Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

		Contacts:		Brent Anderson (972) 580-6360 (office) Brent.Anderson@meritagehomes.com Nancy Newton (602) 417-0684 (office) (602) 697-7785 (mobile) NNewton@c-k.com

Meritage Homes Reports 28% Increase in Third Quarter 2011 Sales Orders

Scottsdale, Ariz. (October 27, 2011) — Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE: MTH), a leading U.S. homebuilder, today announced third quarter results for the period ended September 30, 2011.

Summary Operating Results (unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

		Three Months Ended												Nine Months Ended
		September 30,												September 30,
		2011				2010				%Chg				2011				2010				%Chg
Homes closed (units)			840				848				-1	%			2,374				2,863				-17	%
Home closing revenue		$	217,534			$	233,803				-7	%		$	615,154			$	725,790				-15	%
Sales orders (units)			906				706				28	%			2,656				2,670				-1	%
Sales order value		$	245,235			$	183,571				34	%		$	701,861			$	680,666				3	%
Ending backlog (units)															1,060				902				18	%
Ending backlog value														$	288,523			$	242,411				19	%
Net (loss)/income — incl. impairments		$	(3,235	)		$	1,219				n/m			$	(9,332	)		$	8,045				n/m
Adjusted pre-tax (loss)/income* —excl. impairments and loss on early extinguishment of debt			(2,028	)			1,523				n/m				(6,471	)			12,995				n/m
Diluted EPS (including impairments)		$	(0.10	)		$	0.04				n/m			$	(0.29	)		$	0.25				n/m

ADDITIONAL THIRD QUARTER SELECTED RESULTS:

•		Total order value up 34% over 2010 on 4% higher average sales prices combined with 28% more orders
•		Acquired approximately 1,300 lots in 17 well-located communities during the quarter
•		Total cash and securities of $357M at September 30, 2011
•		Net debt to capital ratio of 33.4% at September 30, 2011
•		Opened 18 new communities during the quarter and ended with 149 active communities at September 30; first community in Raleigh-Durham division opened in October 2011

MANAGEMENT COMMENTS

“We achieved strong growth in sales and backlog this quarter compared to 2010, and I commend our team for helping buyers decide that this is the right time to buy, and demonstrating the value a new Meritage home offers that you won’t find in most homes,” said Steven J. Hilton, chairman and chief executive officer of Meritage Homes. “I am encouraged that we maintained healthy traffic levels despite the recent macroeconomic concerns, and believe we’ll continue to show year-over-year sales improvement next quarter with the help of our energy-efficient homes and new community locations.

“We were disappointed that we did not remain above break-even for the quarter — it has been a challenge to maintain or improve profitability when the housing market is still bumping along the bottom,” he continued. “We are focused on improving our top line while managing our costs and overhead. We remain confident in the long-term demographics supporting the homebuilding industry, and believe it’s just a matter of time before the market improves. We believe Meritage is one of the best positioned homebuilders to benefit when it does.”

NET EARNINGS

Meritage reported a net loss of $3.2 million or ($0.10) per diluted share for the third quarter of 2011, compared to net income of $1.2 million or $0.04 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2010. The $4.4 million net change from 2010 to 2011 was primarily due to a 7% decline in home closing revenue caused by a change in the geographic mix of closings. The revenue decline resulted in $4.5 million less home closing gross profit in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the third quarter of 2010, on relatively flat closings. The Company closed 840 homes representing 85% of beginning backlog in the third quarter of 2011, compared to 848 or 81% of beginning backlog in the third quarter of 2010.

Home closing revenue was lower in 2011 due to a 6% decline in average closing prices year-over-year, mainly attributable to a $15 million decline in closing revenue from California caused by reduced prices and fewer closings. That decline was only partially offset by higher closings in Texas, Colorado and Florida, where average prices are typically lower than California’s.

Average home closing gross margins for the third quarter were 17.5% in 2011 and 18.2% in 2010, reflecting the impact of price declines from the prior year in most markets. Home closing gross margins excluding impairments were 17.9% in 2011 and 18.5% in 2010.

Additional spending on marketing efforts designed to improve sales increased total selling, general and administrative expenses during the third quarter.

Combined with its loss in the first half of the year, Meritage reported a cumulative year-to-date net loss of $9.3 million or ($0.29) per diluted share in 2011, compared to year-to-date net income of $8.0 million or $0.25 per diluted share in 2010.

