In an article headlined “The nation’s master of master-planned communities,” BUILDER AND DEVELOPER magazine announced its selection of Newland Communities as its 2010 “Developer of the Year.”The developer of Cinco Ranch and three other major communities in the Houston market, Newland Communities has succeeded by focusing on strong housing markets such as Houston, stated Kristen Eichenmuller, the magazine’s editor.Eichenmuller wrote:Even with the struggling housing market, some continue to dominate the industry. Our 2010 "Developer of the Year" holds an impressive, successful portfolio, including five of the nation's top 15 best-selling master-planned communities (MPCs). San Diego-based Newland Communities, the largest private developer of planned residential and urban mixed-use communities in the U.S., developed 28 MPCs in 14 states.The article noted that Newland had five of the Top 20 communities for new-home sales in the nation in 2009, according to an RCLCO survey of over 400 communities. Three Newland developments in Houston made the list, including #1 nationally ranked Cinco Ranch, Telfair (#4) and Eagle Springs (#13.)Bob McLeod, Newland Communities' chairman, president and chief executive officer, stated in the article that the relatively strong housing markets where Newland has a major presence &ndndash; such as Houston, Austin and Raleigh-Durham – are likely to recover ahead of most markets."Geographic diversification and our strong national platform have really helped us weather the downturn. Several Newland markets are currently experiencing strong positive job growth, healthy inventory levels and low levels of foreclosures and distressed sales,” McLeod said.Another key to Newland’s success has been the care the company takes to understand its customers and the types of new homes and lifestyles they desire in a master-planned community.Emphasizing the importance of knowing your customer, McLeod said: "This business needs to start with understanding how people want to live and creating product and community that meets those needs. Secondly, explore innovative ways to create value for your investors, your teams and your customers.”BUILDER AND DEVELOPER concluded its article by asking McLeod to comment about being chosen as its 2010 "Developer of the Year." He responded:“We are extremely honored and pleased because we know we have a lot of great peers out there who create amazing communities. And I am personally very proud of our teams of talented, committed professionals throughout the company who continue to look for new ways of doing things and who create incredible places to live all across this country.”