Local Home Builder Reports 40 Percent Increase

Bonita Springs-based homebuilder, WCI Communities Inc. saw its total revenues increase by nearly 32 percent last year, with the delivery of nearly 500 homes, 40.1 percent more than in 2012.

In the fourth quarter, the company’s new home orders rose more than 9 percent year-over-year to 116, with the value of those contracts increasing by 33.4 percent to $59.8 million.

And the company’s earnings — announced Tuesday — surged in last year, up nearly 150 percent over 2012. But that wasn’t just due to the strength of its homebuilding sector. Last year’s results included a more than $126 million income tax benefit recorded in the fourth quarter, tied to a reversal of part of a postponed tax asset valuation allowance, according to this article from the Naples Daily News.

Meet WCI Communities Inc.

WCI has been building luxury single and multifamily homes in most of Florida’s larger growth markets for more than 60 years.

The company went public last year, according to the Daily News article, and raised a whopping $90.3 million from its initial public offering. It’s also listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

WCI does it all. It operates a real estate brokerage and title business, as well as an amenities business including golf courses and marinas.

By the end of 2013, the company owned or controlled about 8,500 home sites across the sunshine state.

Highlights

New home orders rose 17.2 percent to 531 last year. The contracts for those orders were valued at $243.2 million, up 31.9 percent over the year. Meanwhile, the average selling price for new orders increased 12.5 percent to $458,000 compared with 2012.

Revenues from homes delivered rose to $213.5 million, increasing 53 percent over the year, which the builder attributed to a better pricing environment and changes to its product mix, according to the article.

However, WCI’s strongest demand is coming from second-home luxury buyers and “active adults,” who are looking to buy into communities targeted at 55 and older.

Its local projects include Pelican Preserve, an adult-only community in Fort Myers, and Raffia Preserve, a single-family community coming soon to Naples.

“Naples, Fort Myers is extremely hot, particularly the luxury high-end …We don’t have a lot of competition in that market and we don’t have a lot of competition with water view, and that’s unique to the product we have and it’s a lot of our inventory so I think that kind of bodes well for us long-term,” said Keith Bass, the company’s president and CEO, in a conference call with analysts Tuesday.

In a research note to investors, J.P. Morgan analyst Michael Rehaut said he’d keep his neutral rating on WCI, saying the stock’s current value properly reflects the company’s “attractive fundamental profile, featuring industry leading gross margins, a long, attractive land position and a less interest-rate sensitive buyer.” His outlook, he said, is for a “strong order growth acceleration in 2004 and beyond.”