By Shea Krekorian | Eye On Housing
The top 10 builders captured 30.4% of new single-family home closings in 2019, according to data released by BUILDER Magazine. The 30.4% share represents 207,724 closings out of the 683,000 new single-family home sales reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2019. However, these closings represent approximately 23% of single-family starts, a broader measure of home building that includes custom (not for-sale) home construction.
Data going back to 1989 shows a rising trend in the top ten builder share. The share grew significantly from 1989 (8.7%) to 2006 (28.2%). For the next ten years, the share remained fairly steady, between 25% and 27%, with slight dips in 2009 (23.9%) and in 2012 (24.2%). From 2017 to 2018, the top 10 share jumped significantly, rising 4.2 percentage points to 31.5%. This jump was mostly due to the acquisition of CalAtlantic by Lennar Corporation.
