Conaway Homes a 'David among the Goliaths'

Conaway Homes has cracked the list of the nation's top 400 builders.

The Whitehouse-based business ranked #394 on the Giant 400 list, an annual report published by Professional Builder magazine.

The magazine chooses the top 400 based on total housing units closed, and then ranks them based on total new residential revenues.

The only East Texas builder on the list, Conaway Homes is listed at #394 with 116 housing units closed and $19,249,482 in new residential revenues. Although the final ranking is based on revenues, Conaway Homes either tied or bested 33 other builders in terms of units closed.

"We were excited for a little while, but then you realize this is kind of like a mile marker… you're a little closer to your target, but there is still a ways to go," said Brent Conaway, vice president of sales and marketing. "And it's a moving target; you'll never truly get there."

While there is always room for improvement, a spot on the list still puts the family-owned business in select company. According to the National Association of Home Builders, there are 86,000 home builders in the United States.

In making its first appearance on the Giant 400, Conaway Homes actually closed fewer units this year than last, a trend seen overall on the list, which is published in May and reflects the previous year's results. A handful of those listed for 2008 are no longer in business.

The top-ranked builder, D.R. Horton Inc. out of Fort Worth, improved on its 2007 secondplace finish with 37,717 closings and more than $9 billion in revenues. Centex Corporation of Dallas is the only other Texas builder in the top 10, although the Lone Star state has 54 total listings representing the cities of Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, Plano, El Paso, Arlington, Irving, Frisco, Austin, North Richland Hills, San Antonio, McAllen, Conroe, Lubbock, Katy, Mesquite, Southlake, Sugar Land, Carrollton and Whitehouse.

Although being ranked in the Giant 400 is a matter of numbers, the day-to-day practices which yield those results is what matters, said Brent Conaway.

"Being on this list shows our commitment to customer satisfaction and improvement and value. We've built a really strong company with a very high quality reputation. Buyers see that and that one thing helped us move up and grow."

"If we weren't taking care of our customers, we wouldn't be on that list," he added.

Steve Conaway founded Conaway Homes in 1978 and serves as its chief executive officer. Sons Brent and Brian came on board in 1991 and 1993, respectively. Conaway Homes has developments all around the Tyler area from Jacksonville to Troup and Lindale, as well as in Longview, Kilgore and White Oak.