Pulte and Centex, two of the biggest and best regarded builders in the Tampa Bay area, will merge in a billion-dollar deal. Centex's name will vanish when the new company adopts the Pulte brand.

The New York Times has the scoop.

Both companies ranked highly in the annual J.D. Power and Associates Tampa area home builder survey. Both have lost tons of money in the housing slump, but have withstood the recession better than most builders.

Pulte had planned a massive 14,000 home development on the Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel, the Pasco County suburb on the edge of New Tampa. It had to call off the deal last year, losing tens of million of dollars, money written off when it cancelled its option on the land.