We have people in escrow right now for homes they won’t be closing on until early fall 2005.”

Russ Haley

CityMark is working on three projects, two Downtown and one in Hillcrest, that will bring to market about 385 units.

“The projects we are building have turned a lot of heads and there’s a lot of excitement behind them,” Haley says. “The market in San Diego is very strong, that’s a given. We strive to put passion in our projects and lots of people are starting to take notice.”

It would be hard not to notice the building around town, and most developers are promising even more. “2004 should bring in close to a double digit increase (in sales),” Hastings says of D.R. Horton.