Hovnanian Enterprises

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (nyse|HOV) is a United States real estate company involved in every aspect of marketing homes, including design, construction and sales. The company works with individual detached housing as well as higher-occupancy dwellings, including townhouses, condominiums and retirement homes. In most cases, the company acquires and develops the land on which these developments are built, but in some geographic regions, Hovnanian offers to build their proprietary house designs on private land. The Company consists of two operating groups, homebuilding and financial services, and recently entered the Fortune 500.

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. builds about 14,600 houses a year, with base prices ranging from $46,000 to $2,350,000 and averaging about $280,000. It operates in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. [http://www.investor.reuters.wallst.com/stocks/company-profile.asp?rpc=66&ticker=HOV] The Hovnanian family controls about 80% of the company shares (30% of the shares were worth $1 billion in 2005).

The company, based in Red Bank, NJ, was founded in 1967 in the United States by Kevork Hovnanian, an ethnic Armenian originally from Iraq. [ [http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20070815_J_S__Hovnanian__New_Jersey_builder__dies.html J.S. Hovnanian, New Jersey builder, dies | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/15/2007 ] ]

Complaints, Praise, & Awards

Hovnanian has been the subject of customer complaints. In a few cases, there have been legitimate construction problems in some Hovnanian houses. For example, in 2005, Hovnanian acknowledged problems in a development in New Jersey after nearly three dozen disgruntled homeowners turned to elected officials when their complaints were ignored [http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/0/de158967ac586f5586256fcd00590016?OpenDocument N.J.: State Report Details Homebuilding Flaws] , Daily Real Estate News, "Realtor Magazine Online", March 23, 2005, accessed August 11, 2007] . K. Hovnanian Homes has also been the subject of praise from homeowners citing the builders reputation and solid history. [http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/HOMESCAPE98/801130353 Woman trades noisy neighbor for a peaceful K. Hovnanian Home] , Asbury Park Press, "app.com", January 13, 2008, accessed February 2, 2008] Hovnanian has also received numerous awards based on the quality of their construction and high level customer support. [http://www.nahbrc.org/news/pressreleases/rc_20060907.aspx K. Hovnanian Homes Earns National Housing Quality Certification for Outstanding Quality Assurance and Customer Satisfaction] , NAHB Research Center, "nahbrc.org", September 7, 2006, accessed February 2, 2008] [http://www.toolbase.org/Best-Practices/Business-Management/Quality-Methods-Award-Winning-Performance Six Quality Methods for Award Winning Performance of National Housing Quality award winners] , Toolbase Services, "toolbase.org", accessed February 2, 2008]

External links

* [http://www.khov.com/ K. Hovnanian Homes Corporate Website]
* [http://www.khovmortgage.com/ K. Hovnanian American Mortgage LLC - Financial Services]

Data

* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/12/12028.html Yahoo! - Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. Company Profile]

Articles

* [http://www.mikemilken.com/fincareer.taf?page=hovnanian Kevork and Ara Hovnanian, Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.]

Videos

* [http://online.wsj.com/public/page/0,,8_0000-QWhOf4MA9PSXqfg1b1C9trjPziWNMtG_-uUCzoeMmZOtKg6dMoZGNudcZ6WQcw9B5,00.html?mod=ARTICLE_VIDEO April 7, 2005 - Hovnanian Enterprises CEO Ara Hovnanian discusses interest rates' effects on homebuilding]

References

* [http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/overview.asp?symbol=HOV.N - Reuters Company Profile for (HOV) Hovnanian Enterprises]

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