BUILDER Magazine Names Ashton Woods the 2023 Builder of the Year

Ken Balogh, President and CEO, Ashton Woods. Photo by Wedig & Laxton

Congratulations to Ashton Woods as the 2023 winner of the renowned Builder of the Year award, presented by BUILDER magazine, a Zonda Media brand. The privately-owned firm, based in Atlanta, GA and founded in 1989, grew from $300 million to over $3 billion over the past ten years, with closings increasing an impressive 252% since 2016 and 80% since 2020. With 8,591 homes closed and $3.5 billion dollars in revenue, Ashton Woods is ranked 12th on the Builder 100 list this year. Because of the company’s incredible growth and business acuity, Ashton Woods has earned the esteemed title of Builder of the Year, presented today at the annual Builder 100 conference.

“For years, Ashton Woods has continually ascended the ranks of the Builder 100 list,” said Jeff Meyers, CEO of Zonda. “And it is no surprise—their strategic business acumen combined with their ability to read the market and act quickly to create opportunity consistently sets them apart. We are proud to present Ashton Woods as the 2023 Builder of the Year.”

Ashton Woods’ industry-leading design, delivered via its award-winning Studios and AW Collections, fueled the company’s early growth over the past decade. In 2017, the company launched Starlight Homes, its entry-level brand focused on making the dream of home ownership a reality, particularly for first-time homebuyers, and they’ve never looked back.

“This honor is truly a testament to the collective work of our entire team,” said Ken Balogh, President and CEO of Ashton Woods. “While it was never a stated goal of ours to be named Builder of the Year, it is a by-product of the incredible talent we have across the organization and a culture that empowers our teams to take big swings, make an impact and do the right thing. Every single one of our employees should feel a great sense of pride in this recognition.”

Balogh attributes the company’s phenomenal growth to a culture that supports agile decision-making and empowers its employees to own their piece of the business at every level.

“This is really the core of our DNA. We’ve got a passionate team that is never satisfied with the status quo. We are always looking for ways to grow the business and we’ve got a team that has proven they can pull off anything they set their minds to. This is just the beginning; the best is yet to come.”

Ashton Woods currently sells homes in Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Dallas, Houston, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Antonio and Tampa – with plans to continue expansion into Nashville and Greensboro this year.

The Builder of the Year winner is chosen from the ranks of the annual Builder 100 list, developed from data gathered by Zonda. This award recognizes leaders within the home building industry who exemplify a passion and commitment to excellence in new-home construction.

About Ashton Woods

Ashton Woods is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies, delivering over 60,000 homes to homeowners over the course of its 30-plus years in business. The company markets its homes through its two award-winning brands, Ashton Woods Homes and Starlight Homes. The Ashton Woods brand is known for designing thoughtfully curated, inspired homes for people who love design. The company’s industry leading experience at The Studio and with AW Collections results in exceptional design and special designer touches in every Ashton Woods home. The Starlight Homes brand builds homes specifically for the first-time homebuyer, offering affordable homes with well-executed designs and quality finishes for buyers looking to make the dream of home ownership a reality. The company’s commitment to innovation and continually evolving to meet the needs of the market is a key reason it is one of the most celebrated homebuilders in the nation, winning hundreds of national and local industry awards in product design, community design, architecture, merchandising, sales, marketing, customer service and innovation and, most recently, being named Builder of the Year by Builder Magazine.

About BUILDER

BUILDER is the leading brand in the residential construction industry and delivers a strategic platform of data and media products. Through its award-winning journalism and in-person events, BUILDER is the trusted source for top builders, developers, architects, and other industry professionals. BUILDER is powered by Zonda, the largest information service provider of data-driven housing market solutions to the homebuilding industry.

About Zonda

Zonda provides data-driven housing market solutions to the homebuilding industry. From builders to building product manufacturers, mortgage clients, and multifamily executives, we work hand-in-hand with our customers to streamline access to housing data to empower smarter decisions. As a leading brand in residential construction, our mission is to advance the home building industry, because we believe better homes mean better lives and stronger communities. Together, we are building the future of housing.