Meritage Homes to Donate Brand New Homes to Operation Homefront in 2016

SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- (Marketwired) -- 05/26/16 -- Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE: MTH), a leading U.S. homebuilder, has again renewed its partnership with Operation Homefront, a leading national charity supporting families of service members and Wounded Warriors. Together the companies will place two military families into brand new, mortgage-free and energy efficient Meritage homes through the "Homes on the Homefront" program.

This is the fourth year Meritage Homes has built and donated new homes to Operation Homefront. Last year, two homes were donated in Meritage communities in Tucson, Arizona and Harrisburg, North Carolina. This year, Meritage will donate two new homes in Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas.

Operation Homefront will select the recipients for the new homes and announce their names on September 9, with keys to be awarded on Veterans Day.

"We are grateful to our military veterans for their service and sacrifices, and we salute organizations like Operation Homefront whose mission it is to help them when they return home," said Steven J. Hilton, chairman and CEO of Meritage Homes. "It's an honor and a privilege to help enrich the lives of deserving military families, relieve their stress, and give them a safe place to call home."

Army Sgt. Stuart Colon, his wife, and their nine-year-old daughter received a new home last year in Harrisburg, North Carolina. "For the first time we are finally able to look toward the future instead of living day by day," said Kimberly Colon, wife of Sgt. Colon. "Our current goals are to pay off our credit cards and save for our daughter's college education. We expect to be living in this home for years to come and look forward to being able to leave it to our kids someday."

In Tucson, Arizona, Marine Sgt. Patrick Martinez was selected to receive a four-bedroom home for his family of five. "The new home has helped us get our finances in order and put money into savings to focus on our positive financial future," said Silva Martinez, wife of Sgt. Martinez. "We want to thank everyone again for this amazing opportunity and everything that it means to our family."

The "Homes on the Homefront" program began in 2012. Since inception, Operation Homefront has placed more than 550 veterans and their families in mortgage-free homes. Meritage is the only homebuilder to join the program.

"Home ownership has been, and continues to be, a dream for many Americans. Thanks to Meritage Homes's fourth year of exceptional support, we will make that dream a reality this Veterans Day," said retired Brig. Gen. John I. Pray Jr., president and CEO of Operation Homefront. "Our military families do so much for all of us and we are thrilled that Meritage has joined with us to help build strong, stable and secure military families so they can thrive, not simply struggle to get by, in the communities they have worked so hard to protect."

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

About Meritage Homes Corporation:

Meritage Homes is the seventh-largest public homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2015. Meritage Homes 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 Homes 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 Homes has designed and built more than 90,000 homes in its 30-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and positive customer experience. Meritage Homes 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, 2015 and 2016 for innovation and industry leadership in energy efficient homebuilding. For more information, visit meritagehomes.com.

About Operation Homefront:

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families since its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 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
Housing Programs Communications Manager
Jason.Moody@OperationHomefront.net

or

Meritage Homes Corporation
Lauren Hendeles
602-750-5934
media@meritagehomes.com

Source: Meritage Homes Corporation and Operation Homefront

Released May 26, 2016