"Texas has always been a market of rapid growth and expansion for KB Home, and Laredo is a perfect fit for our strategy," said Bruce Karatz, Chairman and CEO of KB Home. "The tremendous demand for new housing in Laredo has been fueled by a 50 percent population growth rate during the 1990s, strong employment growth and a booming economy - yet Laredo ranks as one of the least affordable housing markets in the country when comparing the cost of homes to household income. KB Home's size and efficiency allow us to meet the city's growing needs by bringing quality and affordability to Laredo's housing market. In fact, KB Home can now make it possible for families with incomes as low as $29,000 a year to own a home in this market."
"This move marks KB Home's second new market entry in the past month, including our recent coast-to-coast expansion into the Florida market," added Karatz. " In markets where significant growth and opportunity exist, KB Home will be there."
"With new home starts up 26 percent over last year and still going strong in Laredo, now is a great time for KB Home to enter the market," said Buddy Goodwin, Regional General Manager for KB Home's operations in Texas. "We see outstanding potential for growth in this market, including a goal of delivering up to 250 homes in our first year of operation alone."
KB Home's first community in Laredo, Cielito Lindo, is being built on the city's South Side in partnership with American CityVista, the Company's joint venture with Henry Cisneros, former U.S. Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Cielito Lindo community will celebrate its grand opening next month, with initial deliveries expected in November 2001. The current phase of 100 homes offer floorplans ranging from 969 to 2182 square feet, and there is the possibility of building up to several hundred homes in Cielito Lindo in the future. These spacious new homes will be priced from the high $60,000s to the high $90,000s, compared to the current average new home price in Laredo of $116,000.
KB Home is also currently involved in securing land positions for several additional communities throughout the city, and expects to announce at least three new KB Home community locations in Laredo by the end of this year. In addition, the Company is in negotiations to secure a site for a new KB Home Studio in Laredo, which will offer homebuyers over 5,000 custom options to personalize their new homes. The new KB Home Studio is expected to open within the next 90 to 120 days.
"Laredo is an exciting city at the crossroads of commerce between the U.S. and Mexico," said Goodwin. "With an average of 50,000 vehicles crossing the border at Laredo each day, the city's unique location allows it to take full advantage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and has established the city as an important junction not only for international trade but for trade with the rest of Texas and other states as well. These new homes will finally give hard working families the opportunity to live in the city where they work - instead of enduring long commutes from neighboring towns as many currently do."
"We are thrilled to welcome KB Home into our city," said The Honorable Elizabeth G. Flores, Mayor of Laredo. "The new Cielito Lindo community will be an integral part of the continued vitalization of Laredo's South Side. These homes will be ideally located adjacent to the city's new Lyndon Baines Johnson High School, which is scheduled to open in the Fall, and across the street from the site of the second campus of Laredo Community College, scheduled to complete construction in March 2004. We also look forward to working closely with KB Home in the future as it continues to identify new locations in which to build in Laredo, making our city an even more attractive place for families to live and work."
KB Home is one of America's largest homebuilders with domestic operating divisions in some of the fastest-growing areas of the country including California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Florida. Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Company's majority-owned subsidiary, is one of the largest homebuilders in France. In fiscal 2000, the Company delivered homes to 22,847 families in the United States and France. It also operates a full-service mortgage company for the convenience of its buyers. Founded in 1957, KB Home is a Fortune 500 Company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "KBH." For more information about any of KB Home's new home communities, call 888-KB-HOMES or visit the Company's Web site at www.kbhome.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including any statements concerning future financial performance, business and prospects, and future Company actions and their expected results. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, but not limited to, changes in general economic conditions, material prices, labor costs, interest rates, uncertainties associated with California's electricity supply problems, the secondary market for loans, consumer confidence, competition, currency exchange rates (insofar as they affect the Company's operations in France), environmental factors, government regulations affecting the Company's operations, the availability and cost of land in desirable areas, unanticipated violations of Company policy, unanticipated legal proceedings, and conditions in the capital, credit and homebuilding markets. See the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Annual Report to Shareholders for the year ended November 30, 2000 and its other filings for a further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company's business.
For more information contact:
Kate Mulhearn, KB Home
(310) 231-4147 or kmulhearn@kbhome.com
Heather Reeves, Citigate Sard Verbinnen
(949) 496-4037 or heather.reeves@home.com