Beazer boss: Big players favored in downturn

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The downturn in the U.S. housing market will lead to big, publicly traded home builders further boosting their market share, partly through buying smaller private builders, the chief executive of Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) predicted on Tuesday.

"If we have somewhat of a prolonged slowdown here, it will drive more and more small private builders out of the market," Ian McCarthy, Beazer's CEO, said at the Reuters Real Estate Summit in New York.

The boss of the No. 6 U.S. home builder said that smaller, private builders will find it increasingly hard to secure land going forward.

McCarthy also said bigger public players like Beazer will increase market share through what he called "guerrilla warfare." That meant bigger players winning market share through having locations, financing and purchasing power with suppliers.

Big public U.S. home builders have increased their market share to about 25 percent today from about 10 percent in the early 1990s, said McCarthy, who predicted the big players could raise their market share to between 35 and 40 percent by the end of the decade.

"In tough times, consolidation tends to happen," McCarthy added. "Without wishing for a slowdown, we and the other public builders are going to look at it as an opportunity to take market share."