D.R. Horton Inc. of Arlington, Texas (NYSE: DHI) is growing its presence in one of the nation's hottest real estate markets through the $107 million acquisition of Riggins Custom Homes of Fayetteville.
The cash deal includes about 3,000 lots, 170 homes in inventory and 173 homes in sales order backlog. D.R. Horton plans to combine the Riggins operations, which posted $48 million in revenue during the 12-month period ending Nov. 30, with the current D.R. Horton platform in northwest Arkansas.
"Their quality building operations and local market expertise make Riggins an excellent extension as we grow our local start-up market position in Northwest Arkansas," Donald Horton, the company's board chair, said in a news release.
D.R. Horton has been the largest homebuilder in the U.S. by volume since 2002. It has operations in 106 markets in 33 states across and closed 81,469 homes during the 12-month period ended June 30.
Riggins, owned by brothers Darin and Kevin Riggins, closed 153 homes with an average size of approximately 1,925 SF in the period ending Nov. 30. The average sales price was $313,600.
Home prices in northwest Arkansas have increased 128% over the past decade as the population has grown. Prices continued rising this year, with the average sales price surging nearly 27% in first half of 2022 to $385,821 from $306,236, according to the latest Arvest Skyline Report.
The National Association of Realtors expects the northwest Arkansas market to stay hot in 2023, even as the national market cools significantly. The trade group ranked northwest Arkansas its No. 4 "market to watch" and said conditions are in place for home prices to climb at least 5% next year.
