Weeks after coming up short in an Arizona State Land Department auction, D.R. Horton is looking south of Phoenix for its next bid.
The Texas-based homebuilder has filed an application to bring 324 acres out to auction in Florence, Arizona — a town of roughly 25,000 people located more than an hour southeast of Phoenix.
The Arizona State Land Department is targeting the auction to be held in the first quarter of 2026. The starting bid and appraised value of the land have to be determined, according to the land department's website.
D.R. Horton could not be reached for comment.
Losing out on Arizona land to K Hovnanian
Any builder, private investor or company is welcome to bid on the 324 acres located off Hunt Highway and Judd Road.
In July, D.R. Horton applied for more than 52 acres in Phoenix's Desert Ridge neighborhood to go out to bid. Eight builders competed to win the land in a Sept. 23 auction. Representatives from K. Hovnanian Homes were ultimately the last to raise their paddle, agreeing to pay $71.1 million for the land.
Historically, state land auctions that involve homebuilders have been competitive.
The September auction, with 117 bids, ranked among the most active of land auctions in the past decade. A July 2021 land auction drew 328 bids from homebuilders, the most of any such procedure since 2016. Blandford Homes ultimately won, paying $175.5 million for the 373 acres in Phoenix.
If successful in the upcoming auction, the land would add to existing holdings for D.R. Horton in Florence. The company is actively selling homes in the Anthem at the Merrill Ranch master-planned community and in a development called Western Crossing.
Prices for homes in these D.R. Horton communities start in the low $300,000s. Those starting prices lag behind Florence's average home value, which was $349,979 as of October, according to Homes.com data.
D.R. Horton is the nation's largest homebuilder based on 93,311 total closings in 2024, according to Builder Magazine.