William Ryan Homes’ North Texas comeback

Home building has been down across DFW but Chicago-based William Ryan Homes senses opportunity. 

The single family developer is making a big play across DFW. After closing its Dallas branch in 2009, the company has been working on a comeback, acquiring 1,500 lots across the Metroplex in the last year, according to a news release. 

Construction has already started on a few of its planned communities, and the firm is looking to keep a pace of 500 deliveries per year, according to DFW manager Scott Dettmer.

William Ryan is constructing homes at Preserve at Pecan Creek in Denton, West Crossing in Anna, Creekside in Royse City and Devonshire in Forney. Communities set to open this year are Wildflower Ranch in Fort Worth, Aster Park in McKinney and Ten Mile Creek in Celina. MidTowne in Midlothian and Lily Estates in Celina will open next year, according to the release. 

Home prices will range between $330,000 and $650,000. The homes are stated to be energy efficient but specific square footage figures have not been released. Other William Ryan builds tend to be around 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. 

The region’s strong economy motivated the firm to return to the region as it saw “a huge opportunity,” Dettmer said. 

William Ryan Homes has been building since 1992 with CEO Bill Ryan still at the helm. The firm has over 13,000 homes across Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Florida and Texas. 

Home building in DFW took a hit in the fourth quarter of 2022 as interest rates surged, but deliveries have crept up throughout the year. There were 9,700 single family builds started in the first quarter of this year, compared to about 8,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Still, that figure is down around 40 percent compared to last year’s first quarter, which saw over 16,000 builds started, the Dallas Business Journal reported. The Metroplex is on pace for over 42,400 single family construction starts this year, down 28 percent from last year’s pace.

North Texas builders are also finding success in the build-to-rent market. With so many first-time homebuyers getting priced out of the region, build-for-rent developments have been popping up across the Metroplex. DFW was first among all U.S. metros for the number of build-to-rent units completed in 2022 and three times as many homes are slated for 2023, according to RentCafe.

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