PHM Company Profile

We have two reportable business segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services, and one non-operating segment, Corporate. The Homebuilding segment consists of the following two business units:

Domestic Homebuilding, our core business, is engaged in the acquisition and development of land principally for residential purposes within the continental United States and the construction of housing on such land targeted for the first-time, first and second move-up, and active adult home buyers.

International Homebuilding is primarily engaged in the acquisition and development of land principally for residential purposes, and the construction of housing on such land in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Argentina.

The Financial Services segment consists principally of mortgage banking and title operations conducted through Pulte Mortgage and other subsidiaries.

We are dedicated to improving the quality and value of our domestic homes through innovative proprietary architectural and community designs and state-of-the-art customer marketing techniques. Analyzing various qualitative and quantitative data obtained through extensive market research, we segment our potential customers into well-defined buyer profiles. Segmentation analysis provides a method for understanding the business opportunities and risks across the full spectrum of consumer groups in each market. Once the demands of potential buyers are understood, we link our home design and community development efforts to the specific lifestyle of each targeted consumer group.

To meet the demands of our various domestic customers, we have established a solid design expertise for a wide array of product lines. We believe that we are an innovator in the design of our homes and we view design capacity as an integral aspect of our marketing strategy. Our in-house architectural services teams and management, supplemented by outside consultants, are successful in creating distinctive design features, both in exterior facades and interior options and features. In certain markets our strategy is to offer “the complete house” in which all features shown in the home are included in the sales price. Standard features typically offered include vaulted ceilings, appliances, and a variety of available flooring and carpet.

Competition and other factors

Our dedication to customer satisfaction is evidenced by our consumer and value-based brand approach to product development, and is something that we believe distinguishes us in the homebuilding industry and contributes to our long-term competitive advantage. The housing industry in the United States, however, is highly competitive. In each of our market areas, there are numerous homebuilders with which we compete. We also compete with the resales of existing house inventory. Any provider of housing units, for-sale or to rent, including apartment builders, may be considered a competitor. Conversion of apartments to condominiums further provides certain segments of the population an alternative to traditional housing, as does manufactured housing.

The mortgage industry in the United States is highly competitive. We compete with other mortgage companies and financial institutions to provide attractive mortgage financing to both our homebuyers and to the general public. The Internet is also an important resource for homebuyers in obtaining financing as a number of companies provide online approval for their customers. These Internet-based mortgage companies may also be considered competitors.