DOCSLIB.ORG

Three Essays on Real Estate, Finance and Planning

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Three Essays on Real Estate, Finance and Planning THREE ESSAYS ON REAL ESTATE, FINANCE AND PLANNING: HOMEBUILDING, LIFE INSURER LENDING, AND RETAIL IN AN AGE OF FINANCIALIZATION A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Peter Wissoker May 2018 © 2018 Peter Wissoker THREE ESSAYS ON REAL ESTATE, FINANCE AND PLANNING: HOMEBUILDING, LIFE INSURER LENDING, AND RETAIL IN AN AGE OF FINANCIALIZATION Peter Wissoker Cornell University 2018 Too often planners neglect the importance of understanding the real estate industries, including real estate finance and investment. In this dissertation I examine how changes in the financial sector over the past thirty years reconfigured urban and suburban development. I take three different approaches to these issues. The first paper describes the role of large financial firms in the rapid growth of local and regional homebuilding companies during the 1990s, a period during which a handful of homebuilders became increasingly national in scale and captured a significant share of large, fast-growing markets in cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix during the 2000s. Among my conclusions, I suggest that homebuilders may have overbuilt in the mid-2000s to meet the annual growth targets of their stock analysts rather than the needs of subprime mortgage packagers. The essay also offers an argument that housing economists should consider firm and local market structure when studying housing supply and housing bubbles. The second paper is a case study of the real estate investments of U.S. life insurance companies, who for much of the twentieth century wrote one-third of the mortgages that financed the building of suburban malls, office buildings, apartments, etc., in the United States. I trace how firms began iii to lose market share in the 1970s and 1980s as pension rules and savings habits changed, and show how these factors led to changes in life insurance products, which, in turn, required different investment choices and a loosening of lending standards for large properties. My third paper argues that planners should understand commercial (non-single-family-residential) properties in the suburbs as embedded in a series of local, regional, and global networks tied to both real estate and the specific networks of the tenants, and offers a set of questions for planners to ask to help ascertain the intentions of owners and developers. The paper uses the example of suburban properties in the retail sector as an example. These three essays are based on large financial databases, trade periodicals, analyst reports, and archival research, and draw on the literatures from planning, geography, business history, economics and sociology. A conclusion discusses some of the implications of the research for planners. iv BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Peter Wissoker received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After working in a bookshop for two years, he returned to UMass, where he studied economic geography and earned a Master of Science degree. For the next eighteen years he worked as an acquisitions editor, publishing a number of prize- winning books in planning, sociology, anthropology, and geography for, in turn, The Guilford Press, Temple University Press, and Cornell University Press. In 2010, he returned to school to study under the guidance of Susan Christopherson in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. He has written about the growth of national homebuilding companies during the 1990s and 2000s, the changing role of finance in real estate since the 1960s, and the real estate lending practices of life insurance companies. Research from his dissertation has already found outlets in Housing Policy Debate and the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy, and Society. While at Cornell, he has served as the Ph.D. representative to the Dean’s Student Advisory Committee, the department’s Curriculum Committee and a faculty search committee. For a number of years, he also represented the College of Architecture, Art and Planning on the Student Library Advisory Board (SLAC). v DEDICATION To Laurie and Maddie with a million thanks for your love and support. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the culmination of years of graduate work, work that would never have been undertaken if Susan Christopherson had not been willing to have me as her advisee during the difficult days of the recession that followed the collapse of the housing and financial markets. She was a friend and colleague before I moved to Ithaca, and her untimely death sadly shaped the last years of my time at Cornell. Fortunately, I had the strong support of my committee, particularly Bill Goldsmith and Sharon Tennyson, both of whom attended to my work and helped me to the finish line. Sharon patiently read some of the sociological work on insurance with me. Bill not only stepped in as chair, but he has been here for me pretty much since I came to press. I truly value his friendship, support, enthusiasm, and occasional skepticism. Thanks are also due to Tom Campanella who kindly joined as a third member of my committee. Thanks, too, to the CRP faculty who always made time to help or advise me, particularly (in alphabetical order): Nancy Brooks, Suzanne Lanyi Charles, John Forester, Neema Kudva, Jennifer Minner, Michael Tomlan, and Mildred Warner. Special thanks to Pierre Clavel for his friendship and encouragement, and Tina Nelson for a decade of helping me, whatever the circumstances. I also appreciate the guidance of former-faculty members Ann Forseyth and Mike Manville during their time in the department. My work at Cornell was nourished through the support of faculty across the campus, particularly Michael Jones-Correa, Louis Hyman, Crocker Liu, Marina Welker, and Wendy Wolford, also with the assistance of the staff and chairs of the American Studies Program. vii A network of researchers and academic friends have supported me throughout my graduate work. I can’t name them all, but I would like to thank particularly Rachel Weber, Kathe Newman, Marc Doussard, Eddo Coaicetto, and Michael Pryke. Also, Phil Ashton, Dave Barista, Brett Christophers, Steve Melman, Ivy Zelman, Robert Paterson, six anonymous reviewers, the graduate students of Cornell University Global Finance Initiative, and the attendees of the Cornell Seminar in Regional Science, Planning, and Public Policy and