D.R. Horton buys lots in Rye Wilderness Estates

BUYER: D.R. Horton Inc. (principals: Paul Romanowki, Donald Tomnitz, Bill Wheat, Donald Horton, Thomas Montano and Stacey Dwyer), Fort Worth, Texas

SELLER: Florida Properties II LLC

PROPERTY: lots 2, 4, 6, 16, 20, 23, 26, 28, 31, 35, 37, 51, 53, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 66 and 77, Rye Wilderness Estates, phase II, a portion of Rye Road, Bradenton

PRICE: $600,000

LAW FIRM ON DEED: Holland & Knight LLP, Orlando

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Fort Worth, Texas-based homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. purchased 20 home lots in Rye Wilderness Estates for $600,000.

The price equated to $30,000 per lot.

The homebuilder, one of the largest in the country, also acquired four lots in a separate transaction with another bank, giving it a total of 24 lots in the community. Rye Wilderness Estates is on North Rye Road, north of State Road 64 before Rutland Road.

“It has never been a better time to buy a home,” says Darren Saltzberg, vice president of sales and marketing for the Tampa-Sarasota division of D.R. Horton. “We feel the same way about land and we practice what we preach. Five years ago we wanted to get into the Manatee and Sarasota markets but we couldn't because of price.”

The company has now added 11 communities in the last six months to its portfolio in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

The homebuilder plans to start construction on a model in Rye Wilderness Estates soon and it also hopes to eventually buy additional home lots in the community. Homes will start at $200,000.