Pat Hamill: Oakwood Homes founder welcomes uptick in housing market.

• Author: Bronikowski, Lynn
• Position: EXECUTIVE edge

EVERY MORNING PAT HAMILL RISES AT 4 and heads to the gym. He puts in more than a full day's work at his homebuilding business while also helping various nonprofits and serving on the board of trustees of the University of Denver, his alma mater.

"I'll kick back and rest when I'm dead," says the president and CEO of Oakwood Homes, Colorado's largest privately owned homebuilder, which has an 11 percent market share.

A native of Grand Ledge, Mich., Hamill grew up skiing, including ski racing. His lather operated a small construction company that built everything from picnic tables to vacation homes.

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"He was always focused on excellence and quality," Hamill said. "He didn't care about being the biggest but always wanted to be the best, and I think that always stuck with me."

Hamill earned a degree in real estate and construction management in 198 1 from the University of Denver.

"I always thought I'd go back and work with my dad, but once you get to Colorado, there's no place like it," said Hamill, who would go on to start a consulting business for homebuilders across the country.

By 1990, he was done being a coach to others and founded Oakwood, which last year closed on its 10,000th home.

"It seemed like a good time to start my own business," said Hamill. "I always loved the industry and I'm very passionate about it."

He admits that the past several years have been the worst ever in the housing market but he's weathered the epic downturn by paying of bank debt, downsizing his workforce to meet demand and adjusting his product line to what is selling in the marketplace.

"We've sold products for pricing that went back 15 years," said Hamill. "We've sold houses for $140,000 and focused more on cash versus profitability. Margins don't pay the bills but cash does, so we went into a survival mode for a period of time."

At its peak, Oakwood closed on 850 homes annually, which dropped to 250 a year during the...