Photo via SJV Homes.

Local homebuilder San Joaquin Valley Homes reported having closed sales on 465 homes in 2019, a record for the Visalia-based residential developer.

In addition, the company sold out four of its existing communities and opened seven new ones over the year.

In fact, SJV Homes was the most active homebuilder in Tulare and Kings counties last year, with more building permits pulled there than by any homebuilders, including three of America’s top builders, Lennar, D.R. Horton and Woodside Homes, according to a press release from the company.

“Most of these home communities were in Tulare County, where Visalia-based SJV Homes has long been the dominant builder. It pulled twice as many permits as its closest competitor,” the release continues, citing data from the Construction Monitor, which tracks building records nationwide.

“In the six years since SJV Homes was founded, we have grown steadily by building much-needed affordable housing in the Valley while generating hundreds of local jobs and supporting our local government with substantial tax and related revenue,” Joe Leal, the company’s co-founder, said in the press release. “To date, we have sold more than 2,000 homes. Our goal for 2020 is to open as many as six new neighborhoods in the Central Valley.”