By Meghan Hall
Residential developers are continuing to look further outside of Seattle’s core cities for available land to build on. Across the region, housing prices have soared, and developers are barely keeping pace. However, a recent transaction in Puyallup indicates that more housing could be on the way. Public records indicate that KB Home spent $27.65 million to acquire land along Sunset Blvd. E.
KB Home acquired two parcels in the deal. The seller of the property was an entity affiliated with Corliss Management Group, based in Lake Tapps, Wash. Combined, the properties total 49.9 acres. Public records show that the land is undeveloped, although it is already zoned for residential uses.
A marketing flyer obtained by The Registry shows that the acreage includes 162 lot plats, and preliminary approvals and engineering for the site has already been completed. The land is slated to become “The Madronas at Sunrise,” which will feature three- and four-bedroom homes up to about 2,500 square feet.
KB Home has been an active developer in the area. KB has eight other communities within its Puget Sound portfolio, and is developing homes from Duvall, Wash., to Federal Way to Tacoma.
KB Home, based in Los Angeles, was originally founded in 1957. As of the third quarter of 2021, the company’s revenues for the year totaled $1.47 billion, up 47 percent. A statement from the company also showed that KB delivered 3,425 homes, an increase of 35 percent. It also noted that the average selling price of homes reached 11 percent, or about $426,800.
“Looking ahead to 2022, we anticipate another year of profitable growth,” explained KB Chairman, President and CEO, Jeffrey Mezger. “With a sizable increase in our backlog value and projected increases in community count and margins, we expect a meaningful expansion of our return on equity that will be further enhanced by the $188 million we returned to stockholders through recent share repurchases.”
Demand for housing has surged in recent months, and Redfin reports that in Seattle, home prices rose 4.8 percent during December of 2021. The market remains one of the most competitive in the country, and homes sold after just 12 days on the market. Homes often get multiple offers, and many offers include waived contingencies. And, because demand is so fervent, homes often sell between two to six percent above asking price, making it an ideal market for builders like KB Homes to target.
