Tri Pointe Homes prices IPO above expected range

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Homebuilder Tri Pointe Homes LLC priced its initial public offering above the expected range two days after it raised its IPO size, valuing the company at about $537 million.

The company priced 13.7 million shares at $17 per share, above its expected price of $14 to $16 per share, raising about $233 million.

The Irvine, California-based company is set to become the first U.S. homebuilder to go public in almost a decade.

Tri Pointe will aim to take advantage of a recovery in the housing market six years after it fell into a deep rut that preceded the worst recession in the United States since the Great Depression.

Smaller, privately held homebuilders were hit badly when the housing bubble burst in 2007, draining the funds that they now need to buy land and build new homes.

Fellow homebuilder, Taylor Morrison Home Corp also filed with U.S. regulators in December to raise up to $250 million in an IPO.

By going public, these smaller companies are trying to raise cash and meet the burgeoning demand for homes in the United States, a market in which they compete with large established players such as D.R. Horton Inc, Lennar Corp, PulteGroup Inc and Toll Brothers Inc.

Shares of Tri Pointe are scheduled to debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol "TPH".

Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities and FBR are the lead underwriters for the offering.