other presentations of these papers. When you are in graduate school for as long as I have been, you develop a substantial peer group. This group is too large to mention everyone, so for now let me mention George Homsy, Sheryl-Ann Simpson, Dan Kuhlmann, Shoshana Goldstein, and Yunji Kim. Thank you all. Along with my school friends, numerous other Ithaca friends have supported me during this time, including, but not limited to, Jane Glaubman, John Scott and Karen Rodriguez (and Sam and Leo), Ange and Jameson Romeo-Hall, Tammy Baker, Trevor Pinch and Christine Leuenberger (and Annika Pinch). Beyond the limits of our little ‘burg, I continue to rely on the friendship and love of our friends Lisa Bernhard, Kevin St. Martin and Marianna Pavlovskaya, as well as the families of both Laurie and myself. Finally, as implied in the dedication, this dissertation would have never been completed without the almost unfailing support of my wife, Laurie Miller, and daughter, Maddie Wissoker. It’s been a very long haul, and they’ve been as merciful as one could ask, particularly given the circumstances. Thank you. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Biographical Sketch……………………………………………………….……..v Dedication……………………………………………………………………….vi Acknowledgements…………………..…………………………………………vii 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………1 2. Putting the Supplier in Housing Supply: An Overview of the Growth and Concentration of Large Homebuilders in the United States (1990–2007)………………………………………….11 3. Financialization Under Duress or From Insurance to Investments: Financialization and the Supply Side of Life Insurance and Annuities in the USA (1970–2006)……………………………..….71 4. Investable Suburbs: Recognizing the Role of Real Estate Finance and Investment in Local Retail Properties…………………………….107 5. Conclusion: Why Planners Need to Better Understand Real Estate………...167 ix Introduction Real estate developers, along with their investors and lenders, play an important role in shaping places. So, too, with planners. Planners may set policy, but the real estate sector serves as a limiting condition for what policies may accomplish. Planners can zone hoping for an outcome (for instance, dense affordable housing), or even offer subsidies to encourage the same, but in the U.S., at least, they are nearly always reliant on private developers to realize those ideas. At other times, developers push what can be legally done on a particular site not only to a limit, but often beyond (assuming cooperation at some level from local government in granting exemptions or other work-arounds). In an era where real estate development is often grounded in the use of public money as a source of partial financing, it behooves those who control the purse (including planners who often advise on the subject) to have as thorough an understanding of real estate industries as possible. This dissertation takes seriously the importance of the real estate industry for planners, but with the corollary that one cannot understand real estate without taking into account the investors and lenders that finance
Load more

Recommended publications
  • UNITED STATES SECURITIES and EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C
    Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2018 Commission file number 1-11749 Lennar Corporation (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 95-4337490 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 700 Northwest 107th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33172 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (305) 559-4000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered Class A Common Stock, par value 10¢ New York Stock Exchange Class B Common Stock, par value 10¢ New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ý NO ¨ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES ¨ NO ý Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
    [Show full text]
  • Lennar Corporation (Exact Name of Registrant As Specified in Its Charter)
    Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2017 Commission file number 1-11749 Lennar Corporation (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 95-4337490 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 700 Northwest 107th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33172 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (305) 559-4000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered Class A Common Stock, par value 10¢ New York Stock Exchange Class B Common Stock, par value 10¢ New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ý NO ¨ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES ¨ NO ý Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
    [Show full text]
  • October 15, 2010 Mr. Alfred M. Pollard General Counsel Federal Housing
    October 15, 2010 Mr. Alfred M. Pollard General Counsel Federal Housing Finance Agency Fourth Floor 1700 G Street NW. Washington, DC 20552 ATTENTION: Public Comments "Guidance on Private Transfer Fee Covenants, (No. 201O-N- 11)" Dear Mr. Pollard: On behalf of the more than 3,800 member companies of the American Land Title Association (ALTA), we applaud the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) for its guidance to the enterprises on the growing use of private transfer fee covenants and their effect on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank mortgage purchases, but especially consumers. Private transfer fee covenants provide no benefit to consumers, real estate or the public, but rather cost consumers’ money, complicate the safe, efficient and legal transfer of real estate and depress home prices1. ALTA, founded in 1907, is the national trade association and voice of the real estate settlement services, abstract and title insurance industry. With more than 8,000 offices throughout the country, ALTA members operate in every county in the United States to search, review and insure land titles to protect home buyers and mortgage lenders who invest in real estate. ALTA members include title insurance companies, title agents, independent abstracters, title searchers and attorneys, ranging from small, one-county operations, to large national title insurers. Real property is the greatest source of wealth in the United States, and access to that wealth is only possible because of a strong set of property rights that determine how property is used and owned. By establishing legal rights to property, economies have the surety necessary to use it as collateral in order to create additional capital.
