KB Home’s CEO says scale matters most at the local level

Scale is homebuilding’s buzzword of the moment. Still, there’s scale. And then there’s what a top-10 homebuilder does with it when everybody else is scrambling for it.That sharp difference, and executing on that distinction, may be KB Home President and CEO Rob McGibney’s top priority as he assumes the reins from longtime predecessor Jeff Mezger at a pivotal moment for the company and the homebuilding industry.KB Home ranks No. 7 among U.S. homebuilders by annual unit closings and No. 8 by home sales revenue in the HousingWire Homebuilder Rankings. That places the Los Angeles-based public builder squarely among homebuilding’s national leaders.Strategically, it also places KB in the thick of an increasingly unforgiving competitive arena.Industry concentration and consolidation continue to intensify. M&A is reshaping ownership. The biggest builders increasingly wield scale not only as a national-volume advantage but also market by market, seeking deeper local positions to improve access to land, purchasing power, trade relationships, marketing efficiency and customer reach.McGibney, a 26-year KB Home veteran who stepped into his new business leadership role in March, doesn’t seem...