Tri Pointe Homes Inc., the first U.S. homebuilder to go public since 2004, is altering designs and buying lots farther from city centers as land prices rise faster than expected, President Tom Mitchell said.
The company, based in Irvine, California, is accelerating purchases of lots in such inland areas as Riverside County and Sacramento, California, as land prices surge in large coastal cities, Mitchell said. Tri Pointe, 38 percent owned by Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group LLC, raised $233 million in a January initial public offering, with most of the proceeds being used for land purchases.
