Lack of Land Leads OC Home Builders to 23% Dip

Top developers in Orange County are selling fewer homes, with deals plunging in the double digits because of fewer places to build.

The top 13 builders in the county last year sold a combined 2,253 attached and detached homes, down 23 percent from 2,912 sold in 2023, the Orange County Business Journal reported, citing figures from Zonda and local developers.

Single-family home sales fell 31 percent to 908, while attached townhome and condominium sales declined 15 percent.

Nine of the 13 biggest builders reported fewer homes sold compared to last year, with Tri Pointe Homes, Landsea Homes, Taylor Morrison, Trumark Homes and KB Home showing the biggest drops.

There just isn’t enough available land in OC to build new houses, according to Allison Rawlins Tift, a senior vice president at Land Advisors Organization, a consultant group with an office in Irvine.

“The home builders all echo the same sentiments about wanting or needing any mapped/entitled/finished lots available in the county, but there is a similar lack of supply of future lots available for home builders to acquire and then build upon,” Rawlins told the Business Journal.

Of the nine companies that reported year-over-year OC sales declines, Irvine-based Tri Pointe Homes reported the largest drop, selling 95 houses last year, 67 percent fewer than in 2023.

Scottsdale-based Taylor Morrison sold 25 detached homes last year, a 59 percent drop from 2023. It didn’t sell any attached homes, compared to eight in 2023.

San Ramon-based Trumark Homes sold 52 percent fewer homes, according to the Business Journal, while Los Angeles-based KB Home reported a 44 drop in home sales in OC last year to 53 homes.

Miami-based Lennar had the highest volume of sales in OC last year, closing on 936 attached and detached houses, but sales were 15 percent fewer than the 1,099 homes sold the prior year.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers sold 94 attached houses in OC last year, compared to 82 in 2023, a 37 percent drop. Its detached home sales plunged 49 percent to 172, from 339 in 2023.

While most developers lost sales, three companies managed to grow their businesses, while Mission Viejo-based PulteGroup reported flat sales, according to the Business Journal.

Irvine-based California Pacific Homes reported the biggest jump, with a 200 percent surge to 135 homes sold in Orange County last year, including 111 single family houses, which leaped 484 percent.

The Seal Beach-based Olson reported 104 percent year-over-year growth, with all 92 attached homes sold.

— Dana Bartholomew