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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000950123-10-084205.txt : 20101112
<SEC-HEADER>0000950123-10-084205.hdr.sgml : 20101111
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20100907161151
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000950123-10-084205
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20100907

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Meritage Homes CORP
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000833079
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	OPERATIVE BUILDERS [1531]
		IRS NUMBER:				860611231
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			MD
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		17851 NORTH 85TH STREET
		STREET 2:		SUITE 300
		CITY:			SCOTTSDALE
		STATE:			AZ
		ZIP:			85255
		BUSINESS PHONE:		480-515-8100

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		17851 NORTH 85TH STREET
		STREET 2:		SUITE 300
		CITY:			SCOTTSDALE
		STATE:			AZ
		ZIP:			85255

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	MERITAGE CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19981009

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	MONTEREY HOMES CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19970113

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	HOMEPLEX MORTGAGE INVESTMENTS CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19920703
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Correspondence</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">


<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt">Meritage Homes Corporation<BR>
178521 North 85<SUP style="font-size: 85%; vertical-align: text-top">th</sup> Street<BR>
Suite&nbsp;300<BR>
Scottsdale, Arizona 85255<BR>
September 7, 2010



<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
Legal Branch Chief
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
Division of Corporation Finance
<BR>
100 F Street, N.E.
<BR>
Washington, D.C. 20549-7010



<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B>Re: </B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><B>Meritage Homes Corporation.<BR>
Form&nbsp;10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended December&nbsp;31, 2009<BR>
Filed March&nbsp;5, 2010<BR><BR>
Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule&nbsp;14A<BR>
Filed March&nbsp;31, 2010</B>
</TD>
</TR>





</TABLE>




<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Dear Mr.&nbsp;Ingram


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">On behalf of Meritage Homes Corporation (the &#147;Company&#148;) we are submitting this letter in response to the comments
received from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#147;Commission&#148; and the &#147;Staff&#148;) in a letter dated
August&nbsp;24, 2010 (the &#147;Comment Letter&#148;) with respect to the filings referenced above. We have reviewed the questions in
your Comment Letter and have provided responses below. For your convenience, the headings and paragraph numbers in our
letter correspond to the headings and paragraph numbers in the Staff&#146;s letter.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Form&nbsp;10-K for the Year Ended December&nbsp;31, 2009</U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Management&#146;s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page 27</U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Fiscal 2009 Compared to Fiscal 2008, page 37</U>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">1.</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><I>We note your response to comment three of our letter dated August&nbsp;3, 2010. While the tabular information that
you provide beginning on page 33 is helpful to investors, the narrative discussion in the MD&#038;A should both
identify the business reasons that contributed to the material changes in line items, and quantify these reasons
to the extent possible. The current version of your MD&#038;A highlights various statistics and factors for each of
the states that make up the various regions, but it is unclear whether, and if so, how, these various statistics
and factors contributed to the overall decline in revenue in each of the regions. For example, you note that
revenues decreased 30.6% in the Central Region when compared with 2008, and your analysis highlights the
cancellation rate and the job and population pool in Texas, backlog and average sales prices and new community
openings in Arizona, and new community openings in Colorado. While each of these statistics and factors may have
contributed to the overall decrease in the revenue in the Central Region, it is unclear how much, and to what
extent, each of these factors contributed. This is also true for the West Region and East Region, as noted in our
prior comment. In future filings, please first quantify the individual impact of each of the states on the
overall decrease in revenue, and then indentify and quantify the specific business reasons that contributed to the
decreases in revenue in that state in a manner in which the investor can readily discern how the business reasons
contributed to the overall decrease in revenue, and can identify the effects of trends, events, demands and
uncertainties.</I></TD>
</TR>





</TABLE>
<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">1
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">



