Meritage Homes to Donate Brand New Homes to Operation Homefront in 2015

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Third year of partnership will benefit veterans by providing mortgage-free homes through “Homes on the Homefront” program

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE: MTH), a leading U.S. homebuilder, has renewed its partnership with Operation Homefront, a leading national charity supporting families of service members and Wounded Warriors, and will provide two brand new Meritage homes to the “Homes on the Homefront” program.

The partnership began in 2013, when Meritage Homes built and donated three new homes to Operation Homefront in Phoenix; Raleigh, North Carolina; and San Antonio. Last year, three more homes were donated in Meritage communities in Winter Springs, Florida; Lincoln, California; and Houston. This year, Meritage will donate two new homes in Tucson, Arizona, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Operation Homefront will select the recipients for the new homes and announce their names on September 11, with keys to be awarded on Veterans Day 2015.

“Giving these homes to veterans and their families through our partnership with Operation Homefront is one way for us to express our gratitude for their service and sacrifices,” said Steven J. Hilton, Meritage’s chairman and CEO. “Personally, it is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I love seeing the looks on the children’s faces when they walk through the door of their new home.”

Joseph Morgan and his family of five, who received a new home in Lincoln, California, said, “It’s been amazing and we don’t know how to express the experience. We have been able to save money for family emergencies and our children’s education. This is about being a family and coming together during the holidays, special occasions, and children’s birthdays. We are forever grateful to have the opportunity to create long-lasting memories in our home.”

In Orlando, Florida, Keith Hale and his family received a home last year and can’t thank Meritage and Operation Homefront enough for the opportunity of home ownership. “We thank them for giving our family the stability of having a house of our own. Being chosen to receive this home is overwhelming and life-changing for us.”

Brandi Suarez and her three children feel safe and enjoy spending time together in their new home in Houston. Brandi now attends many more of their school activities. “Our new home is closer to my children’s school. Being involved in my children’s activities as they are growing up is important to me. This Meritage community is friendly and a better environment for my three boys.”

The Homes on the Homefront program began in 2012. Since inception, Operation Homefront has placed more than 450 veterans and their families in mortgage-free homes. Meritage is the only new homebuilder to join the program.

“I’m extremely grateful for the continued support of Meritage Homes to help make the American dream of home ownership a reality,” said John I. Pray, Jr., Operation Homefront president and CEO.

“These homes are an investment in the future of our military families,” added Pray. “There’s nothing quite like the stability and security of a home – particularly for those who have sacrificed so much for all of us in securing our way of life as Americans. It’s our honor to join with Meritage and present these homes to two great American military families this Veterans Day.”

For more information about the program, please visit www.homesonthehomefront.net.

About Meritage Homes Corporation:

Meritage Homes is the eighth-largest public homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2014. Meritage builds and sells single-family homes for first-time, move-up, luxury and active adult buyers across the Western, Southern and Southeastern United States. Meritage builds in markets including Sacramento, San Francisco's East Bay, the Central Valley and Orange County, California; Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio, Texas; Phoenix/Scottsdale, Green Valley and Tucson, Arizona; Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg and York County, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Atlanta, Georgia.

Meritage has designed and built more than 85,000 homes in its 30-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and positive customer experience. Meritage is the industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding and has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award in 2013, 2014 and 2015, for innovation and industry leadership in energy efficient homebuilding. Meritage was the first national homebuilder to be 100 percent ENERGY STAR qualified in every home it builds, and far exceeds ENERGY STAR standards today.

For more information, visit meritagehomes.com.

About Operation Homefront:

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 2,500 volunteers with nationwide presence who provide emergency and other financial assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. Operation Homefront has provided assistance to thousands of military families since its inception in 2002. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity watchdog groups, nationally, 92 percent of Operation Homefront’s expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.

Operation Homefront
Jason E. Moody, 210-549-4653
PR Specialist
Jason.Moody@OperationHomefront.net
or
Tom Greer, 240-429-7879
VP Communications & Outreach
Tom.Greer@OperationHomefront.net
or
Meritage Homes Corporation
Brent Anderson, 972-580-6360
VP Investor Relations
Brent.Anderson@meritagehomes.com

Source: Meritage Homes Corporation

Released May 26, 2015