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Century Communities acquired substantially all the assets of HistoryMaker Homes, while the Mitchell family retained Jabez Development and build-to-rent operator ONM Living as independent businesses. Jabez is expected to continue developing selected communities for Century and pursue additional Dallas–Fort Worth land opportunities with the builder. The arrangement separates the operating homebuilder from the family’s other real estate businesses without ending its commercial connection to Century.
What Century Communities bought—and what the Mitchells kept
Century Communities announced its acquisition of substantially all assets of HMH Lifestyles, doing business as HistoryMaker Homes, on October 8, 2026. The reporting describes an asset acquisition, not a purchase of every Mitchell family real estate business. HistoryMaker, founded in Fort Worth in 1949, built exclusively in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. (Builder Magazine, October 8, 2026)
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The family retained Jabez Development, a land-development company, and ONM Living, a build-to-rent operator. HousingWire reported that both remained independently owned. Jabez would complete development work for Century in selected communities, and the companies expected to pursue more land opportunities in the DFW area together. (HousingWire / The Builder’s Daily, October 8, 2026)
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Homebuilding brings together land, construction, sales, financing, customer service, and local operations. Selling the operating builder transfers its production business and workforce to a larger platform. Retaining a land developer preserves a distinct capability: finding sites, building local relationships, securing entitlements, and preparing communities for construction.
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That is the strategic logic suggested by the reporting, not a full account of the Mitchell family’s private reasoning. Richard Moriarty, managing partner of Vestra Advisors, which advised HistoryMaker, told HousingWire / The Builder’s Daily that sellers are using the current M&A window to exit at healthy valuations and redeploy into land development, where local relationships and entitlement expertise can offer an advantage while they continue selling finished lots to the acquirer. That is an adviser’s interpretation of the market and deal structure, not a disclosed term or definitive statement of the family’s financial or succession plans. (HousingWire / The Builder’s Daily)
For the Mitchells, the reported arrangement therefore preserves an independent land-development business while giving it a continuing relationship with the company that now owns HistoryMaker’s assets. The sources do not disclose whether Jabez serves other builders, how its development work is contracted, or how land and demand risks are divided between the companies.
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What the deal changes for Century and HistoryMaker customers
Century planned to combine its existing DFW business and HistoryMaker into one Grapevine-based division. HistoryMaker leadership and employees were to join that division, while construction, sales, and closings were to continue as scheduled. Buyers already under contract were expected to keep working with their local HistoryMaker team. These are the announced operating plans, rather than a guarantee about any individual home or closing. (Builder Magazine)
The acquisition also expands Century’s local footprint. Builder Magazine said the deal would triple Century’s DFW community count and meaningfully expand its lot pipeline. HousingWire reported Century’s existing local volume at about 200–300 homes annually; it estimated the combined operation could reach around 800, with a possible path to 1,000. Those are reporter-attributed estimates, not guaranteed production results or transaction terms. (Builder Magazine; HousingWire / The Builder’s Daily)
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How this structure compares with another land-and-builder deal
A different 2025 transaction illustrates another way homebuilding operations and land assets can be separated. Lennar acquired Rausch Coleman’s homebuilding operations, while Millrose Properties acquired approximately 24,000 Rausch Coleman homesites for approximately $900 million. Millrose describes an option-based model for acquiring and developing residential land and selling finished homesites to builders. The transaction is context only: it does not establish that Jabez uses Millrose’s model or that the HistoryMaker transaction had the same financing or ownership structure. (Millrose Properties, February 10, 2025)
To compare builder-and-land arrangements, the useful questions are who owns raw land and finished lots; who pays for entitlement and development; whether a builder has an option or purchase commitment; where demand and land-value risk sit; whether the land company depends on one builder or can serve several; and whether the seller also retains rental assets. The available reporting does not provide enough contract detail to answer those questions for Jabez and Century.
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What is still not public
The cited coverage does not disclose the purchase price or valuation multiples. It also does not establish the Mitchell family’s private financial calculations, whether other bids were considered, the detailed terms of Jabez’s arrangements with Century, or any succession or estate-planning objectives. Those matters should not be inferred from the companies’ publicly described structure.
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