SALES ORDERS

Net sales orders increased 28% over the prior year’s third quarter, and combined with a 4% increase in average sales price for a 34% increase in total order value over 2010. Meritage achieved sales order gains in every state except Nevada. Sales more than doubled year over year in Florida and Colorado, where average sales per community for the quarter were 11.2 and 9.4, respectively. The Company’s average sales per community improved to 6.2 in the third quarter, compared to 4.7 in the prior year. Meritage had 149 active communities at September 30, 2011 compared to 150 a year earlier. Cancellations remained low at 17% of gross sales in the third quarter 2011, compared to 24% in 2010.

Year-to-date orders were flat year over year, as the increase in third quarter sales offset lower sales in the first half of 2011 compared to last year’s sales assisted by the home buyer tax credit. Total order value increased 3% due to a higher average sales price in 2011, reflecting a greater proportion of sales within move-up communities compared to 2010.

Meritage increased the number of homes in backlog by 18% year over year and 7% sequentially from the second quarter, ending with 1,060 homes valued at $289 million as of September 30, 2011, compared to 902 homes valued at $242 million as of September 30, 2010.

After starting a new division in the top-ranked housing market of Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, during the second quarter of 2011, Meritage opened its first community there in October and will report its first sales there during the fourth quarter of 2011.

BALANCE SHEET

The Company contracted for approximately 1,300 lots during the third quarter of 2011 and controls approximately 16,000 total lots, equivalent to a five-year supply based on trailing twelve months closings.

Meritage ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet including $357 million in cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, investments and securities, and a net debt to total capital ratio of 33.4% at September 30, 2011, compared to of 27.1% at September 30, 2010.

CONFERENCE CALL

Management will host a conference call to discuss these results on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (7:00 a.m. Pacific Time.) The call will be webcast by Business-to-Investor, Inc. (B2i), with an accompanying slideshow on the “Investor Relations” page of the Company’s web site at http://investors.meritagehomes.com. For telephone participants, the dial-in number is 877-317-6789 and the conference number is 10005091. Participants are encouraged to dial in five minutes before the call begins. A replay of the call will be available after 12:00 p.m. ET, October 27, 2011 on the website noted above, or by dialing 877-344-7529, and referencing conference number 10005091. For more information, visit meritagehomes.com.

Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Operating Results
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share data)

		Three Months Ended								Nine Months Ended
		September 30,								September 30,
		2011				2010				2011				2010
Operating results
Home closing revenue		$	217,534			$	233,803			$	615,154			$	725,790
Land closing revenue			—				—				100				1,222
Total closing revenue			217,534				233,803				615,254				727,012
Home closing gross profit			38,070				42,561				108,037				133,455
Land closing gross (loss)/profit			(127	)			—				(118	)			258
Total closing gross profit			37,943				42,561				107,919				133,713
Commissions and other sales costs			(19,708	)			(19,624	)			(53,876	)			(58,452	)
General and administrative expenses			(16,466	)			(15,678	)			(46,582	)			(47,100	)
Interest expense			(7,517	)			(8,425	)			(23,036	)			(25,273	)
Loss on extinguishment of debt			—				—				—				(3,454	)
Other income, net			2,673				1,897				6,803				8,469
(Loss)/income before income taxes			(3,075	)			731				(8,772	)			7,903
(Provision)/benefit for income taxes			(160	)			488				(560	)			142
Net (loss)/income		$	(3,235	)		$	1,219			$	(9,332	)		$	8,045
(Loss)/income per share
Basic:
(Loss)/income per share		$	(0.10	)		$	0.04			$	(0.29	)		$	0.25
Weighted average shares outstanding			32,417				32,095				32,358				32,038
Diluted:
(Loss)/income per share		$	(0.10	)		$	0.04			$	(0.29	)		$	0.25
Weighted average shares outstanding			32,417				32,297				32,358				32,277
Non-GAAP Reconciliations:
Home closing gross profit		$	38,070			$	42,561			$	108,037			$	133,455
Add: Real estate-related impairments			920				680				2,174				1,526
Adjusted home closing gross profit		$	38,990			$	43,241			$	110,211			$	134,981
(Loss)/income before income taxes		$	(3,075	)		$	731			$	(8,772	)		$	7,903
Add: Real estate-related and joint venture (JV) impairments
Terminated lot options and land sales			225				—				227				—
Impaired projects			822				680				2,074				1,526
JV impairments			—				112				—				112
Loss on early extinguishment of debt			—				—				—				3,454
Adjusted (loss)/income before income taxes		$	(2,028	)		$	1,523			$	(6,471	)		$	12,995

Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands)
(unaudited)

