Trendmaker Homes Gets a New Area Leader Because DFW Homebuilding is Hopping, Really

We don’t like to re-publish press releases here on CandysDirt.com, kind of goes against our grain of organic reporting.

But this release caught my eye because it makes a significant statement about the strength of our home building market.

Trendmaker Homes, a member of the TRI Pointe Group family of premium regional homebuilders, has named Sean Ricks as president of its newest homebuilding division in Dallas-Fort Worth. Ricks will lead the company’s strategic expansion and rebranding in Texas’ top metro, DFW. He brings 15 years of homebuilding, real estate, and operations experience to the position, and most recently served as associate general counsel at TRI Pointe Group.

Ricks played an integral role in the 2018 acquisition of Dunhill Homes and Nathan Carlisle Homes, now Trendmaker Homes Dallas-Fort Worth.

“Sean’s strong track record of success and immersion in TRI Pointe Group’s culture, strategy and operations made him an excellent choice for this leadership role, one that will help take the Dallas-Fort Worth division to a new level of growth and success,” said TRI Pointe Group CEO Doug Bauer. “We are optimistic about the long-term opportunity in this key market, especially with Sean leading the division toward accelerated growth.”

Here’s the part we love: Trendmaker Homes says the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area ranked in the top five nationally for population growth in 2017.  In 2018, the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area added approximately 116,400 jobs, representing a 3.17 percent annual growth rate. This according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Not too shabby.

And this juicy tidbit: a significant portion of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro population is in the 25-to-44 age cohort, a prime home-buying demographic.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Trendmaker Homes team and look forward to boosting the company’s performance in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro housing market,” said Ricks. “TRI Pointe Group’s strong resources and backing, our homebuilder division’s agility, and the market opportunity are a powerful formula for success.”

Ricks will manage the strategic expansion of Trendmaker Homes Dallas-Fort Worth Division, which had nearly 1,500 lots owned or controlled as of the end of 2018. He is focused on supporting and growing the division’s efforts in talent recruitment, innovative home designs, and land acquisitions for future communities.

This is rather significant for me to hear, because I recall the Wall Street Journal article that gave everyone shivers in January, as we were called the “Canary in the mine shaft” of housing:

Dallas has been the “canary in the mine shaft” this housing cycle, said Paige Shipp, regional director for Metrostudy, a consultant to home builders. Homes are taking longer to sell, bidding wars are rarer and price cuts are more common as buyers absorb the impact of higher rates.

Actually, Paige and I had lunch this week (love her!) and we talked about her now famous quote. I was interviewed by Curbed.com a few weeks ago, and the editor brought up Paige’s quote: what do you think, Curbed asked me. Do you agree?

No, I did not. I was blunt with the author:

Candy Evans, a Dallas real estate writer who runs a local site called CandysDirt.com, says the naysayers, including the author of a recent Wall Street Journal piece identifying Dallas real estate as a “canary in the coal mine,” are overtly negative.

“The north part of the Metroplex [the Dallas-Fort Worth area] is where you have open land and crappy developments having a tough time selling,” says Evans. “Our city was built on cheap land, and that land is simply getting more scarce.”

You know what? It was a canary in the mineshaft, one, and Paige agreed with me that it’s the less than stellar inventory that is not selling, two. Our market may no longer be steroidal, but we are pumping along just fine. And I can hardly wait to meet and chat with Sean to see what he REALLY thinks. His company builds some pretty great homes.

Trendmaker Homes Dallas-Fort Worth designs, builds and sells high-quality single-family homes in Dallas, the fourth most populous metro in the country. Native to Texas, Trendmaker understands the Texas ethos and strives to simplify homebuying, delivering premium homes that fit the homeowner to a “T.” With a sterling reputation and a partnership approach, the company delivers to homebuyers new innovations, designs, experiences and conveniences reflecting the highest standards of homebuilding and customer service. As a result, Trendmaker Homes Dallas-Fort Worth has been the recipient of the Energy Star Certified Homes Market Leader Award for five years running and multiple 2018 Dallas Builder Association design accolades. Trendmaker Homes is a member of TRI Pointe Group® (NYSE: TPH), a family of premium regional homebuilders.