NVR Inc. 7601 Lewinsville Rd. ...
DESCRIPTION: NVR is far and away the largest builder in the Washington area and one of the top 10 builders of single-family homes in the country. It offers condominiums and single-family homes in 18 areas in 11 states.</br></br>DEVELOPMENTS: Over the past year NVR rode the strong housing market, with its low interest rates and strong buyer demand, and earnings grew accordingly. For fiscal 2001, NVR earned $236.79 million, compared with $158.25 million in 2000. Gross revenue for 2001 was $2.62 billion, compared with $2.32 billion the year before.</br></br>Executives at the builder attributed the increase to favorable market conditions and the company's focus on controlling costs. NVR is regarded as the country's most financially efficient home builder. It tends to earn a higher return than other builders because it doesn't tie up large amounts of capital in land purchases, choosing instead to buy options on lots. The company's present backlog of orders should ensure a revenue stream for a long time, analysts said.</br></br>In a survey by the California research firm J.D. Power & Associates, consumers ranked Ryan Homes, an NVR affiliate active in the Washington market, the second-best builder in the country in terms of customer satisfaction.</br></br>Approximately 48 percent of NVR's home settlements during 2001 occurred in the Washington-Baltimore region, which amounted to 59 percent of NVR's 2001 home-building revenue. NVR is thus heavily dependent on the economy and the demand for housing in the Washington area, which stayed relatively strong throughout 2001.