Anderson, Vanguard File Bankruptcy 

Houses just aren’t selling

Sister companies Anderson Homes and Vanguard Homes — the latest residential real estate companies in the Triangle to succumb to the housing downturn — filed on Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to an article today in the Triangle Business Journal.

In its bankruptcy documents, Anderson Homes, based in Cary, claims $17.2 million in assets, $13.7 million in liabilities, and 100 to 199 creditors. Vanguard, based in Raleigh, claims $11.1 million in assets, $9.9 million in liabilities, and 50 to 99 creditors.

Dave Servoss, president of Anderson and Vanguard, says the companies ran into the same problems as other home builders: Houses just aren’t selling. “Most of our money’s in the ground,” Servoss says.

Layoffs give builders hope

Anderson Homes has been in business since 1980, building thousands of houses across the North Carolina region known as the Triangle. Vanguard was established in 2006 as an offshoot of Anderson Homes. The companies now employ 13 people, down from a peak of 66, Servoss says. The cuts were part of what Servoss called “a massive overhead reduction program” that he hopes will help put the company in better shape when it emerges from bankruptcy.

The latest in a string of home-builder bankruptcies

Several Triangle home builders and development companies have filed bankruptcy since the start of the housing downturn. The most recent was Vardis Homes of Apex, which filed a Chapter 7 liquidation just last week. Also included are of the region’s most notable names, such as MacGregor Development and St. Lawrence Homes. Many companies related to the business, such as construction and site-preparation firms, also have gone out of business or filed for Chapter 11.

The troubled companies face declining sales in both new and existing housing markets in the Triangle, although the Triangle markets have fared better than most across the country, with home prices remaining relatively steady.