FEATURED BUILDER

Nicola Mitchell, vice president of Landsea Homes, says: “We want to make sure that everybody is aware that even though we have a new brand above us, it’s the same people, it’s the same builders, it’s the same salespeople, it’s the same back-office structure.” Landsea recently bought Hanover Family Builders.

ALTHOUGH THEY’RE NEW TO THE MARKET, LANDSEA HOMES IS SET FOR SUCCESS

As Landsea Homes signage appears throughout communities in Central Florida, homebuyers may wonder if there’s a new player in the red-hot newhome market. The answer is yes and no.

In January 2022, Orlando-based Hanover Family Builders was acquired by the publicly traded California-based residential homebuilder, and this April, Landsea Homes officially made its debut in the local market after two years of preparation.

“We worked really closely with the corporate marketing team, creating social media posts and a lot of other online marketing so the transition would be as smooth as possible,” explains Nicola Mitchell, a former Hanover employee who’s now vice president of sales and marketing for its successor company.

Besides rebranding the sales offices, signage and the website, there was internal training for employees regarding policies and the company’s culture.

The Hanover brand has been prominent locally since 2017, building and delivering 632 homes in 18 communities during 2021. At the time of the purchase, Hanover had 469 homes ordered and access to 4,100 homesites — which means Landsea will be a major player right out of the gate.

Co-presidents Matt and Steve Orosz and their brother Andrew, senior VP and general counsel, kick-started the company shortly after the 2014 sale — with their father, the legendary Bill Orosz — of Royal Oak Homes to AV Homes, which was subsequently acquired by Taylor Morrison.

The elder Orosz also started Cambridge Homes in 1991, which was ultimately bought by K. Hovnanian in 2005. Nobody knows the market — and has been more consistently successful — than this family of longtime Central Floridians.

Says Mitchell: “We want to make sure that everybody is aware that even through we have a new brand above us, it’s the same people, it’s the same builders, it’s the same salespeople, it’s the same back-office structure.”

Mitchell, who began her career as a salesperson with Royal Oak Homes, later joined Hanover Family Builders as its sales manager, where she grew the team from six to 30 people. Last November, she was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing, taking the helm just as Landsea Homes prepared

Landsea Homes’s Osceola Executive model (elevation, top, and master suite, bottom right) has five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in a spacious 3,899 square feet. It’s priced from the $610s. The Sebastian model (kitchen, bottom left) has four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms in 2,536 square feet and is priced from the mid-$400s.

to enter the market.

Acquiring Hanover, which focused on relatively affordable homes, aligned nicely with Landsea’s broader product positioning goals. The company’s portfolio includes townhomes priced from the low $300s, and single-family homes and higher-end waterfront properties priced up to $700,000-plus.

Homes range in size from 1,500 to 5,000 square feet. As for the style of homes, Mitchell says: “One thing we have done in the last 12 months is develop our elevations. So most of our floorplans have up to four different choices of elevations, which eliminates that cookie-cutter community look.”

Landsea builds homes in five states and in some 20 Central Florida communities. “We now build from Palm Coast to Palm Bay and from DeLand to Haines City. We have a huge footprint,” says Mitchell.

Within the next six months, the company’s Sky Lakes Estates will open in St. Cloud, with single-family homes and townhomes. Beresford Woods in DeLand pioneers some fresh territory for Landsea.

The company also has projects about to start in Spring Walk at the Junction in DeBary and Red Tail in Sorrento, with presales set to start in both communities this summer. Model homes at Lake Lincoln community in Eustis opened in May.

Landsea has another community in Mount Dora, Bar Grove, that offers oversized homesites measuring 80-by-175 instead of the more standard 50-by-120. That means buyers who want a home with a pool can still have a sizeable lawn. At press time, ground had just been broken for model homes.

As builders across the country face labor and material challenges, Landsea is no exception. “We have regular meetings with our purchasing department so we can keep in front of labor and material costs and make sure we can still deliver a goodpriced home,” explains Mitchell, who stresses that the company also maintains constant communication with buyers.

Mitchell stresses that it’s all about building confidence, and letting buyers know that they’re the top priority. That’s something they’ve all had plenty of practice doing. n —Patricia Letakis