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K. Hovnanian Homes history
K. Hovnanian Homes company history timeline
Founded by Kevork S. Hovnanian in 1959, the enterprise was still under his control 40 years later.
By 1964, however, Hovnanian had switched from custom-built homes to condominiums, which were still a rarity in the region.
In 1964 Jirair Hovnanian split off from his brothers' company and founded his own construction business, J.S. Hovnanian & Sons, of Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey.
He had to stretch out his loans, which he would pay off entirely by the end of 1980.
To expedite its mortgage processing procedures, the firm acquired R.E. Scott Co., a mortgage brokerage concern, in 1982.
When the company went public in 1983, most of the shares remained in the hands of the founder and other family members.
Hovnanian Enterprises spared no effort in lining up sales, spending as much as $3,000 to $4,000 per home on marketing and advertising. “Get the sales first, and with the sales you’ll get volume and a profit,” was what Hovnanian told Howard Rudnitsky of Forbes in 1983.
In a New York Times interview in 1983, Hovnanian explained his reasoning for marketing low cost homes in developments without community amenities, "There are limited recreation facilities going in because people have little time for socialization."
In early 1984 Hovnanian Enterprises had 15 communities under development, nine of them in Florida and New Jersey, consisting of almost 6,000 units priced from $31,450 to $81,450.
Although Florida sales were flat, Hovnanian recorded revenues of $163.9 million in 1985 and record net income of $6.6 million.
Hovnanian Enterprises also extended its reach to Westchester County, New York, offering 91 condominiums in Peekskill, New York, in April 1986 to more than 400 lined-up customers, some of whom had camped out in a neighboring parking lot for five days.
Discussing the reason for the change in a 1986 interview with Thomas J. Lueck of the New York Times, Hovnanian recalled that he couldn't estimate the costs of custom-built homes properly, which "irritated me no end."
Revenues reached $228.2 million and net income $11.5 million in 1986.
The company’s revolving-credit line had reached $150 million by 1987.
In 1989 Hovnanian ranked 18th among the nation’s top 100 home builders and first among builders of attached for sale homes.
Kevork Hovnanian stepped down as president of Hovnanian Enterprises in 1989, and was succeeded by his son, Ara K. Hovnanian.
The 10 largest construction firms controlled 9 percent of the nation’s homebuilding market in 1991.
A settlement announced in 1992 allowed 11,000 owners of Hovnanian-built homes in the state to pay only an estimated $200 to $400 each to cover the $2,000 cost of replacing their roofs.
By fiscal 1992, Hovnanian Enterprises was profitable again.
In 1993 Hovnanian Enterprises launched its first large development of single family detached homes for affluent buyers.
Moreover, the company’s long-term debt of $301 million was $100 million below the peak at the end of 1995.
Much farther afield, the company also began homebuilding in Poland in 1997.
At home, Kevork Hovnanian yielded the position of chief executive to his son in 1997.
He remained chief executive until his retirement in 1997, and was also replaced as CEO by Ara Hovnanian.
The campaign touched off in 1998 with the purchase of P.C. Homes and Domain Builders, which strengthened its presence in Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia.
Ara Hovnanian is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and led the company through 19 acquisitions of smaller builders from 1999 through the early stages of the housing crisis.
Diamond, Michael L., “Red Bank, N.J.–Based Construction Firm to Focus on Profitability,” Asbury Park Press, January 26, 2001.
The company’s fifth acquisition and the largest in its history followed in 2001, the $137 million purchase of Washington Homes, which strengthened its control of markets in Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.
In 2001, through a unit called Private Homes Portfolio, Hovnanian Enterprises began building homes for customers in New Jersey who opted to tear down their existing homes and erect new structures on their lots, a decision driven by the scarcity of land in the eastern United States.
In 2002, he looked to the west, acquiring Forecast Homes, a Rancho, Cucamonga, California-based builder.
Next, the company acquired Parkside Homes and Brighton Homes in 2003, expanding its operations in Texas and securing entry into the Houston market.
In 2004, Hovnanian Enterprises entered the Tampa, Florida, market with the purchase of Windward Homes.
The march into new markets continued in 2005, a busy year on the acquisition front.
In 2006, the company entered the coastal markets of South Carolina and Georgia by acquiring Craftbuilt Homes.
Hovnanian Enterprises, along with other national home-builders, began suffering from anemic market conditions in mid-2006, as sales shrank and cancellation rates increased.
However, falling property prices has forced the company to write off more than $2.6 billion of its value since 2006.
However, he remained the chairman of the company's board of directors until his death in 2009.
As of October 2018, the company's debt load is $1.5 billion and interest payments amount to about $40 million per quarter.
"Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 21, 2022). https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/hovnanian-enterprises-inc-0
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K. Hovnanian Homes competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley | 1935 | $3.0B | 68,097 | 1,215 |
| U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | 1934 | $370.0M | 4,301 | - |
| K Hovnanian Companies Of New York Inc | - | $26.0M | 50 | 71 |
| Newmark Homes | 2009 | $7.0M | 2 | - |
| Beazer Homes | 1985 | $2.3B | 1,100 | 47 |
| TMG Construction | 1992 | $9.4M | 125 | 4 |
| Quadrant Homes | - | $15.0M | 143 | - |
| Urban Group | - | $2.1M | 17 | - |
| Arch Con | 2000 | $140,000 | 5 | - |
| Winchester Homes Inc. | - | $30.6M | 75 | - |
K. Hovnanian Homes history FAQs
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K. Hovnanian Homes may also be known as or be related to K. Hovnanian at Plantation Lakes LLC, Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises Inc, K. Hovnanian Homes and Hovnanian Enterprises.