Builder- March 2009 - (Page 63) THE DRAGAS COS. Virginia Beach, Va. 367 units Left to right: John Buckley III, COO; Helen E. Dragas, president and CEO; Robert C. Makin, CFO operational practices, including extensive market research, strict land acquisition guidelines, and community involvement. For decades, Dragas has used the services of well-established consultants to stay on top—and ahead—of national trends in markets, products, and best practices. Acting on the information that’s gathered, however, “often requires a level of discipline that can be excruciatingly difficult to exercise,” the company wrote in its America’s Best Builder entry package. “We make decisions based on hard facts, not market frenzy, speculation, or gut instinct. As a result, we rarely make mistakes in land acquisition, rezoning requests, or product design, construction, and marketing.” That research has kept it squarely focused on building moderately priced homes for fi rst-time buyers, a market that is less subject to the volatile swings in real estate and is constantly replenished as a new generation comes of age. The result: Dragas consistently leads its market in the number of homes sold. In 2006, in Virginia Beach, it sold 40 percent more homes than its next closest competitor. In 2007, that was up to 54 percent. With ready access to cash to snap up the lots that so many builders are anxious to unload, The Dragas Cos.’ disciplined approach to land buying is invaluable. Dragas says she stays in the geographic areas the company knows best as it relates to customers, economics, local politics, zoning viability, and the nuances of the housing market. It focuses on highly desirable infi ll sites in terms of population and job growth—“all the demographic factors,” she (see page 64) Tina Williams W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM m a rc h 2 0 0 9 BUILDER ■ 63 http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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