Dive Brief:

• California developer Five Point Holdings has refiled its IPO with a placeholder valuation of $100 million, the Orange County Business Journal reported. Five Point had filed to go public in July 2015, but did not follow through. 

• Created by Lennar in 2009, Five Point manages several master-planned communities in California with 40,000 housing units and 21 million square feet of commercial space, BisNow reported. Projects include The Shipyard and Candlestick Point in San Francisco, Newhall Ranch in Los Angeles, and Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine, CA.

• The developer recorded $39.3 million in revenue in 2016 and has more than $2 billion in assets.

Dive Insight:

Five Point’s move to go public shows the company’s faith in the housing economies of major California metros, according to the San Francisco Business Times, especially given that troublesome market conditions stalled the company’s first attempt. And, though the developer has not signaled its intentions, the IPO will likely help secure more funding for new projects.

California accounted for half of the most active housing markets in March, according to a ranking kept by Realtor.com, although, statewide, existing-home sales and median home prices took a slight dip in February.

Tight inventory and high prices continue to dominate headlines there, making the Golden State’s housing market the hardest in the U.S. for first-time buyers to find entry-level homes. Compounding the problem is that builders there are still focusing primarily on move-up versus starter homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

HousingWire has said that the state’s skyrocketing prices are not indicative of a housing bubble, but rather show the trend of strong employment and low mortgage rates as well as a regulatory environment that challenges builders’ ability to create enough inventory to meet demand. 

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