<P><TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">



</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 2


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U><B>Response</B></U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company acknowledges the Staff&#146;s comment and will in future filings quantify in tabular form the impact of
each state on the overall change in revenue. The Company clarifies that in many cases, it is not possible to <I>quantify</I>
in specific dollar terms the impact of specific business events or trends on changes in revenue, even where the Company
can <I>identify </I>events or trends that the Company nevertheless believes have a positive or negative impact. The Company
will in future filings identify in its MD&#038;A narrative discussion the specific business reasons that contributed to
material changes in revenue in each state and, where such reasons can be meaningfully quantified, the Company will
incorporate such information into its narrative discussion.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Definitive Proxy Statement</U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Compensation Discussion and Analysis, page 23</U>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><I>2.</I></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><I>We note that in response to comment seven of our letter dated August&nbsp;3, 2010 you state that your review of the
compensation of your industry peers is &#147;informal in nature and is not by itself used to specifically set any
particular element of compensation,&#148; but is &#147;used as a guide for &#091;y&#093;our Executive Compensation Committee in
setting reasonable future compensation levels and benefits.&#148; It appears that you are engaging in benchmarking, as
benchmarking includes &#147;using compensation data about other companies as a reference point on which &#151; either wholly
or in part &#151; to base, justify or provide a framework for a compensation decision.&#148; Accordingly, please identify
the component companies you used in benchmarking. See Item&nbsp;</I><I>402(b)(1)(v)</I><I> and (b)(2)(xiv) of Regulation&nbsp;S-K and
Question 118.05 of the Regulation&nbsp;S-K Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations.</I></TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U><B>Response</B></U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company acknowledges the Staff&#146;s comment. If the Company conducts a formal or informal review of executive
compensation based wholly or in part on other companies&#146; information, it will, in future filings, identify the
companies comprising its reference points for its review. Supplementally, per the Staff&#146;s request, the Company
discloses to the Staff that the companies comprising the reference group used for the Company&#146;s last informal
evaluation are:


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Toll Brothers, Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Ryland Group Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Beazer Homes USA, Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Standard Pacific Corp.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>D.R. Horton, Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>PulteGroup, Inc.</TD>
</TR>





</TABLE>
<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">2
</DIV>

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<H5 align="left" style="page-break-before:always">&nbsp;</H5><P>

<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">



<P><TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">



</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>

September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 3


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>NVR, Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Lennar Corporation</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>KB Home</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>M/I Homes, Inc.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Annual Incentive Compensation, page 25,</U>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><I>3.</I></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><I>We note your response to comment 10 of our letter dated August&nbsp;3, 2010. Please confirm that you will provide
similar information regarding the factors considered by the Compensation Committee in awarding discretionary
bonuses in future filings.</I></TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U><B>Response</B></U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company acknowledges the Staff&#146;s comment and will in future filings provide similar information regarding the
factors considered for any discretionary bonuses granted to NEOs.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Discussion of CEO and NEO Compensation page 29</U>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><I>4.</I></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><I>We note your response to comment 12 of our letter dated August&nbsp;3, 2010, which is substantially similar to the
information you provided in response to comment seven of our letter dated August&nbsp;3, 2010. Accordingly, it appears
that you are engaging in benchmarking. Please provide the same information as is requested in our comment three
above. Further, we note your statement that &#147;in determining the appropriate equity award, the Compensation
Committee used the same analysis and considered the same factors discussed in our response to Comment #7.&#148; The
analysis provided in response to our prior comment seven discusses only your review of the compensation of your
company&#146;s industry peers. To the extent other factors were considered, please disclose these factors
supplementally.</I></TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">3
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">



<P><TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">



</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 4


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U><B>Response</B></U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company acknowledges the Staff&#146;s comment. The Company discloses to the Staff that in addition to its informal
review of certain publicly-available data of its industry peers, a wide range of additional qualitative factors are
also considered by the Compensation Committee in its compensation decisions. These include a review of the following:


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Meritage Homes&#146; historical compensation programs as well as actual compensation earned under such programs;</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Existing macro-economic and industry-specific conditions and the impact, if any, they would have on
projected total compensation;</TD>
</TR>





</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Meritage Homes&#146; capital structure and the impact to shareholders and the potential dilution that may result
from the granting additional stock-based compensation;</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Values of current year vestings of prior stock-based compensation, to take into consideration stock-price
changes; and</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Additional performance requirements on outstanding stock-based compensation awards and the likelihood of
their attainment.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">The Company will include a more detailed discussion similar to the above disclosure addressing these additional
qualitative factors in future filings. Additionally, if the Company conducts a formal or informal review of executive
compensation based wholly or in part on other companies&#146; information, it will, in future filings, identify the
companies comprising its reference points for its review. The companies comprising the reference group used for the
Company&#146;s last informal evaluation are set forth above in our response to Staff Comment 2.


