Landsea Homes CEO John Ho on the 2022 outlook for housing

Orange County’s housing market reached new heights multiple times in 2021, according to data from real estate data firm CoreLogic.

We are recovering from a global pandemic that made our homes an even bigger centerpiece of our lives, because of the security and safety they provide.

These are some of the many reasons I believe that housing in Orange County and across the nation will remain an incredible investment opportunity in 2022 and beyond.

As COVID-19 reshaped the local economy, workplaces and environments, residential real estate was not only a bedrock, but a fabulous investment. And the housing market is showing no signs of a reversal.

There are other reasons for my bullishness: millennials. This large group of first-time homebuyers are entering the market and competing for homes they actually plan to live in for the long haul.

The result is a strong demand that should hold, allowing the boom to continue to stretch and grow. For example, our communities ShadeTree and Neuhouse in Ontario, and IronRidge in Lake Forest have attracted a variety of buyers, but especially first-time homebuyers looking for space to grow their families in attractive homes and attainable prices.

Tighter scrutiny on lending and slowing rising mortgage rates will steady the market.

In California, housing set a series of records in 2021, with the average home price at about $828,000 in August, according to the

California Association of Realtors. The market is forecast to rise 5.2% in 2022.

In Orange County, the median housing price of existing single-family homes is up 21.8% year-over-year, according to the Orange County Real Estate Market Report. At Landsea Homes, we are on track for a record year, generating more than $1 billion in homebuilding revenues in 2021.

I said this a year ago and it hasn’t changed: the industry is very well-positioned. Activity is strong and growing in Orange County. We’ve begun construction for two new neighborhoods in San Juan Capistrano called Avelina and Petra; a new townhome community in Anaheim called Nolin; and we also have plans to build 139 new townhomes in Placentia in North Orange County.

Additionally, our expansion into Arizona, Texas and Florida over the last several years is giving us a firsthand view of the overall strength in disparate markets as we continue to aggressively grow our business and increase our market share.

This isn’t to say our industry hasn’t faced any challenges. Homebuilders are adjusting to lumber and other material delivery delays, which are impacting timelines of new homes and communities across the nation.

But despite these construction and development challenges, we continue to see robust demand for our homes, driven by strong fundamentals in our markets, our core focus on attainable pricing, exceptional customer service and the appeal of our High Performance Homes, which features the latest in new home automation technology, sustainability, healthy living and energy savings to ensure life at home is healthier and more comfortable.

Not to mention our LiveFlex program that focuses on customizing the home to create technology-forward home offices, personal fitness rooms, or educational spaces to meet the lifestyle demands of today’s homebuyers.

Across the portfolio, Landsea Homes’ net new home orders are 275 homes valued at $184.9 million, equaling an average sales price of $673,000.

Landsea Homes is poised to finish the year on a high note and carry that momentum into 2022. We have been one of the fastest-growing homebuilders in the country over the last several years and believe this trend will continue, thanks to our strong capital position and our proven model for expanding our operations. We continue to be as optimistic as ever about the future of our company in particular, and the new home industry as a whole.

Editor’s Note: John Ho is CEO of Newport Beach’s Landsea Homes Corp., where revenue last year climbed an estimated 38% to $1 billion. After going public a year ago, the company (Nasdaq: LSEA) now sports a $370 million market cap. The Business Journal’s Real Estate Special Report begins on page 19.