Three years ago, veteran realty executive Jennifer Keller was charged with establishing homebuilding operations in Houston and potentially other Texas markets for William Lyons Homes, a publicly traded builder in California that gained a presence in Texas through the acquisition of RSI Communities in Austin. Keller left her job as president and chief operating officer of Land Tejas, a Houston developer of master planned communities, to take on the new role.
The assignment was short-lived. William Lyons Homes was acquired by Taylor Morrison Homes Corp. in Feb. 2020 in a nearly $2.2 billion transaction. Keller stayed on through the transition, leaving in April 2020 just as the coronavirus pandemic began to shake up the housing market.
Now, with backing from private investors, Keller is drawing on her expertise across homebuilding and land development — as well as contacts from 25 years in the industry — to start a new company. Hamilton Thomas Homes, which is named for her son, recently broke ground on its first home in the Balmoral community in Humble and is also building in two other Land Tejas communities: Marvida in Cypress and Sunterra in Katy. The builder has secured 133 lots across the three communities to build houses starting in the $300,000- and $400,000-range.
Hamilton Thomas Homes is entering the market as the demand for houses is exceptionally strong. Houston posted the most single-family home permits in the nation at 40,255 in the first nine months of 2021, according to a National Association of Home Builders analysis of Census data. It was followed by Dallas with 39,161.
Originally from Arkansas, Keller came to Texas 30 years ago while in high school when her father was stationed in Fort Hood for the Army. She earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University in 1992 and a master's in civil engineering from the University of Houston in 1996.
Keller, who will serve as president of the Greater Houston Builders Association in 2022, spoke with the Chronicle about working in an industry dominated by men, what prepared her to launch her own company, and the outlook for Houston housing.
Q: How did you get into home building?
A: I started out my career in engineering. I started out doing water resources. Along that path, I ended up getting exposed to doing water models for master-planned communities. At some point along the way as an engineer, I asked to be transferred into the land development group. That's where I got direct planning and designing experience with neighborhoods.
Q: You left to work at KB Home. What was it like working for a large public homebuilder?
A: Right before the financial crisis (of 2008), we were doing a lot of volume. We were doing close to 3,000 homes a year in Houston. That was in '06. There was an opening for land acquisition, which is the buying of the land. Fortunately, I had some really good bosses who said, "Let's give her that opportunity." I jumped into that and I've done that ever since, too.
Q: Why was it so appealing?
A: I fell in love acquisition process. It's strategic, it's planning, it's research, it's where do we want to be, not just next year but three years and five years out. It's a whole bigger picture process that I just fell in love with.
Q: You joined Land Tejas in 2014. How was it different working for a developer?
A: As a homebuilder, you have big projects, but they're quicker, higher volume, they turn faster. Some of the master-planned communities can be 10, 20, 30 or more years. They're financed differently, they're planned differently. I got the opportunity to work for Land Tejas as their president and COO. All different levels of things with investor relationships, how to finance big projects, how to plan and market big projects, and negotiating with homebuilders.
On HoustonChronicle.com: New homebuilder begins operations in Houston market
Q: What was it like leading William Lyon Homes in Houston?
A: That was exciting because it was taking everything I ever learned as an engineer and a land developer and a home builder up to that point and starting from a blank slate and growing an operation. We had about an 18-month run of that before Taylor Morrison acquired William Lyon.
Q: Was it difficult to start a company during COVID?
A: I put a business plan together. Of course, COVID was going on, so the world was a little crazy. Is the world with COVID really going to want to do a startup homebuilding company? Surprisingly, there were a lot of groups that were interested in doing that.
Q: What did you do to get the company off the ground?
A: We have a great architect called Lavender Design Group out of San Antonio. The owner is Carol Lavender and she previously worked for David Weekley as an in-house architect. She has creative, fresh ideas. We'll launch the company with probably a 10-plan lineup. Those plans will start selling at the end of this year or January, and then close our first homes in early summer and take the business from there.
Q: How has COVID affected your home designs?
A: The open floorplans are great, but we're trying to make some niche areas where you can get some cozy, quieter workspaces. We've focused on several of our plans on having a second bedroom on the ground floor. That's something that has been in the market for multi-generational purposes. We're thinking of it for COVID. Kids come home from college, accommodating a larger family and having space in our home to do that.
Q: Any other important attributes?
A: We have a focus on our outdoor living. In the COVID environment, there's more emphasis with having a yard and outdoor space and a sanctuary.
Q: How did you determine where to build?
A: Land Tejas, having worked there, I have a great relationship with them. They've been super supportive of this company's future.
Q: What are lot prices like now compared to the past?
A: Probably 10 years ago, they might have been $600 a front foot. Today, they are $1,400 a front foot. If you take a 50-foot lot times $600, that was a $30,000 lot. Now, that same size lot is $70,000.
Q. What kind of challenges are you having with getting building materials?
A: It's significant. Lumber has been volatile. It's down now, but it went through its volatility. Almost every piece of the house, windows have been hard to get, paint has been on and off. Sometimes you'll have trouble getting appliances. It's interesting how the supply chain issues have just touched almost every piece of the house.
On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston home sales drop in October amid labor, supply shortages
Q: How do you address them?
A: Having deep relationships. You can reach out to the network and get a lot of help. We have 1,400 members in the Greater Houston Builders Association. Being able to reach out to folks and saying I'm having a challenge. Anybody know anybody that can fill the gap because I've got a challenge over here?
Q: Will affordability affect homebuilding?
A: Home price appreciation has gone up. We're at 40,000 new homes a year. We're up 30 percent year over year. You can't say people aren't buying houses. They are. The higher the price gets, it's definitely less affordable for a certain fraction of the people.
Q: What challenges have you faced being a woman in a field dominated by men?
A: I've been blessed. I can't point to a lot of challenges as a woman. I've had great mentors, great coaches, great bosses. I think people coming into our industry today have great opportunities. Many are women. We are launching a chapter of Professional Women in Building through the Greater Houston Builders Association. hat that's going to do on the positive side for women in our industry is give them a mechanism and a place to network.
Q: Besides launching Professional Women in Building (PWB), what's top of mind for the Greater Houston Builders Association?
A: With the housing market the way it is, the nucleus of where we build is moving farther and farther out. We want to expand our relationships with public officials. We are focused big time on workforce development. This year, we hosted a job fair at Gallery Furniture WorkTexas to get people into the trade for the labor shortages.
Q: What trade is most in demand?
A: Everything. Across the board. Framers, painters, foundation people, window (tradesmen), landscapers. We definitely need more people in the industry.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you ever faced?
A: Going through the financial crisis (of 2008). The volume of work. The challenges of new things you've never done before. The fear of what's next. The human process of seeing so many people be laid off. That was just tough, holding together teams and cultures in that environment where you had layoffs every few months.
Q: What advice would you give someone starting out?
A: Work hard. Never be afraid to raise your hand and volunteer to do something you don't know how to do. Every time I did that, I learned exponentially. I don't think I would be here today had I not taken some of those opportunities.
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katherine.feser@chron.com
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