It's been reported that the 19th-largest home builder, Morrison Homes is considering relocating its U.S. headquarters from Atlanta area to Florida.

Morrison Homes, is said to be considering the financial benefits which are being prepared by Orange County, the city of Maitland and the state of Florida.

The move by Morrison Homes if successful would bring 47 employees into the area with an average annual income of $72,254.

George Rodon, the county's director of Economic, Trade and Tourism Development stated that the move by Morrison Homes is important because the county is always looking to attract a headquarters operation.

Morrison which is an Alpharetta, Georgia company is owned by British home builder George Wimpey PLC. Morrison was the seventh-busiest builder in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties last year, with 774 closings, or 5.6 percent of the market, worth a combined $248 million, according to an annual survey by Charles Wayne Consulting.

But the company's pace of work has slowed this year along with the rest of the industry nationwide.

Currently, Orange County commissioners are expected to consider a resolution that would authorize the county to commit an incentive of $23,500 over five years. That would be half of the 20 percent in local matching money to obtain $235,000 for Morrison under the state's Qualified Target Industry tax-refund program. Maitland would then match the county's contribution.

In a recent memo to county commissioners, Rodon said Morrison's Florida division office in Maitland already employs 134 people, and the average salary of the new headquarters personnel would be about twice the county average of $36,127.

As stated before, Morrison Homes was ranked as the nation's 19th-largest home builder by Builder Online magazine in 2005, with nearly 5,000 homes sold. It builds mainly in the South and Southwest; Orlando, Tampa and other Florida areas.

The Chief Financial Officer, Marek Bakun of Morrison Homes stated that the company could not comment on the possible relocation to Maitland at this time.

To date, the largest home builders based in Central Florida are Mercedes Homes, a privately held company in Melbourne that ranked No. 16 in last year's survey by Online Builder. It accounted for 5,714 homes. The Villages of Lake-Sumter, a builder that works solely in that sprawling active-adult community northwest of Orlando, ranked 22nd with 4,263 homes. Holiday Builders, also based in Melbourne, was No. 25 with 3,819 homes.