    [Show full text]
  • UNITED STATES SECURITIES and EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C
    UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-Q QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the quarterly period ended May 31, 2019 Commission File Number: 1-11749 Lennar Corporation (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 95-4337490 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 700 Northwest 107th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33172 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) (305) 559-4000 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Class A Common Stock, par value $.10 LEN New York Stock Exchange Class B Common Stock, par value $.10 LEN.B New York Stock Exchange Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES ý NO ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). YES ý NO ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company.
    [Show full text]
  • Study of the Possible Effect of Problem Drywall Presence on Foreclosures Report to Congress July 17, 2012
    Study of the Possible Effect of Problem Drywall Presence on Foreclosures Report to Congress July 17, 2012 Summary Overview This report is HUD’s response to section 1494 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which required the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, to conduct a study of the effect on residential mortgage loan foreclosures of: (1) the presence in residential structures subject to such mortgage loans of drywall that was imported from China during the period beginning with 2004 and ending at the end of 2007; and (2) the availability of property insurance for residential structures in which such drywall is present. The report begins by providing context and background information regarding drywall imported from China, its presence in the U.S. homebuilding market, and the recent problems associated with it. It then calculates the extent of possible impacts associated with problem drywall by estimating of the number of residences built with drywall imported from China, the geographic distribution of these units, and the fraction of units affected. Following this assessment of scope and scale, the report examines how the presence of problem drywall might catalyze a foreclosure. This section includes discussion of the indirect consequences of problem drywall, the primary causes of foreclosure in the U.S. housing market, and whether property insurance mitigates the problems caused by some of the Chinese drywall. The report concludes with recommendations and a summary of key findings. Key Findings. While a significant issue for those with problem drywall in their homes, problem drywall was not a significant contributor to the foreclosure crisis in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • California, Pivot of the Great Recession
    California, Pivot of the Great Recession by Ashok Bardhan Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics Haas School of Business and Richard Walker Department of Geography California Studies Center Working Paper No. 203­10 Institute for Research on Labor & Employment University of California, Berkeley March 2010 1 The financial crisis that struck in 2008 marked the onset of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The newly dubbed 'Great Recession' is a worldwide phenomenon, which some have called the first true crisis of the era of globalization. It crippled banks around the world, from Iceland to Hong Kong. It hit global trade hard in early 2009, with severe fall-offs from Korea to Germany. It crashed housing markets from Spain to South Africa. And it left millions unemployed, from Sheffield to Shenzhen (Krugman 2008, Henwood 2009, Stiglitz 2010). The intensity of the downturn was bound to be felt unevenly across the globe, no matter how well-integrated world markets have become. Places dependent on housing construction, large capital goods manufacturing, exports, and speculative finance have suffered the most. The United States is generally acknowledged to be the pivotal country in the drama of the crisis. Not only is the U.S. economy the largest in the world, its exaggerated household debt, rampant financial speculation, and ballooning trade deficits were critical elements of the financial collapse that triggered the general downturn. But the geography of the crisis has yet to be explored more precisely at the subnational level. Much has been written about Wall Street, of course; as the world’s financial routing center, backed by the dollar as the global reserve currency and government credit markets of last resort, the Wall Street financial virus ended up infecting the entire global system (Shiller 2008, Read 2009, Sorkin 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • 2017 Conference Program
    THE FSU REAL ESTATE CENTER’S 23RD OCTOBER 19 & 20, 2017 TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA fsutrends.com | 850.644.4071 LEGACY LEADERS GOLD SPONSORS THE FSU REAL ESTATE CENTER’S 23RD CONFERENCE PROGRAM LEGACY LEADERS Centennial Management Corp. The Kislak Family Foundation, Inc. The Real Estate TRENDS Conference is organized to inform participants of the emerging trends and issues facing the real estate industry, to establish and strengthen professional contacts, and to present the broad GOLD SPONSORS range of career opportunities available to our students. It is Berkadia Florida Trend organized by the FSU Real Estate Center, the Florida State University CNL Financial Group GreenPointe Holdings, LLC Real Estate Network and the Colliers International Lennar Homes students’ FSU Real Estate Society. This event would not be possible Cushman & Wakefield Osprey Capital without the generous financial The Dunhill Companies Ryan, LLC support of its sponsors. Eastdil Secured STR, Inc. PROGRAM PARTNERS The Program Partner designation is This year’s conference reserved for those who have made features a personalized