Businessweek

PulteGroup, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. The company also engages in the mortgage banking operations and title operations. Homebuilding Operations The company’s homebuilding operations include the acquisition and development of land primarily for residential purposes within the United States and the construction of housing on such land. Homebuilding offers a product line to meet the needs of home buyers in its targeted markets. Through the company’s brands, which include Pulte Homes, Del Webb, and Centex, it offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhouses, condominiums, and duplexes at different prices and with varying levels of options and amenities to its major customer groups, such as entry-level, move-up, and active adult. The company has delivered approximately 600,000 homes. As of December 31, 2012, it conducted its operations in 58 markets located throughout 28 states. It had 670 active communities. The company’s homebuilding operations are aggregated into six segments: Northeast (Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the Rhode Island, and Virginia); Southeast (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee); Florida (Florida); Texas (Texas); North (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, northern California, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington); and Southwest (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and southern California). The company acquires land primarily for the construction of homes for sale to homebuyers, though it periodically sells select parcels of land to third parties for commercial or other development. As of December 31, 2012, it controlled 119,875 lots, of which 103,060 were owned and 16,815 were under option agreements. Seasonality: The company experienced a return to a more traditional demand pattern as new orders were higher in the first half of the year and home closings increased in each quarter (year ending December 2012) throughout the year. Financial Services Operations The company conducts its financial services business, which includes mortgage and title operations, through Pulte Mortgage LLC (Pulte Mortgage) and other subsidiaries. Pulte Mortgage arranges financing through the origination of mortgage loans primarily for the benefit of its homebuyers. The company is a lender approved by the FHA and VA and is a seller/servicer approved by Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and other investors. In the company’s conventional mortgage lending activities, the company follows underwriting guidelines established by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and private investors. Its subsidiary title insurance companies serve as title insurance agents in select markets by providing title insurance policies and examination and closing services to buyers of homes it sells. History PulteGroup, Inc., a Michigan corporation, was founded in 1956.