Toll Brothers’ Yearley Sees Land as ‘Gold’ in Rebound

Douglas Yearley Jr., the first non-Toll brother to lead Toll Brothers Inc., has a plaque on his desk with a warning: “You can buy more land in an afternoon than you can get rid of in a lifetime.”

Yearley, 50, looks to balance that maxim with his desire to cut deals as he seeks to end three years of losses at the largest U.S. luxury-home builder. After becoming chief executive officer two months ago, he’s pressing on with a strategy to buy land at sunken values even as demand for new homes is sluggish.