Wathen Castanos community photo

One of the Central Valley’s most prolific homebuilders has been purchased.

Clovis-based Wathen Castanos Homes has been acquired by Trumark Homes, which has divisions in California and Colorado and corporate offices in San Ramon and Newport Beach. The acquisition gives Trumark Homes a foothold into Central California as part of a strategic growth initiative to serve homebuyers from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean, according to a news release.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Originally founded in 1983 and currently led by president and partial owner Josh Peterson since 2014, Wathen Castanos Homes is a leading private homebuilder in California’s Central Valley and Central Coast. Currently building in San Luis Obispo, Monterey Bay, Clovis, Fresno and Madera, Wathen Castanos Homes is known for its award-winning design and energy efficiency, according to a news release.

Wathen Castanos secured 189 single-family home construction permits in 2022 with a valuation of more than $59.6 million, securing the No. 7 spot by value among homebuilders in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties, according to data from the Construction Monitor.

For 2023 to date, it has pulled nine permits valued at $2.9 million in the Central Valley.

“We are very excited and honored to join the Trumark Homes family,” said Peterson. “Over the decades that we have been in the homebuilding industry, we have always been guided by a foundation of quality and values, a tradition of craftsmanship, and dedication to high quality customer care. Trumark Homes shares these same guiding principles as well as the resources to accelerate our growth, which makes them the perfect match for us.”

The history of Wathen Castanos Homes dates back to the early 1920s, when James and Mary Pearl Wathen moved to the Central Valley from Kentucky, bringing with them “a family tradition of craftmanship.” Their sons began building subdivisions in the 1950s, establishing their companies Wathen Brothers and Mansionette Homes.

The next generation consisting of cousins Rich Wathen, Jr. and Kevin Castanos continued the family legacy, which incluces the master-planned Harlan Ranch.

In 2014, ownership was transferred to Peterson, Peter Castanos and Freddie Logue.

Trumark Companies was founded in 1988 as a multidisciplinary development firm with a focus on value-add residential and mixed-use entitlements. The Trumark Homes building division was born in 2008 and has developed more than 4,000 homes.

“Our acquisition of Wathen Castanos Homes is a unique opportunity to fulfill several of our strategic goals,” said Gregg Nelson, co-founder and co-CEO of Trumark Companies. “First and foremost, our companies share a similar culture as well as a commitment to building quality homes and providing an unparalleled homebuyer experience.”

Added Michael Maples, co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Trumark Companies, “With today’s announcement, our homebuilding portfolio is now contiguous from Northern California to Southern California. This is another important step forward in our vision of becoming the dominant regional homebuilder in the West, as this acquisition will allow us to exceed $1B in revenue in 2024.”

Trumark Homes launched a new homebuilding division in Colorado in 2021, marking the company’s first foray outside of California.

“The acquisition of Wathen Castanos Homes is the next step toward that vision as the company eyes additional growth opportunities in the Western United States to take advantage of the vast resources of Trumark’s parent company Daiwa House,” according to the release.

Founded in 1955, Daiwa House is Japan’s largest homebuilder, consisting of nearly 500 companies with nearly 73,000 employees worldwide as of April of this year. It projected $2.5 billion in operating income for fiscal 2023.

JTW Advisors LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Trumark Homes for this transaction.