By Angela Gonzales  –  Senior Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal

Hammers are flying as homebuilders are busy bringing more homes to the Valley.

Tri Pointe Homes Inc. (NYSE: TPH) has begun construction at Waterston North, a new home community in the southern part of Gilbert that will boast 485 single-family homes across six neighborhoods.

Plans call for homes ranging between 1,830 and 3,970 square feet, with prices starting in the high $400,000s in a new community called Waterston North.

Models and an amenity center currently are under construction, said James Attwood, Arizona division president for Nevada-based Tri Pointe Homes.

“This community we’re bringing to life right now will be the largest as far as the number of homes we’ll be building within one community,” he said. “It’s the largest we’ve ever done.”

Other builders

Meanwhile, across town, homebuilders are buying lots in Surprise with plans to build hundreds of homes.

Newport Beach, California-based Landsea Homes (Nasdaq: LSEA) paid $7.3 million for a 28.7-acre parcel west of the northwest corner of Grand Avenue and Deer Valley Road in Surprise, according to Tempe-based Vizzda LLC real estate database. Plans call for building 122 homes there.

Century Communities has plans to build 630 homes in that area on a total of 139.67 acres, most recently paying $15.6 million for 49.23 acres north of the northeast corner of 183rd Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road, according to Vizzda.

Also in that area, Oakwood Homes paid $16.59 million for 40.19 acres at the southwest corner of Citrus Road and Norwich Drive in Surprise, according to Vizzda. Plans call for building 218 homes there.

Toronto-based Mattamy Homes bought 72 acres in Surprise near Jomax Road and 147th Avenue for nearly $11 million, with plans develop its own $115 million master-planned community called Bonita Ranch.

Mattamy also paid $20.45 million for 122 acres in Goodyear to develop its own $250 million master-planned community.