The Communities Driving Sales For Fast-Growing Builders on the BUILDER 100

Randal Park

Builder: Mattamy Homes ► Headquarters: Orlando, Florida ► 2017 BUILDER 100 Ranking: 25 ► 2016 BUILDER 100 Ranking: 36 ► Percentage Change in Closings: 59%

If you ask Jim Leiferman, president, U.S., at Mattamy Homes, what community most exemplifies the Orlando-based builder’s current strategy, Randal Park are two of the first words out of his mouth.

“It’s a master planned community with multiple product lines, nice marketing and presentation with the sales center and model park, and more depth [than past Mattamy offerings] in the lot offerings,” he says.

North of 600 units, the Orlando community boasts what Leiferman calls a “nice” mix of townhomes and single-family homes with an amenity center. But the real star may be its almost 2,200-square-foot sales center, which includes an exterior elevation designed to complement the community’s architecture, two interactive displays, a large topography table, four closings offices, a sitting area, and a full kitchen.

“The size of the project made it our largest project in Orlando at that time, and so it felt right to have a larger sales presentation than one might otherwise do,” Leiferman explains. “That helped us drive the absorptions we saw because our approach was unusual for a sales center: we built a sales center with eight models.”

Both the timing and location of Randal Park made sense for Mattamy, which bought the land in August 2012 from an entity controlled by Wheelock Street Capital.

“In 2012 and 2013, there were some good signs of robust absorptions in new communities,” Leiferman says. “Orlando was one of the early markets to come back [in Florida].”

When the market began to show signs of life, Randal Park was primed to benefit. “It was fully developed when the return came,” says Anthony Crocco, Metrostudy’s regional director for Orlando and Jacksonville. “It’s in an area where there wasn’t a huge amount of single-family development. It’s a big development with a lot of infrastructure, schools, and commercial nearby.”

The popular Lake Nona submarket, which Randal Park sits adjacent to, has been at the forefront of that recovery. “You could definitely see how the market was filling out,” Leiferman says.

“Because of the location, it has access to the airport, the medical center, the research park, and the University of Central Florida.”

The community is 10 minutes from the airport and medical center, and about 20 minutes from downtown. “We were able to offer them a better house without the commute,” Leiferman says.

Mattamy wasn’t alone in the master plan. David Weekley Homes and M/I Homes both held positions there, but sold out, leaving Mattamy. As the last remaining builder, it’s seeing demand from across the demographic spectrum with its townhomes.

“We see a lot of families, move-down buyers, and some empty nesters,” Leiferman says.

With a townhome product that drew entry-level buyers, Crocco says Mattamy’s Randal Park had all of the necessary ingredients for success. “It was timed right, well located, and had good entry-level pricing,” he says.