Wall street’s big housing market bet created 12 new billionaires
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Unlike many other areas of real estate, such as mortgage and commercial real estate, publicly traded homebuilders have shown resilience over the past few years. Not only were large builders able to absorb the mortgage rate shock two years ago—partly by offering affordability adjustments like mortgage rate buydowns, outright price cuts, and smaller homes in some housing markets—but they have also maintained profit margins and net new orders that are at or exceed pre-pandemic levels. Back in May, ResiClub declared these big builders the winners of the 2024 housing market. Earlier this week, Forbes published an article, “The Homebuilders Getting Rich Off America’s Housing Shortage,” finding that the bull market for giant homebuilders has created 12 new billionaires in the industry as their stocks have soared. Among the 10 largest publicly traded homebuilders tracked by ResiClub, all 10 have outperformed the S&P 500 Index this decade: M/I Homes: +210% Toll Brothers: +192% PulteGroup: +184% Lennar: +169% D.R. Horton: +167% Meritage Homes: +165% Taylor Morrison: +154% Tri Pointe Homes: +139% KB Home: +105% NVR: +99% S&P 500: +69% At the start of the decade, the 10 largest publicly traded homebuilders had a combined market cap of $77.7 billion, according to S&P Global. As of Wednesday, those same 10 publicly traded homebuilders have a combined market cap of $170.0 billion, according to S&P Global. Here are the 12 new billionaires in the homebuilding industry, according to Forbes: Horton family Ryan Horton: $3 billion Reagan Horton: $3 billion Marty Horton: $1.5 billion After D.R. Horton founder Donald Horton died in May, his wife Marty and two sons Ryan and Reagan inherited the fortune. Miller family Stuart Miller: $1.8 billion (executive chairman and co-CEO of Lennar) Jeffrey Miller: $1.4 billion Leslie Miller Saiontz: $1.4 billion Leonard Miller founded Lennar Corp. and his son Stuart has been running the company since 1997. Kathy Britton: $2.6 billion After the death of Bob Perry, founder of Perry Homes, Britton has led the company as executive chair. Bruce Toll: $2 billion Toll is the cofounder of Toll Brothers who runs BET Investors, a commercial real estate firm. Itzhak Ezratti & family: $1.9 billion Ezratti is cofounder GL Homes, which his son Misha now manages as its president. Thomas Bradbury: $1.7 billion Bradbury is founder and executive chairman of Smith Douglas Homes. Elly Reisman: $1.4 billion Reisman is cofounder of Great Gulf Homes as well as a director and part-owner of Ashton Woods Homes. David Weekley: $1.1 billion Weekley cofounded David Weekley Homes along with his brother Dick.
Business Economic Syndicated News 
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.
Unlike many other areas of real estate, such as mortgage and commercial real estate, publicly traded homebuilders have shown resilience over the past few years. Not only were large builders able to absorb the mortgage rate shock two years ago—partly by offering affordability adjustments like mortgage rate buydowns, outright price cuts, and smaller homes in some housing markets—but they have also maintained profit margins and net new orders that are at or exceed pre-pandemic levels. Back in May, ResiClub declared these big builders the winners of the 2024 housing market.
Earlier this week, Forbes published an article, “The Homebuilders Getting Rich Off America’s Housing Shortage,” finding that the bull market for giant homebuilders has created 12 new billionaires in the industry as their stocks have soared.
Among the 10 largest publicly traded homebuilders tracked by ResiClub, all 10 have outperformed the S&P 500 Index this decade:
M/I Homes: +210%
Toll Brothers: +192%
PulteGroup: +184%
Lennar: +169%
D.R. Horton: +167%
Meritage Homes: +165%
Taylor Morrison: +154%
Tri Pointe Homes: +139%
KB Home: +105%
NVR: +99%
S&P 500: +69%
At the start of the decade, the 10 largest publicly traded homebuilders had a combined market cap of $77.7 billion, according to S&P Global.
As of Wednesday, those same 10 publicly traded homebuilders have a combined market cap of $170.0 billion, according to S&P Global.
Here are the 12 new billionaires in the homebuilding industry, according to Forbes:
Horton family
Ryan Horton: $3 billion
Reagan Horton: $3 billion
Marty Horton: $1.5 billion
After D.R. Horton founder Donald Horton died in May, his wife Marty and two sons Ryan and Reagan inherited the fortune.
Miller family
Stuart Miller: $1.8 billion (executive chairman and co-CEO of Lennar)
Jeffrey Miller: $1.4 billion
Leslie Miller Saiontz: $1.4 billion
Leonard Miller founded Lennar Corp. and his son Stuart has been running the company since 1997.
Kathy Britton: $2.6 billion
After the death of Bob Perry, founder of Perry Homes, Britton has led the company as executive chair.
Bruce Toll: $2 billion
Toll is the cofounder of Toll Brothers who runs BET Investors, a commercial real estate firm.
Itzhak Ezratti & family: $1.9 billion
Ezratti is cofounder GL Homes, which his son Misha now manages as its president.
Thomas Bradbury: $1.7 billion
Bradbury is founder and executive chairman of Smith Douglas Homes.
Elly Reisman: $1.4 billion
Reisman is cofounder of Great Gulf Homes as well as a director and part-owner of Ashton Woods Homes.
David Weekley: $1.1 billion
Weekley cofounded David Weekley Homes along with his brother Dick.
