LOS ANGELES – Nov. 18, 2002 – Responding to the brisk pace of growth in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley, KB Home (NYSE: KBH) announced today that it will open a Texas Valley division to serve thousands of first-time and first-move-up buyers in the region.As the largest builder in the state of Texas, and one of the leading homebuilders in the nation, KB Home already maintains operating divisions in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Laredo and San Antonio. Chairman and CEO Bruce Karatz says the Rio Grande Valley division will enable the company to capitalize on the population explosion that has transformed the city of McAllen, located approximately four miles from the U.S./Mexico border, into a thriving commercial, manufacturing and retail center.
“McAllen and its surrounding communities are a perfect fit for KB Home,” Karatz said. “With a booming, culturally diverse population, whose median age is between 26 and 27 years, we see tremendous opportunity to tap into a young-buyer base in a vibrant, exciting area.”
The 2000 U.S. Census shows McAllen-Edinburg-Mission as the fourth fastest-growing metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States. And according to the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, McAllen lies in the center of a consumer market area that encompasses nearly 4 million people.
KB Home’s Rio Grande Valley expansion follows the company’s acquisition of Orlando, Fla.-based American Heritage Homes earlier this month and, in January, the opening of a new division in Tampa, Fla.
About KB Home
KB Home is one of America's largest homebuilders with domestic operating divisions in some of the fastest-growing areas of the country including: West Coast—California; Southwest—Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico; and Central—Colorado, Florida and Texas. Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Company's majority-owned subsidiary, is one of the largest homebuilders in France. In fiscal 2001, the Company delivered homes to 24,868 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 kbhome.com.
For further information contact:
Kate Mulhearn
(310) 231-4147
Kmulhearn@kbhome.com