L.A.'s trailblazing home builder is the latest to leave California
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One of Los Angeles’ most influential home builders, KB Home, is relocating its headquarters out of state, becoming the latest high-profile firm to do so.The company, which has been based in Los Angeles since 1963 and helped build its sprawling suburbs, is moving its main office to the Phoenix metropolitan area by spring 2027, in part to reduce costs and place its employees in a more affordable housing market.KB Home touted Arizona’s business-friendly environment as a reason for the move, but said it still plans to maintain six operating divisions in California.
The move to Arizona will help accelerate KB Home’s growth and streamline operations, Robert McGibney, president and chief executive of KB Home, said in a news release last week.“This move brings our teams together in a more collaborative environment, and Phoenix is the right place to do it,” McGibney said.The company has deep ties to California, with more than 100 projects and tens of thousands of homes across the state.KB Home has opened nine housing communities in Southern California in the last six months and plans to open 10 more by the end of 2026.
Business Despite a growing narrative that California is hostile to businesses, experts say the state still has unmatched advantages.The company’s shares, which have been falling this year amid concern about the property market, have climbed around 1% since it made the announcement late Wednesday.They closed little changed Tuesday at $51.93.KB Home got its start in Detroit in the 1950s and briefly shifted operations to Arizona before settling in California by 1963.
The company, which gets its name from the last names of its founders, Donald Bruce Kaufman and Eli Broad, rode the boom and helped shape the growth of Southern California.KB Home quickly emerged as one of the top builders of affordable homes in the country, starting in the post-World War II boom, wh...