Spotlight | Building a Life & Supporting a Legacy

Home Builder CEO David C. Hunihan

By Carol Brzozowski | May 2022

David C. Hunihan, CEO of Lee Wetherington Homes, took time to speak with Sarasota Scene about that which makes his life and career fulfilling, his extensive volunteer efforts and why he loves living and working in the greater Sarasota region. 

Tell us about yourself.

I am very blessed. I’ve been married to a wonderful woman—Lauren Hunihan, a Keller Williams Realtor—for 28 years this June. We have three amazing daughters. Samantha, 23, is married; Shannon, 26, is getting married this November, and Ainsley, 18, is a sophomore at Bayside College in Lakewood Ranch. We have lived in River Club for more than 20 years. I have been in the real estate business in the Bradenton/Sarasota/Venice/ North Port area for more than 30 years. I am a licensed Florida Residential Contractor and Florida Real Estate Broker.

We are active in the local church and several ministries. I am on the Manatee/Sarasota Building Industry Association board of directors as a life director and past president, the board of Rough Cut Men, a worldwide ministry to men, and the board of City Commit, a Sarasota and Bradenton initiative to transform our community through greater men, marriages and leaders. I like to read, hike the mountains, watch movies, go to the beach, run, exercise, and participate in obstacle course races. Most of all, I enjoy family time. 

You earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Boston College. What led you to pursue a real estate career?  

In eighth grade, I took a mechanical drawing class. I loved it and decided I wanted to be an architect. My father noticed I had a natural bent towards marketing and sales, suggesting I pursue a career in that direction, thus  leading me to my degree. I didn’t realize a marketing degree usually meant a sales career, but I enjoyed it and was good at it. I sold everything from knives to Yellow Page advertising to jewelry, and eventually, I moved to Florida from New Jersey and started selling real estate. Although I didn’t become an architect, I still found my way into design and building by selling new homes. I fell in love with home building and have been doing it ever since.

Why did you choose Sarasota to live and work? 

I moved here in 1991 for an opportunity with a brokerage firm that did property management and general real estate sales. That didn’t work out. While taking scuba diving lessons, I met my instructor, a builder, who invited me to work for him until I figured out what I wanted to do. Lee Wetherington moved here in the 1970s from Jacksonville because he used to vacation here and loved the area. He was a drywall contractor at the time and thought he would be a good home builder. He started a business building homes in this area ever since. I joined Lee in 1995 as an onsite sales person, working my way to president in 1999. I left in 2000 to start my own company, but didn’t make it through the Great Recession, closing the doors at the end of 2008.  Lee convinced me to come back as CEO in May 2021. 

Most people come here for the weather and lifestyle; it’s truly hard to beat. We are close to the beach, have world-class water sports, museums, art, culture, restaurants, a booming economy and great people from throughout the world. It is hard to imagine living anywhere else for me now.

What are some of your notable achievements? 

I am proud our company has weathered many storms over the past several decades. We have seen multiple real estate cycles, 9/11, the Great Recession and now the COVID pandemic. We’ve been able to consistently deliver the highest quality homes and best customer experience possible. We have won dozens of local, regional and national awards, but I am most proud of the homes we build. 

My marriage and our three daughters are my most notable achievements, although most of that credit should go to my wife. We raised three outstanding human beings who have achieved amazing things at their young ages already and will accomplish much in their lives. I achieved the impossible feat of getting my wife to move from New York to Florida, something she said she would never do.

Tell us about your extensive volunteer experience.

I try to live my life based upon biblical principles. It is easy for me to give back to others and the community since I have been given and been blessed with so much. My passion is mentoring, helping people to become all they were created to be. If they are strong and live with integrity, their families will be strong, their communities will be healthy, and their country will thrive. That is part of what Rough Cut Men and City Commit do. I also participate in several Bible study and prayer groups through church. We pray for and support each other and pray for our country and local, state and federal leaders. We see a need and try to fill it without pomp and circumstance.

Lee Wetherington Homes also has a long tradition of giving back to the community through a variety of charities. We have supported the Boys & Girls Clubs, donating funds, sponsoring kids, and building buildings. We are blessed to be a part of this community and honored to be able to give back some of all we have been blessed with.

The real estate industry is going through some changes and Florida is viewed as a “hot spot”, which pleases some people and leaves others frustrated. What is your take? 

In more than 30 years in this business, I have never seen the demand, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, material and labor cost increases, and housing shortages we are currently seeing. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. If the economy holds, I believe demand will hold as well—at least for the next decade or so, based upon demographics. You can’t time the market. If you want or need a home, today is the only day you know current pricing, availability, and interest rates. Tomorrow, everything may change. It seems to be getting worse. Our company is focused on our systems and processes to maintain consistency in our product and to deliver the best possible customer experience—that is getting lost now in the craziness and desperation. 

Where do you see yourself five years from now? 

Five years from now, Lord willing, we will have a stabilized market as things slow down a little before the next boom. We will be preparing the company to survive the original founders and continue the legacy Lee Wetherington created almost 50 years prior. We will be building in as many as three or four master planned communities as one of the few custom home builders that can build more than 24 homes per year. We are currently streamlining and updating our systems and processes so the team that comes after us will be able to perpetuate and expand what Lee started. There will be changes coming to our industry in the form of design and livability, with updated architectural styles and also in how we live in our homes, the latter being a result of the last two years of home isolation. Our industry hasn’t changed significantly in decades and we are ripe for disruption—think Blockbuster video and Netflix. These are exciting times, and I expect the next decade to be just as exciting and challenging.