Meritage Homes

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes was founded in 1985 and has grown into one of the top ten largest homebuilders in the country by volume. They're headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, and what separates them from most builders at their price point is a genuine, company-wide commitment to energy efficiency. This isn't a marketing afterthought — Meritage built their entire construction philosophy around it. Every home they build is ENERGY STAR certified, and they've put real money into things like spray foam insulation, low-E windows, and advanced framing techniques that most builders still treat as upgrades. They've won ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards multiple times, which tells you this is baked into how they operate, not just something they slap on a brochure. In Tampa Bay, Meritage has been active across Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk, and Manatee counties — covering a wide swath of the metro from Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills up in Pasco down through the Lakeland corridor in Polk and out toward Bradenton in Manatee. They're not the builder with a community on every corner like D.R. Horton, but they maintain a consistent presence across the region and tend to plant themselves in master-planned communities where they're one of several builders on-site. If you're searching around SR-54 and Bruce B. Downs in Wesley Chapel, or down toward Parrish and Ellenton near US-41, you'll run into Meritage communities. Price range in Tampa Bay runs roughly $300,000 to $700,000 depending on the market, the plan, and what you add at the design center. Meritage builds single-family homes and townhomes, and their floor plans tend to be well thought out — open layouts, decent storage, and owners suites that don't feel like an afterthought. What gets buyers' attention is what comes standard. Spray foam insulation in the attic, whole-home air sealing, Low-E windows, and programmable thermostats are included features, not upgrade line items. That translates to real electricity bills that are noticeably lower than comparable homes from other builders. They also build solar-ready homes and have offered solar packages in select communities, which matters in a market where Florida Power & Light and TECO rates keep trending upward. Construction is concrete block on the first floor, which is what you want in Florida — both for wind resistance and insurance purposes. The buying experience with Meritage is fairly structured. You'll work with an on-site sales consultant, go through their design center to make your selections, and then wait out a construction timeline that typically runs somewhere in the range of five to eight months depending on where you are in the build cycle and how backlogged the community is. Their design centers are solid — not as expansive as some luxury builders, but you'll have real choices without feeling overwhelmed. Communication during construction varies by project manager and community, which is true of almost every builder. The honest answer is that staying proactive — asking for weekly updates, doing your own drive-bys — is still the move regardless of what any builder promises about their communication process.

Meritage Homes at a Glance

Where Meritage Homes Builds

Meritage Homes is active in 4 Tampa Bay counties. Click a county to see all communities in that area.

What Meritage Homes Offers

Meritage Homes builds across 2 home types in the Tampa Bay market.

Specialties & What Sets Meritage Homes Apart

Key differentiators buyers should know about.

• Energy efficiency
• Solar-ready homes
• ENERGY STAR certified

Guides About Meritage Homes

In-depth guides and comparisons featuring Meritage Homes in Tampa Bay.

General Buyer Guides