PulteGroup has made a key hire in Utah two years after the Atlanta-based homebuilder entered the market.
Chase Turner will lead the firm's strategic growth in the state as Utah division president. Turner comes to Pulte after more than nine years at Century Communities, where he held the title as Utah division president since 2021, according to his LinkedIn.
In total, Turner brings more than 20 years of homebuilding and land acquisition experience to Pulte.
"Utah represents one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing markets in the country, and I'm excited to join Pulte at this pivotal time," Turner said in a statement.
He added that Pulte aims to become "a major force in Utah homebuilding" as the state looks to increase inventory to keep up with strong demand.
Pulte now has four neighborhoods in the state, spread across three developments: Deep Creek at Jordanelle Ranch in Heber City; Mountain Vista at Sunset Flats in Eagle Mountain; and Salem Foothills in Salem where sales recently kicked off. All are located within 60 miles of Salt Lake City.
Those communities have multiple home designs available and the starting price point ranges from $543,990 in Eagle Mountain up to nearly $800,000 in Heber City.
Pulte said the early returns of those communities, along with a "strong land pipeline," paves the way for continued growth and expansion in the state.
"We've made great strides establishing ourselves in Utah and are building toward becoming one of the market leaders in the greater Salt Lake City metro and Utah market," said Pulte's West Area President Chris Edgar in a statement. "Chase's wealth of experience in strategy, land acquisition and operational execution will complement the talent we already have on our team as we continue that growth."
Publicly held Pulte is the nation’s third-largest homebuilder based on 31,219 sales last year, according to Builder Magazine.
In its latest quarterly earnings call, Pulte reported a 2% increase to its average closing price, which was $559,000 in the second quarter.
Still, the builder posted a year-over-year net income decline of 26.13% and reported buyer-attracting incentives of 8.7%, up from 6.3% a year ago and 8% in the previous quarter.