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><I>5.</I></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><I>We note that in response to comment 13 of our letter dated August&nbsp;3, 2010, you state that you do not believe
budgeted pre-tax income, budgeted SG&#038;A and the actual customer service satisfaction rating are material to an
investor&#146;s understanding of the restricted stock awards. Please note that where performance targets play an
important role in the way a company incentivizes its management, the performance target is generally material and
must be disclosed so that investors are provided with meaningful insight into compensation policies and decisions,
including the reasons behind the policies and decisions. Either disclose the actual value for &#147;budget&#148; and the
actual Customer Service Satisfaction Rating in 2009, or provide us with a more detailed analysis as to why you
believe this information is not material. Merely advising us that disclosure of these metrics is not material
because they relate only to the NEO&#146;s ability to &#147;control costs and drive profitability&#148; is not sufficient. To
the extent you believe that disclosure of such information would result in competitive harm such that the
information could be excluded under Instruction 4 to </I><I>Item 402(b)</I><I> of Regulation&nbsp;S-K, please follow the procedure
detailed in comment 13 of our letter dated August&nbsp;3, 2010.</I></TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>



<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">4
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 5

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%"><U><B>Response</B></U>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company acknowledges that performance targets provide meaningful insight into the Company&#146;s compensation
policies and decisions. The Company also believes that the distinction between general performance criteria
discussions and specific performance criteria discussions is not necessarily a black line. Rather, the Company
believes disclosure about performance targets is a continuum between a simple statement that performance targets exists
and/or were met, and a detailed recitation, explanation and calculation of every conceivable element of the performance
target. Based on this continuum, the Company believes that the disclosure in its 2010 proxy statement should not be
viewed as near the &#147;general&#148; side of the continuum, but in fact closer to the detailed side of the continuum.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company further believes that the Staff and leading commentators have acknowledged that there is a distinction
(with respect to materiality) between performance criteria or targets relating to future periods and those relating to
historical periods. Because the restricted stock awards vest over a three-year period, the Company believes a more
general description is appropriate with respect to awards that will vest in the future. Conversely, the Company
acknowledges more detailed information is appropriate and material to investors on a historical basis for awards paid /
or vested during a given fiscal year.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">As indicated in our prior response, the key aspect of the performance metrics is holding the executive accountable
to achieve the Company&#146;s budget. In other words, the performance the Executive Compensation Committee is seeking to
obtain from the executive is budgetary control and accountability, not necessarily the financial metrics themselves. A
more detailed explanation of why the Company believes it has disclosed the material aspects pertaining to its
performance awards that vested in 2010 follows.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">With respect to the pre-tax net income performance criteria, the Company disclosed:


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>the goal&#151;125% of 2009 Pre-tax income is greater than budget or 2009 Pre-tax income is within $9&nbsp;million of
budget;</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>actual Pre-tax income (loss of $25,750,000); and</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>that actual Pre-tax income exceeded the budget by more than $9&nbsp;million.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>



<P align="left" style="margin-left:4%; font-size: 10pt">With respect to the SG&#038;A performance target, the Company disclosed:


<P>
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<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>the goal&#151;SG&#038;A expense less than 110% of budget;</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>actual SG&#038;A expense ($60,175,000); and</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>that actual SG&#038;A expense was within 110% of budget.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>



<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">5
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 6


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">Against the backdrop of budgetary control and accountability, the Company does not believe disclosure of the
precise budgeted pre-tax income or SG&#038;A expense is material. In fact, the Company believes the key information point
is that Company&#146;s actual results fell within, or were better than, the prescribed range relative to the budgeted
amounts. The Company&#146;s disclosure of the actual Pre-tax income and SG&#038;A expense is provided to give context to the
goals and provide some indication of the difficulty in achieving the goal. Moreover, while the disclosure does not
provide the precise levels of budgeted Pre-tax income and SG&#038;A expense, because the Company discloses the target ranges
and the actual results, investors are provided with meaningful insight and material information about the performance
targets. For example, for SG&#038;A expense, the Company disclosed that the actual SG&#038;A expense was $60,175,000 which was
within 110% of budget. From these facts, we believe it is apparent on its face that the budget was less than $66.2
million and more than $54.7&nbsp;million. The Company believes this range provides investors the material information they
need for meaningful insight into the Company&#146;s compensation policies and decisions.


