DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) continues to stake their claim as the nations largest homebuilder, reporting a 33% increase in their profit margin during the pandemic. Against the backdrop of these gains, DR Horton had 126 new mechanics lien claims placed on properties across Florida in June 2020.
DR Horton has experienced steady growth during the first half of 2020, during which they boosted their profit margin by 33%. The homebuilding giant reported 3rd quarter fiscal profits of $630 million.
The homebuilding industry has benefited from a surge in residential demand during the coronavirus pandemic, with lockdown and stay-at-home orders contributing to a 7% increase in home prices over last year. DR Horton, among the nation’s largest homebuilders, recently announced a new partnership with Zillow Offers.
In spite of their business growth and rising profits during the pandemic, their developments have increasing mechanics lien claims placed in them in the past year.
According to DR Horton’s Payment Profile, the company has been the subject of a growing number of payment disputes in the past year, with non-payment warnings and liens filed against their properties in 4 states.
The 126 liens, filed in June of 2020 pursuant to Florida’s construction lien laws, were primarily spread out over properties in four of the developer’s new residential communities: Stonebriar at Bayside Lakes, Forest Trace, Southampton Lakes, Sawgrass Lakes The Willows.
Individual claims range in amount from $700 to about $5,000. Even as DR Horton is seeing home sales spike and steady growth as a whole, their contractors are apparently struggling to get paid.