Dive Brief:
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PulteGroup is pulling out of St. Louis, citing market conditions out of sync with the builder’s current focus on higher returns, STL News reported.
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The builder plans to complete the nine communities in the region currently in the selling phase, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, likely by the end of next year. It will not move forward with 62 townhouses planned for the city’s Lafayette Square neighborhood that received preliminary approvals last week.
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As a result of the move, Pulte will lay off more than 20 local employees when its departure process is complete at the end of 2018.
Dive Insight:
Pulte’s St. Louis announcement is the second significant move by the company this week intending to aid its new focus on higher returns on investment capital. The company disclosed plans on May 8 to sell off around 4,600 underutilized lots.
Though Pulte, one of the country’s largest homebuilders, has determined St. Louis isn’t a fit for its new-home portfolio, the market for existing homes there is hot, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Listing inventory levels in the area are under three months.
A recent study by HomeUnion ranked St. Louis the best city for millennials to buy a home, based on characteristics including schools, commute times and home affordability relative to median income. Ellie Mae’s Millennial Tracker Report last fall found St. Louis to be the third-most popular city for that generation, with millennials making 42% of home purchases there.
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