Lennar Accounts for a Third of San Antonio Building Permits

San Antonio’s homebuilding machine is still running — just at a lower hum.

Homebuilders pulled nearly 3,885 residential permits in the city last year, the lowest annual total in five years and a steep 38 percent drop from the 6,271 permits filed in 2021, when rock-bottom interest rates and pandemic migration fueled a buying frenzy, the San Antonio Business Journal reported. Higher borrowing costs, policy uncertainty and homeowners clinging to sub-3 percent mortgages have cooled demand and throttled new construction.

But while overall volume is down, market share is consolidating.

The top four homebuilders accounted for more than half of all permits issued in San Antonio last year. Lennar alone pulled 1,246 permits — or almost 33 percent of the citywide total — cementing its lead in the Alamo City. The Miami-based builder has topped the local rankings since 2023, when it nudged past D.R. Horton in new home starts, according to Zonda.

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D.R. Horton, long a heavyweight in Texas, slipped to third place by permits filed, with 196. Los Angeles-based KB Home claimed the No. 2 spot with 394 permits.

“San Antonio is already highly concentrated,” Zonda Advisory principal Bryan Glasshagel told the publication in January. “It’s hard to imagine Lennar or D.R. Horton grabbing much more share than they already have.”

Even in a slower cycle, San Antonio’s fundamentals are keeping national builders engaged. Compared to other major metros, land remains relatively affordable and the permitting process comparatively streamlined, allowing builders to deliver lower-priced units more quickly.

Geography tells the bigger story, as about 45 percent of last year’s permits were issued on the city’s South Side, particularly around Texas A&M University – San Antonio, Von Ormy and Mitchell Lake. Once overlooked, the area has become a development darling thanks to cheaper land, public incentives and a wave of institutional investment.

Toyota has continued to expand its manufacturing space there, and British equipment maker JCB is relocating its North American headquarters to the area as well. Master-planned projects like Southstar’s 600-acre VIDA community are rising alongside campus growth and infrastructure upgrades.

The West and Far West sides also captured more than 600 permits combined, buoyed by retail expansion and attainable lot prices.

— Eric Weilbacher