<P align="left" style="margin-left:4%; font-size: 10pt">With respect to the Customer Service Satisfaction Rating (the &#147;<U>Rating</U>&#148;), the Company disclosed:


<P>
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<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>the goal&#151;a Rating better than 8.0; and</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P>
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&#149;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>the result&#151;that the Rating was better than 8.0.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">As indicated in our prior response, the number of shares that vest does not vary once the target score is achieved
(i.e., the executive is entitled to the same number of shares whether the rating is 8.01 or 10.00). Moreover, the
possible range is 0.00 to 10.0. The Company believes it has provided investors with the material aspects of the
performance target by disclosing the target and that the actual Rating exceeded this target. The target goal of 8.0 or
better provides a fairly narrow range (between 8.00 and 10.0) such that the precise Rating level is not material. The
Company believes such a range provides investors with meaningful insight into the Company&#146;s compensation policies and
decisions.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">In addition, with respect to the &#147;Rating, the Company believes disclosure of the actual Rating would result in
competitive harm. The Rating is calculated by a third party based on surveys submitted by our customers.
Participation by the Company in the Rating survey is voluntary and the results of the survey are confidential.
Disclosure of this confidential information in the Company&#146;s periodic reports would put the Company at a competitive
disadvantage with other builders that participate in the survey because, for example, they would know the Company&#146;s
Rating, but the Company would not know their ratings. Moreover, if another company&#146;s rating was higher than
Meritage&#146;s, the other company could use that information as a marketing tool against the Company, whereas Meritage
would not have the benefit of knowing the other company&#146;s confidential rating information. In other words, it would
result in an uneven playing field for Meritage. Consequently, the Company believes its actual Rating constitutes
confidential commercial information and would result in competitive harm is disclosed.



<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">6
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 7


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The following is an analysis of whether disclosure of the Company&#146;s actual Rating would cause competitive harm
based on the confidential treatment exemption for commercial information under Securities Act Rule&nbsp;406 and Exchange Act
Rule&nbsp;24b-2.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company believes the actual Customer Service rating qualifies for the exclusion from the public disclosure
requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (the &#147;<U>FOIA</U>&#148;) under the confidential commercial or financial
information exemption. 5 U.S.C. &#167; 552(b)(4) (the &#147;<U>Exemption</U>&#148;). To obtain confidential treatment under the
Exemption, &#147;the information must be: (1)&nbsp;commercial or financial; (2)&nbsp;obtained from a person outside of the government;
and (3)&nbsp;privileged or confidential.&#148; <U>Prof&#146;l Review Org. v. United States Dep&#146;t of Health</U>, 607 F. Supp. 423,
425 (D.D.C. 1985).

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company fulfills the first requirement of the Exemption because the actual Rating consists of commercial
information. Within the confines of FOIA, the term &#147;commercial&#148; is given its ordinary meaning. <U>Allnet Commc&#146;ns v.
FCC</U>, 800 F. Supp. 984, 988 (D.D.C. 1992). Additionally, the term &#147;commercial&#148; for the Exemption is &#147;construed
broadly to include information in which the submitting party has a &#145;commercial interest.&#146;&#148; <U>Judicial Watch, Inc. v.
United States Dep&#146;t of Commerce</U>, 337 F. Supp. 2d 146, 168 (D.C. Cir. 2004). Here, the actual Rating falls within
the definition of commercial information because the Company has a commercial interest in maintaining the
confidentiality of its actual Rating, especially when its competitors&#146; ratings are not required to be made publicly
available.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company fulfills the second requirement of the Exemption because the rating information is obtained from
persons outside of the government. The applicable definition of &#147;person&#148; includes an &#147;individual, partnership,
corporation, association, or public or private organization other than an agency.&#148; 5 U.S.C. &#167; 551(2). Here, the
Company&#146;s actual Rating is contained in a report obtained from an independent third party, and not a governmental
source.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company fulfills the third requirement of the Exemption because the &#147;privileged or confidential&#148; information
requested is internal to the Company. The District Court for the District of Columbia has held under the Exemption:


<P align="left" style="margin-left:8%; margin-right:6%; font-size: 10pt">Information is privileged or confidential if it is not the type usually released to
the public and, if released to the public, would cause substantial harm to the
competitive position of the person from whom the information was obtained . . . In
order to show the likelihood of substantial competitive harm it is not necessary to
show actual competitive harm; actual competition and the likelihood of substantial
injury is all that is necessary.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt"><U>Prof&#146;l Review Org.</U>, 607 F. Supp. at 425-26. For information to obtain privileged or confidential status under
the Exemption, it must be established that: (a)&nbsp;the information is not the type usually released to the public, (b)&nbsp;the
party releasing the information has actual competition, and (c)&nbsp;the information disclosed will likely cause substantial
injury to the releasing party.