major gifts to advance the Real Estate schedule, guest messaging, Program at Florida State University. and on-site updates delivered directly Donna Abood to your phone* Beth Azor Kenneth Bacheller Mark C. Bane Bobby Byrd Harold and Barbara Chastain Marshall Cohn Peter and Jennifer Collins John Crossman/Crossman & Company Scott and Marion Darling Florida State Real Estate Network, Inc. Mark and Nan Casper Hillis Evan Jennings The Kislak Family Foundation, Inc. The app is available in the Brett and Cindy Lindquist Android and IOS app stores. George Livingston Download now by searching *Android and IOS Shawn McIntyre/North American Properties FSU Real Estate Trends Greg Michaud compatible Francis Nardozza smart phones GARNET SPONSORS George Aase Epic Development Hooper Construction/Urban REI-Real Estate InSync Active Senior Concepts Extended Stay America Street Development Residential Elevators LLC Alexander Investments Florida Realtors® Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 Conference Program
    This year’s conference features a personalized schedule, guest messaging and on-site updates delivered directly to your phone.* The app is available in the Android and iOS app stores. Download now by searching FSU Real Estate Trends. *Android and IOS compatible smart phones PROGRAM PARTNERS The FSU Real Estate TRENDS Conference is organized to inform participants of emerging GARNET SPONSORS trends and issues facing the real estate industry, to establish and strengthen professional • American Realty Advisors • Foundry Commercial • Chris and Leah Marino • Residential Elevators LLC The Program Partner designation is reserved for contacts and to present the broad range of career opportunities available to our students. those who have made major gifts to advance the It is organized by the FSU Real Estate Center, the Florida State University Real Estate • Appraisal Institute - Region X • Franklin Street • NAI TALCOR • R.K.M. Development Corp. Network and the students’ FSU Real Estate Society. This event would not be possible Real Estate Program at Florida State University. • Coldwell Banker Hartung • Dean and Kathy Gatzlaff • Nelson Mullins Broad • Salzman Real Estate Advisors without the generous financial support of its sponsors. and Noblin, Inc. and Cassel • GEA Capital Advisors • Stearns Weaver Miller • Cushman & Wakefield • North American Properties • GreenPointe Communities, LLC • Timbers Resorts Donna Abood Bob and Darby Hold • Extended Stay America • NorthMarq • Gunster Law Firm • ULI Capital Region Leadership Council • FirstPointe Advisors, LLC • PEBB Enterprises Beth Azor Evan Jennings • Inland SunStopsTM • Voya Investment Management LEGACY LEADERS • Forge Capital Partners • REI-Real Estate InSync Kenneth Bacheller The Kislak Family • Marcus & Millichap Foundation, Inc. Mark C.
    [Show full text]
  • Lennar Corporation (Exact Name of Registrant As Specified in Its Charter) Delaware 95-4337490 (State Or Other Jurisdiction of (I.R.S
    Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark One) ☑ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2020 or ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the Transition Period from _______ To _______ Commission file number 1-11749 Lennar Corporation (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 95-4337490 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 700 Northwest 107th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33172 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (305) 559-4000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Class A Common Stock, par value 10¢ LEN New York Stock Exchange Class B Common Stock, par value 10¢ LEN.B New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes R No ¨ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No R Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
    [Show full text]
  • Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) – Statement for the Record
    Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) – Statement for the Record July 27, 2021 Hearing of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Oversight of Pandemic Evictions: Assessing Abuses by Corporate Landlords and Federal Efforts to Keep Americans in Their Homes Chairman Clyburn, Ranking Member Scalise, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide a statement regarding the March 25, 2021 hearing “Oversight of Pandemic Evictions: Assessing Abuses by Corporate Landlords and Federal Efforts to Keep Americans in Their Homes” by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. My name is Jim Baker and I am the executive director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. The Private Equity Stakeholder Project is a non-profit organization focused on tracking the impacts of investments by private equity firms and similar Wall Street firms on ordinary people, including residents of apartments, rental homes, and mobile home communities. Since early in the pandemic, we have tracked eviction filings by private equity firms and other corporate landlords across dozens of counties in several states – Florida, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Nevada. What we have seen is striking. Private equity firms and other corporate landlords have filed to evict at least 75,000 residents since the Trump administration put a moratorium in place to halt evictions last September, which has since been extended by Congress and the Biden administration. These filings have disproportionately impacted residents of color, particularly Black renters. In some cases, corporate landlords have refused to accept rental assistance even after their residents have been approved for it. Tracking evictions by corporate landlords Since April 2020, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project has tracked eviction filings by private equity firms and other corporate landlords across dozens of counties in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Nevada.
