Pacesetter Homes Texas Makes Top 100 Builder List for 7th Year

Austin and Dallas, TX - Pacesetter Homes Texas has once again earned a place on the Top 100 Builder List, a prestigious list that honors the most successful home builders across the United States. It marks their seventh year in a row among America’s top homebuilders, closing 793 homes in 2022.

The industry recognition signals the company's growth since launching operations in Austin in 2008, and then expanding into Dallas-Fort Worth in 2018. But the growth experienced by Pacesetter Homes Texas has compounded to ensure future growth.

“Since we are still building our brand in Dallas-Fort Worth, developers and suppliers in the industry now know who we are thanks to this accolade,” said Blake Friesenhahn, Vice-President, Pacesetter Homes, Dallas-Fort Worth. “It is helping our division’s growth in the region.”

“In Austin, we are benefitting from this recognition in ways that help establish Pacesetter Homes as a sustainable builder,” said Tom Lynch, Vice-President, Pacesetter Homes, Austin. “Among developers and home buyers, we are seen as a trustworthy builder and that we are here to stay.”

A continued position on the list has fueled growth for both regions, creating opportunities to expand geographical reach into new communities and markets.

“Since 2022, Pacesetter Homes has expanded into four new submarkets in Austin, stretching as far north as Liberty Hill and as far south as Seguin, nearly reaching the San Antonio region,” said Tom.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, Pacesetter Homes is currently building in four of the top 15 submarkets, with plans to expand to another four, including new communities opening by the end of 2024.

“Being on the Top 100 Builder list has gained us the attention of trades and suppliers,” said Blake. “We are being recognized as a quality builder, so we have the opportunity for conversations with suppliers to discuss build quality and costs, giving us an advantage over our competitors.”

But this growth has not been without its challenges. Over the past few years, the pandemic created supply chain and labour problems, and as a result, affected build times and customer satisfaction.

“New processes were born out of the pandemic to ensure we could sustain a high level of customer satisfaction,” said Blake. “Cost fluctuations and delivery of materials during the pandemic made for challenging times, but our construction and purchasing teams have worked diligently with our suppliers to get things back on track and moving forward.”

Changes in Dallas-Fort Worth included expanding their trade base and culling underperforming suppliers. Bringing on new trades created opportunities to negotiate better pricing, improving the quality of work and cost-effectiveness across operations.

As a way to overcome supplier challenges in Austin, a new trade council was created by the Pacesetter team. This venue invites the exchange of ideas and clarification of responsibilities, opening communication lines between builder and supplier and sustaining Pacesetter Homes’ reputation as a builder of choice in the industry.

“Through our work with the trade council, we’ve made great strides in improving our budgeting targets,” said Tom. “As a result, our budgets are more dependable, more reliable.”

But this year, Pacesetter Homes Texas faced new challenges as interest rates rose, forcing a temporarily reduced buyer pool in both regions. While population growth was on the rise in Dallas Fort-Worth and Austin, buyers were initially apprehensive due to increased borrowing costs. However, in recent months demand has been on the rise as buyers adjust to the current economic conditions.

“In Dallas-Fort Worth, over 200,000 new jobs have been created year-over-year,” said Blake. “We are seeing a lot of relocations to the DFW market, creating a housing shortage and pent-up demand.”

To keep up with ever-changing market demand, Pacesetter Homes Texas continues to refresh processes, product lines, and expand their geographical reach, giving the builder the leading edge on their competition.

Recently in Austin, the homebuilder has entered the multi-family housing market to capitalize on millennial homebuyers facing average rental rates that have increased 31% in the past couple of years.

_{Pacesetter Homes Austin's new multi-family showhome in the community of Center 45}

“We were formerly an exclusively detached product builder,” said Tom, “but we’ve initiated new models in three townhome communities to sustain our competitive advantage. That’s giving us a nice blend of product differentiation to reach markets we’ve never before been a part of.”

Pacesetter Homes newest venture in Austin will not only provide affordable housing options for first-time homebuyers, but will also be an opportunity for the business unit to find success in a whole new market.