<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">7
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 8

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">As discussed above, the survey results for participating companies are confidential and not available to the
public. The Company will suffer competitive harm if its actual Rating was publicly disclosed because the same
information is not disclosed by other competitor companies, and because companies that do not participate in this
program or companies that participate in a different program could potentially use this information as a marketing tool
against the Company.

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 5%">The Company operates in a competitive market, and disclosure of the Rating could place the Company at a
competitive disadvantage. <U>See Gulf &#038; W. Indus., Inc. v. United States</U>, 615 F.2d 527, 530 (D.C. Cir. 1979)
(treating as confidential bid documentation submitted to the government because disclosure would reveal a company&#146;s
internal pricing structure and allow competitors to undercut the bids from that company). The stockholders&#146; minimal
utility for the actual Rating is vastly outweighed by the harmful effect public disclosure could have on the Company&#146;s
marketing advantages. Therefore, exclusion of the actual Rating is in the best interests of the Company&#146;s
stockholders.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">The Company believes that disclosure of its actual Rating could cause substantial injury to the Company. The
actual Rating is not by itself a required disclosure, and moreover, the Company&#146;s participation in the rating survey is
entirely voluntarily. The only reason the Company discloses any information about the Rating is because the Company
has elected to make its Rating a performance goal for certain executives&#146; incentive compensation. The Company&#146;s
competitors are not required to disclose any customer service ratings information and thus disclosure of this
competitive information could cause the Company substantial injury because the same information is not disclosed by
other competitor companies, and because companies do not participate in this program or companies that participate in a
different program could potentially use this information as a marketing tool against the Company.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">In determining what constitutes competitive harm, courts have given great latitude to arguments presented. For
examples of the latitude given to companies in making competitive harm arguments, <U>see</U>, <U>e.g.</U>, <U>Board
of Trade v. CFTC</U>, 627 F.2d 392 (D.C. Cir. 1980) (disclosure of market positions and trade secrets would result in
competitive harm); <U>Braintree Electric Light Dept. v. DOE</U>, 494 F. Supp. 287 (D.D.C. 1980) (release of a customer
list would allow competing firms to sell to applicant&#146;s customers without incurring the costs of developing a list);
and <U>Comstock International, Inc. v. Expert-Import Bank</U>, 464 F. Supp. 804 (D.D.C 1979) (disclosure of loan
information would adversely affect the future volume of commercial lending). Additionally, in <U>Occidental Petroleum
Corp. v. SEC</U>, 873 F.2d 325, 341 (D.C. Cir. 1989), the Court of Appeals stated the SEC&#146;s role in determining
potential harm is to determine &#147;whether any non-public information contained in those documents is competitively
sensitive, for whatever reason.&#148; Here, for the above reasons, the Company would be put at a competitive disadvantage
if its actual Rating was disclosed, which would ultimately affect the Company&#146;s commercial success.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">As set forth above, the Company respectfully submits that it fulfills the requirements of the Exemption by
establishing that its actual Rating is not usually released to the public, that the Company is in actual competition
with others in its business, and that the Company could incur substantial injury as a result of disclosure of its
actual Rating.

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">&nbsp;

<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; display: none">8
</DIV>

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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin-left: .25in; width: 7.20in">

<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt">Jay Ingram
<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
<BR>
September&nbsp;7, 2010
<BR>
Page 9


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">We acknowledge that:


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">1.&nbsp;The Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing referenced above;


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">2.&nbsp;Staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from
taking any action with respect to the filing referenced above; and


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 4%">3.&nbsp;The Company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any
person under the federal securities laws of the United States.


<P align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 2%">If you have any questions regarding our responses, you may contact me at 480.515.8003.



<P align="left" style="margin-left:46%; font-size: 10pt">Sincerely,



<P align="left" style="margin-left:46%; font-size: 10pt">/s/ Larry W. Seay, Executive Vice President and<BR> Chief Financial Officer




<DIV align="center">
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    <TD width="94%">&nbsp;</TD>
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    <TD valign="top"><DIV style="margin-left:0px; text-indent:-0px">cc:
</DIV></TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD align="left" valign="top">Erin Jaskot<BR>
Staff Attorney<BR>
United States Securities and Exchange Commission<BR>
Division of Corporation Finance
<BR>
100 F Street, N.E.
<BR>
Washington, D.C. 20549-7010


</TD>
</TR>
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</DIV>





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