Highlights
One of America's largest home building companies, with operations in 26 states.
Under the Del Webb brand, Pulte Homes is the nation's largest builder of active adult communities.
In 2007, the company chose to restructure, cutting about 16 percent of its workforce (nearly 2,000 jobs) and shuttering its Virginia plant.
Pulte Homes was founded in 1950 by an 18-year-old with the dream of becoming a home builder in his hometown of Detroit. Bill Pulte's first house sold for $10,000. Luckily, Pulte’s business took off and Pulte Homes has now constructed 500,000 homes throughout the company’s history. It is one of America's largest home building companies, with operations in 26 states, mainly in the south. Under the Del Webb brand, Pulte Homes is the nation's largest builder of active adult communities. It is also ecologically conscious: Pulte is adding fixtures and materials to its homes that help reduce water and energy usage and seeking ways to minimize overall impact on the environment.
In recent times, however, a downturn in the US housing market due to decreased affordability, increased foreclosures, and constraints on certain mortgage financing products have led to weakened demand for new homes and higher cancellation rates. This has decreased Pulte’s profitability, and in 2007 the company chose to restructure, cutting about 16 percent of its workforce (nearly 2,000 jobs) and shuttering its Virginia plant, which made prefabricated home components. It has also been named in lawsuits by subcontractors alleging breach of overtime payment and homebuyers alleging poor construction of homes.