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Article Excerpt
When KB Home was known as Kaufman & Broad, it had the reputation of selling fairly modest, affordable homes to the masses during the postwar era's long suburban growth.
But during the recent housing boom, the company's revenue and profits soared along with the size of its houses--until the bubble burst.
However, the Westwood homebuilder thinks it has found a formula for success now that the market appears to be slowly recovering: It is building fairly modest, affordable homes again.
Earlier this year, KB launched its Open Series line, homes that can run less than 1,500 square feet and sell for less than $150,000, far less than the models that regularly topped 4,000 square feet and $500,000 earlier this decade.
And it's not just size that differentiates the homes.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
While McMansions of a few years ago featured granite countertops, sunken tubs and outdoor fireplaces, the new homes can be ordered without doorbells and garbage disposals, all in the name of saving a buck.
"It is a concentrated effort to really go to KB Home's roots to offer first-time buyers what they need," said Steve Ruffner, president of KB Home's Southern California coastal division....
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