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Parent Company Of Ryan Homes May Acquire Heartland Homes

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Their homes are all over the local landscape -- single family residences and town homes built by the two largest home developers in the region -- Ryan Homes, a division of Virginia-based NVR Inc., and Heartland Homes, a growing locally based home developer.

Now, sources tell KDKA that NVR is looking to cut a deal to acquire Heartland, making it a division within the multi-billion dollar NVR empire.

"I am surprised and shocked," said Antonette Farrah, who recently built a Heartland home in the Franklin Run development in Franklin Park.

"We went for Heartland over Ryan because Heartland had a better reputation for customer service and for most customizable options, as it were," Farrah told KDKA money editor Jon Delano.

Jeff Burd of the Tall Timber Group analyzes home building in this region, and he sees no real downside to the proposed merger of the region's two top homebuilders.

"Even though they may look like night and day on paper and in culture, they're both very capable of adapting to what the market wants," Burd observed.

Burd says during the first three quarters of 2012, Ryan Homes has been the regional leader in building single family detached homes with 350 homes, followed by Heartland Homes with 231 homes and Maronda Homes with 126.

Seven other developers trail far behind.

Sources tell KDKA that one of the reasons this deal may happen so quickly is because of the Fiscal Cliff.

Because of higher tax rates next year, it makes a whole lot more sense to close the deal in 2012.

But even with the clock ticking, neither party has yet confirmed a deal has been made.

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