The homebuilder that started in Bellevue 57 years ago as Quadrant Homes sold its 20,000th Washington state house in March, just weeks before its new Japanese parent company closed a $4.5 billion acquisition.

Tri Pointe Homes, which still runs its Washington division out of an Eastgate office with 31 employees, marked the milestone with a sale in its Alterra community in Newcastle, according to 425 Magazine.

The company's 57 statewide workers make it a modest local employer, but its footprint across the Eastside stretches back to some of the region's earliest planned communities.

Ken Krivanec, who heads the Washington division and joined the company in 1999, told 425 Magazine the builder had to reinvent itself after the Great Recession nearly killed its original low-cost model.

Before the downturn, Quadrant was producing about seven homes a day under a "more house, less money" pitch. Sales collapsed during the crisis.

"We wouldn't have stayed in business had we stayed in the old business model," Krivanec said.

The company pivoted to premium homes in 2013. Quadrant's average sale price was $269,000 in 2010; by 2014 it had climbed to $420,000, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited in the 425 Magazine profile.

The average across Tri Pointe's four-state Western Division reached $753,000 in 2025, per the company's annual report. Washington-specific pricing was not broken out.

New ownership, same Bellevue office

Japan's Sumitomo Forestry Co. Ltd. completed its all-cash acquisition of Tri Pointe Homes on May 14, paying $47 per share, according to a joint press release. The deal made Sumitomo Forestry's U.S. homebuilding network equivalent to the fifth-largest builder in the country, delivering roughly 15,000 homes a year across 18 states.

Tri Pointe retains its branding, its national leadership team based in Irvine, California, and its Bellevue division office. Krivanec told 425 Magazine that Sumitomo will allow the company to "grow independently, continue to innovate, and focus on culture."

Sumitomo's push into U.S. housing reflects Japan's shrinking domestic population, which limits long-term growth for Japanese builders. The company has invested in U.S. homebuilders for more than two decades and aims to deliver 23,000 homes annually in the U.S. by 2030.

What Eastside buyers see next

Tri Pointe is actively selling in seven Washington communities, including Alterra in Newcastle, Arborstone in Bothell, Timber Trails in Snoqualmie, Timberstone in North Bend, and Willows 124 in Redmond. A new community, Plateau at Liberty Bay in Poulsbo, is coming soon, and four additional openings are planned for 2027.

The Eastgate office doubles as a design studio where buyers can customize finishes. Interior templates come from designer Bobby Berk, known for his role on Netflix's "Queer Eye."

Quadrant's early Eastside developments included Tam O'Shanter in Bellevue. It later built large planned communities such as Redmond Ridge and the 1,300-acre Snoqualmie Ridge, where the final 46-home subdivision began sales in April.