D.R. Horton’s growth ambitions in particular have competitors taking notice.

As the housing industry comes out of its recession, the big public companies have begun amassing land again at a frenzied pace.

Without question, as land prices have come down, more builders are pursuing land deals, some with a vengeance. In the first quarter of its latest fiscal year, Lennar spent $154 million to acquire 3,300 homesites. During the three months ended March 31, Standard Pacific spent $50.8 million on land, versus only $3.7 million in the same quarter in 2009. A few days ago, the Irvine, Calif.-based StanPac purchased 63 lakefront lots in the Rough Hollow community in West Austin, Texas, where it intends to build 2,200- to 3,200-square-foot homes.

“We would have done these deals in 2009, but land opportunities weren’t available,” Scott Stowell, StanPac’s COO, told BUILDER earlier this week. “Now, the curve is shifting towards us; land is breaking loose, finally, and we’re seeing more deals.” The builder expects to spend up to $400 million on land this year.

Also in Texas, Toll Brothers—which already sells out of 10 communities in Dallas-Fort Worth—last week picked up 171 homesites in The Reserve at Colleyville master plan. The Dallas Morning News reported that this was one of Toll’s largest land purchases in 15 years. Since November, Toll has spent over $100 million for 3,000 homesites nationwide.

Builders certainly aren’t alone in their pursuit of land for residential development, either. On Thursday,Forestar Land Partners, a venture joining the owners of the land investment company Foremost Communities and an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group Global, announced it has acquired 422 lots in the New Model Colony master planned community in Ontario, Calif., where Forestar will work with existing land owners to develop infrastructure in order to begin construction of new homes..........read more