Why the Mitchells sold the builder but kept the land platform

Century Communities acquired History Maker Homes, a Texas institution with more than 75 years of history and five generations of family leadership. Century gains the local scale it needs to compete more effectively in Dallas-Fort Worth. But the more interesting decision wasn’t Century’s. It was the Mitchell family’s. They sold the homebuilding business. They retained Jabez Development, their land development company, and ONM Living, their build-to-rent operation. Jabez will continue developing selected communities for Century and plans to pursue additional land opportunities together. After five generations and approximately 25,000 homes, the Mitchell family separated the homebuilding business from the land development business. They didn’t leave residential real estate. They chose a different segment. The competitive advantage wasn’t necessarily the house History Maker wasn’t a struggling local builder waiting to be rescued. It was an established, sophisticated operator competing in the nation’s largest new-home market. But homebuilding economics has shifted. National builders bring purchasing power, access to capital, mortgage incentives, inventory capacity, and the ability to ab...