In its first year of operation, the Inland Empire division of Irvine-based WL Homes LLC built and sold 16 homes. A year later, that number rose to 116,a 625% gain. Last year, the division developed and sold 359 homes throughout the Inland Empire, a 209% improvement.
“It’s a great time to be building in the Inland Empire,” said division President Robert Trapp.
WL Homes was formed in the merger of John Laing Homes and Watt Homes in 1998. In 1999, the company reported $500 million in revenue and 2,300 units sold.
WL Homes has nine divisions, most in the Western United States. The company builds under the John Laing Homes brand.
WL Homes is trying to ride the wave of people moving into the Inland Empire, where they find more affordable housing, from Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties, Trapp said.
The division is bullish on the Inland Empire because the region can draw residents from other counties and because its economy is generating jobs, said Marc Zaffina, division vice president of sales and marketing.
But a strong economy is not enough, particularly when competing against development giants Kaufman & Broad Home Corp., Lennar Corp. and Centex Homes.
WL Homes’ local division had to find a niche. And it did: the move-up market. The majority of the company’s local projects feature 2,200- to 3,000-square-foot homes priced in the mid-$200,000s. The homes attract buyers moving up from their first house or condominium, Trapp said.
To lure those buyers, WL Homes uses surveys and focus groups to determine what potential buyers want and what existing owners like, Zaffina said.
Much of the feedback the company is getting revolves around wiring instead of wood and drywall. Buyers want media niches that can handle the growing load of personal entertainment electronics. Customers also want their homes hard-wired for computers.
“Buyers now have two or three computers and want to network them,” Zaffina said.
Other options in demand are more traditional, such as flexible rooms that can be used as an office, den or exercise room, he said.
Flexibility is another part of the builder’s strategy. The company will adjust its architecture even after a model has been framed.
In a business reliant on location, WL Homes takes few chances. Of the division’s nine residential developments, all are in the region’s fastest-growing residential markets: Chino, Chino Hills, Corona, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside and the Temecula Valley.
The company is eyeing Temecula and Murrieta for future projects, but has no plans currently.
Company officials expect the firm’s total revenue to exceed $1 billion by 2001. When it does, the principals intend to take WL Homes public, Trapp said. n
Eventov is a staff reporter at the Business Press, Inland Empire.
