Houston Homebuilder Reduces Business

The struggling housing market is draining the life from another Houston builder.

David Powers Homes has moved out of its offices on Westheimer and the Beltway and is now operating out of a model home in Lakes of Bella Terra, a subdivision in Richmond.

The company’s staff — 120 people at its peak — has dwindled to just four or five. The high-end builder is now trying to finish the 36 homes it has in various stages of construction. “We’re trying to work our way through it,” said David Powers. “We’re just alive, awake and pressing forward every day.” Over his 20-year-plus career, Powers has built more than 3,000 homes worth a total of more than $1 billion.

Several years ago, the company was selling between 300 and 400 houses a year. Last year, it closed on an estimated 138.