Eric Zohar
Sweetwater Homes
Presenter bio
Eric is a third-generation Tampa builder who learned the trade alongside his father. He spent nearly a decade building luxury homes in Tampa before turning his full attention to Sweetwater Homes, a design-forward luxury homebuilder established in 2020 with a focus in South Tampa and Riverside Heights. The company currently has three residences underway, and Eric keeps it small enough that he is on every job site. He is a natural, down-to-earth speaker with a lot of practical experience to share with contractors and trades.
Running a Small Custom Building Company in a Fast Market
Tampa Bay is growing faster than at any point in recent memory, and the pressure on builders is to do more, faster. Eric Zohar, a third-generation Tampa builder and Owner of Sweetwater Homes, makes the case for a different model: a small custom building company that stays small on purpose.
Drawing on nearly a decade building luxury homes in Tampa and his current work in South Tampa and Riverside Heights, Eric walks through how he chooses which lots to take on, why he has worked with the same trade partners for more than ten years, how he leads sales for his own homes instead of listing them, and how timeless design protects both the home’s value and the builder’s reputation. Attendees will leave with practical ways to run lean, protect quality, and build a company that clients and trade partners want to work with for the long run.
Course outline:
The fast market and the small builder. What Tampa Bay’s growth is doing to timelines, trades, and buyer expectations, and why staying small is a strategy, not a limitation.
Choosing the work: lots, neighborhoods, and saying no. How Eric evaluates a lot in South Tampa or Riverside Heights, what makes a project a fit for a small company, and the projects he passes on.
Trade partners as the foundation. Why Eric has worked with the same framers, plumbers, and electricians for more than ten years, how those relationships show up in the finished home, and how to build them.
Selling your own homes. What it takes for the builder to lead sales, what buyers ask when they can talk to the person who built the house, and how that direct relationship changes the way he builds.
Timeless over trendy as a business decision. Why proportion, light, and durable materials outlast finishes, and how that protects the home’s value and the builder’s reputation.
Building for the long run. Thinking in generations: what Eric learned alongside his father, and how Sweetwater is developing a program to match tree replanting donations made by home buyers to neutralize the lumber used in each house.
Optional: open Q&A and networking.