    [Show full text]
  • Lennar Annual Report-NEW.Rex
    1999 ANNUAL REPORT Table of Contents Financial highlights 3 Letter to shareholders 4 A simple emphasis: our customers 11 A simple operating model: where, what and how 13 A simple focus: growing strong in America’s fastest growing markets 14 A simple strategy: “Everything’s IncludedSM” from A to 17 Simply one stop: financial services 19 ...and simply a great place to work 21 Financial information 23 Simply Lennar The future belongs to the focused. It’s our focal point. It’s our strategy. It’s the way we build homes and sell homes. It’s the way we control our growth. It’s simply the way we manage our business. 1 1 Simply Lennar Building a better home As the nation’s fifth largest residential builder, with operations in Florida, California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada, we’ve helped to fulfill the home ownership dreams of over 160,000 families since the company was founded in 1954 - over 12,500 families in 1999 alone. Our fundamental goal: to build a better home, for the first-time buyer, the family moving up to a larger home, or the retirees looking for a home and community that fits their active lifestyle. We’ve continually set our standards higher, with a new generation of quality Zero Defect homes and our “Everything’s IncludedSM” program of upgraded home features. Keeping it simple and making it special. That’s what it’s all about. Building superior financial services Through our Financial Services Division, we’ve also helped to simplify the homebuying process with services that include everything from title, mortgage and closing services to cable television and alarm system installation and monitoring.
    [Show full text]
  • Transforming with Transparency: Investing in Innovation Amid Public
    ! Transforming with Transparency:! Investing in Innovation amid Public Scrutiny! ! New York Stock Exchange! June 3 and 4, 2014! ! ! Leadership Partners! ! Deloitte! IBM! Korn Ferry! PepsiCo! UPS! NYSE! CNBC! ! ! YALE CEO SUMMIT Marshall Ames Chairman Lennar Foundation *Linda Ban Global C-Suite Studies Director IBM Institute for Business Value *Maria-Paz Barrientos Partner & Vice President IBM Global Business Services Norman J. Bartczak Professor, Columbia Business School Founder, Financial Statement Investigation Bruce Batkin Chief Executive Officer Terra Capital Partners ‡Martin Becker Executive Vice President & COO DURA Automotive Systems Jonathan Berman Author, Fellow, Columbia University *Saul J. Berman Partner & Vice President IBM Global Business Services Richard J. Berry Mayor City of Albuquerque, NM Frank Blake Chairman & Chief Executive Officer The Home Depot ‡Allison Bober Director of Investor Relations Lennar Corporation John N. Bonfiglio Chief Executive Officer Oragenics ‡Mike Booen Vice President, Global Program Management MD Helicopters James C. Brainard Mayor City of Carmel, IN Richard C. Breeden 24th Chairman US Securities and Exchange Commission ‡*Ivy Brown President, Northeast District UPS Richard D. Calder Jr. President & Chief Executive Officer GTT Ashton B. Carter Deputy Secretary of Defense (2011-2013) US Department of Defense *Michelle Caruso-Cabrera International Correspondent CNBC ‡Eric Cevis President – Global Wholesale Verizon Communications James S. Chanos Managing Partner Kynikos Associates David Chun Chief Executive Officer Equilar Sanford R. Climan President Entertainment Media Ventures Christopher B. Coleman Mayor City of Saint Paul, MN Zack Cooper Professor of Health Policy & Economics Yale University Mick Cornett Mayor City of Oklahoma City, OK * Summit Sponsor ‡ CEO COLLEGE Participant YALE CEO SUMMIT Roger W. Crandall Chairman, President & CEO MassMutual Michael Crosby Chief Operating Officer The Deal Yong CUI President Xinyuan Int’l (HK) Property Investment Co.
    [Show full text]