Red Bank, NJ, August 8—-Home builder Hovnanian said it has acquired the assets of First Home Builders of Florida for an undisclosed amount of cash.
The privately held homebuilder will augment its presence in western Florida.
Last year, First Home Builders delivered 1,819 homes and revenue of $308 million, Hovnanian said. At the end of July, the Cape Coral, Fla., homebuilder had a backlog of about 4,350 homes with a sales value of $925 million.
Last week, Hovnanian said it acquired nearly all the homebuilding assets of Ohio-based Oster Homes. See previous story.
Earlier in the year, Hovnanian also acquired two other privately held homebuilders with operations in Florida: Cambridge Homes and Town & Country Homes.
"We have targeted further investment in Florida because the regulatory process in the state is lengthening, which is constricting the supply of land available for homebuilding," said Ara Hovnanian, chief executive.
"At the same time, population growth and job growth in Florida are creating sustained demand for new homes," Hovnanian added.
The company said it anticipates the acquisition of First Home Builders will add about 5 cents a share to fiscal 2005 earnings.