		September 30, 2011				December 31, 2010
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	157,104			$	103,953
Investments and securities			188,996				299,345
Restricted cash			11,109				9,344
Other receivables			19,617				20,835
Real estate (1)			798,057				738,928
Investments in unconsolidated entities			10,783				10,987
Deposits on real estate under option or contract			13,318				10,359
Other assets			34,559				31,187
Total assets		$	1,233,543			$	1,224,938
Liabilities and Equity:
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities, home sale deposits and other liabilities			129,582				119,163
Senior notes			480,377				479,905
Senior subordinated notes			125,875				125,875
Total liabilities			735,834				724,943
Total stockholders’ equity			497,709				499,995
Total liabilities and equity		$	1,233,543			$	1,224,938
(1) Real estate — Allocated costs:
Homes under contract under construction		$	123,347			$	96,844
Unsold homes, completed and under construction			85,346				86,869
Model homes			46,472				36,966
Finished home sites and home sites under development			473,807				454,718
Land held for development or sale			69,085				63,531
Total allocated costs		$	798,057			$	738,928

Supplemental Information and Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures (in thousands — unaudited):

		Three Months Ended Sept 30,								Twelve Months Ended Sept 30,
		2011				2010				2011				2010
Interest amortized to cost of sales and interest expense		$	9,938			$	11,608			$	40,916			$	48,992
Depreciation and amortization		$	1,694			$	2,111			$	7,102			$	8,435

		Sept 30, 2011				Dec 31, 2010				Sept 30, 2010
Notes payable and other borrowings		$	606,252			$	605,780			$	605,623
Less: cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments and securities			(357,209	)			(412,642	)			(419,843	)
Net debt			249,043				193,138				185,780
Stockholders’ equity			497,709				499,995				499,302
Total capital		$	746,752			$	693,133			$	685,082
Net debt-to-capital			33.4	%			27.9	%			27.1	%

Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
(unaudited)

		Three Months Ended								Nine Months Ended
		September 30,								September 30,
		2011				2010				2011				2010
Net (loss)/income		$	(3,235	)		$	1,219			$	(9,332	)		$	8,045
Loss on early extinguishment of debt			—				—				—				3,454
Real-estate related impairments			1,047				680				2,301				1,526
Equity in earnings from JVs and distributions of JV earnings, net			158				637				678				1,404
Increase in real estate and deposits, net			(24,153	)			(29,301	)			(63,846	)			(71,921	)
Other operating activities			7,705				6,083				18,986				95,655
Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities			(18,478	)			(20,682	)			(51,213	)			38,163
Cash provided by/(used in) investing activities			7,981				9,174				102,533				(138,464	)
Proceeds from issuance of new debt			—				—				—				195,134
Debt issuance costs			—				(98	)			—				(3,067	)
Repayments of senior notes			—				—				—				(197,543	)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net			33				261				1,831				1,770
Net cash provided by/ (used in) financing activities			33				163				1,831				(3,706	)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents			(10,464	)			(11,345	)			53,151				(104,007	)
Beginning cash and cash equivalents			167,568				156,669				103,953				249,331
Ending cash and cash equivalents (1)		$	157,104			$	145,324			$	157,104			$	145,324

Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Operating Data
(Dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)

		For the Three Months Ended September 30,
		2011								2010
		Homes				Value				Homes				Value
Homes Closed:
California			83			$	28,708				112			$	43,803
Nevada			19				4,222				17				3,404
West Region			102				32,930				129				47,207
Arizona			137				33,314				167				41,387
Texas			440				102,121				425				107,663
Colorado			68				21,500				39				12,608
Central Region			645				156,935				631				161,658
Florida			93				27,669				88				24,938
East Region			93				27,669				88				24,938
Total			840			$	217,534				848			$	233,803
Homes Ordered:
California			121			$	41,146				86			$	29,614
Nevada			10				2,182				11				2,279
West Region			131				43,328				97				31,893
Arizona			189				52,684				156				39,214
Texas			361				82,758				347				82,584
Colorado			80				26,715				39				12,603
Central Region			630				162,157				542				134,401
Florida			145				39,750				67				17,277
East Region			145				39,750				67				17,277
Total			906			$	245,235				706			$	183,571

Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Operating Data
(Dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)

		For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2011								2010
		Homes				Value				Homes				Value
Homes Closed:
California			228			$	77,930				323			$	114,498
Nevada			49				10,360				65				12,628
West Region			277				88,290				388				127,126
Arizona			418				100,230				548				119,147
Texas			1,269				302,536				1,578				382,592
Colorado			175				55,757				110				32,721
Central Region			1,862				458,523				2,236				534,460
Florida			235				68,341				239				64,204
East Region			235				68,341				239				64,204
Total			2,374			$	615,154				2,863			$	725,790
Homes Ordered:
California			293			$	98,859				312			$	108,156
Nevada			51				11,072				59				11,651
West Region			344				109,931				371				119,807
Arizona			499				128,592				560				126,743
Texas			1,252				296,886				1,375				330,582
Colorado			221				71,345				118				36,903
Central Region			1,972				496,823				2,053				494,228
Florida			340				95,107				246				66,631
East Region			340				95,107				246				66,631
Total			2,656			$	701,861				2,670			$	680,666
Order Backlog:
California			110			$	36,224				78			$	27,980
Nevada			14				3,081				8				1,694
West Region			124				39,305				86				29,674
Arizona			206				60,342				159				39,706
Texas			446				105,957				512				129,554
Colorado			98				32,552				47				15,638
Central Region			750				198,851				718				184,898
Florida			186				50,367				98				27,839
East Region			186				50,367				98				27,839
Total			1,060			$	288,523				902			$	242,411

Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Operating Data
(unaudited)

		Third Quarter 2011								Third Quarter 2010
		Beg.				End				Beg.				End
Active Communities:
California			18				22				12				13
Nevada			3				3				5				5
West Region			21				25				17				18
Arizona			35				37				33				32
Texas			68				65				78				82
Colorado			8				9				7				8
Central Region			111				111				118				122
Florida			13				13				13				10
East Region			13				13				13				10
Total			145				149				148				150

		First Nine Months 2011								First Nine Months 2010
		Beg.				End				Beg.				End
Active Communities:
California			14				22				7				13
Nevada			4				3				6				5
West Region			18				25				13				18
Arizona			32				37				26				32
Texas			82				65				98				82
Colorado			9				9				6				8
Central Region			123				111				130				122
Florida			10				13				10				10
East Region			10				13				10				10
Total			151				149				153				150

ABOUT MERITAGE HOMES CORPORATION

Meritage Homes is one of the top 10 homebuilders in the United States based on homes closed. Meritage builds a variety of homes across the Southern and Western states to appeal to a wide range of buyers, including first-time, move-up, luxury and active adults. As of September 30, 2011, the Company had 149 actively selling communities in 12 metropolitan areas, including Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Tucson, Las Vegas, Denver, Orlando, and the East Bay/Central Valley and Southern California. Meritage also opened its first communities in the Raleigh-Durham market during October 2011.

Meritage has designed and built more than 70,000 homes in its 26-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction and positive customer experience. In 2010, Meritage launched its new Simply Smart Series™ of homes and its 99-day guaranteed completion program in certain communities. Meritage was the first large national homebuilder to be 100 percent ENERGY STAR^® qualified in every home started since January 1, 2010.

Meritage Homes is listed on the NYSE under the symbol MTH.

For more information about the Company, visit http://investors.meritagehomes.com

Click here to join our email alert list: http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1474&to=ea&s=0

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include management’s belief that the Company will show year-over-year sales improvement in the fourth quarter; management’s confidence in long-term demographics in the homebuilding industry; that the homebuilding market will improve and that the Company is well positioned to benefit from such improvement; and that Meritage will record sales in its North Carolina division in the fourth quarter.

Such statements are based upon preliminary financial and operating data which are subject to finalization by management and review by Meritage’s independent registered public accounting firm, as well as the current beliefs and expectations of Company management, and current market conditions, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The Company makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or changes in these expectations.

Meritage’s business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. As a result of those risks and uncertainties, the Company’s stock and note prices may fluctuate dramatically. The risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following: weakness in the homebuilding market resulting from the current economic downturn; interest rates and changes in the availability and pricing of residential mortgages; adverse changes in tax laws that benefit our homebuyers; the ability of our potential buyers to sell their existing homes; cancellation rates and home prices in our markets; inflation in the cost of materials used to construct homes; the adverse effect of slower sales absorption rates; potential write-downs or write-offs of assets, including pre-acquisition costs and deposits; our potential exposure to natural disasters; the liquidity of our joint ventures and the ability of our joint venture partners to meet their obligations to us and the joint venture; competition; the success of our strategies in the current homebuilding market and economic environment; the adverse impacts of cancellations resulting from small deposits relating to our sales contracts; construction defect and home warranty claims; our success in prevailing on contested tax positions; the impact of deferred tax valuation allowances and our ability to preserve our operating loss carryforwards; our ability to obtain performance bonds in connection with our development work; the loss of key personnel; our failure to comply with laws and regulations; the availability and cost of materials and labor; our lack of geographic diversification; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; the Company’s financial leverage and level of indebtedness; our ability to take certain actions because of restrictions contained in the indentures for the Company’s senior and senior subordinated notes and our ability to raise additional capital when and if needed; our credit ratings; successful integration of future acquisitions; government regulations and legislative or other initiatives that seek to restrain growth or new housing construction or similar measures; acts of war; the replication of our “Green” technologies by our competitors; and other factors identified in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 under the caption “Risk Factors,” and updated in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, all of which can be found on our website.

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