BUILDER BOOM

Surveying a row of three- to five-bedroom homes going up along the recently asphalted Addison Drive, Tom Bradbury spots a problem. Plunging his brown brogue leather shoes into the Georgia red clay, he makes a beeline for a construction crew manning an excavator, telling them exactly where they need to dig.
"Everything has to be done right the first time and on time," Bradbury says. "Like when a car comes off the assembly line, it has to be ready to go."
Bradbury is an expert at churning out neighborhoods like this one "Duncan Farm" in Cartersville, a suburb of Atlanta-with Ford-like efficiency. Since 2008, his Smith Douglas Homes has built 304 communities across five states. Bradbury has invested heavily in scheduling and logistics software, which enables him to build a house in just 59 business days, roughly 20% faster than other builders. Sales hit $765 million in 2023. Shares of Smith Douglas, which he took public in January, have jumped 52% this year, making the 80-year-old, who owns 88% of the firm, a new billionaire.
It's a terrible time to be a homebuyer: Prices have skyrocketed, and mortgage rates have spiked to levels not seen since 2008. Yet given a nationwide shortage of at least 4 million units, it'...