ERIE - A major national homebuilder has purchased more lots in Boulder County with plans to create new single-family houses.

Meritage Homes of Colorado Inc. recently paid $576,000 for 32 lots in Erie, according to Boulder County property records. The deed for the land was recorded Monday.

Meritage is building a community it calls Flatiron Meadows on the land, which is on the south side of Erie Parkway between U.S. Highway 287 and N. 119th St. According to Meritage Homes' website, the subdivision will have two- and three-bedroom homes between 1,779 and 3,420 square feet. Attempts to reach Meritage Tuesday morning were unsuccessful.

The recently acquired property is in the subdivision's third filing. Earlier this year, Meritage purchased 39 lots in the first filing of Flatiron Meadows for $780,000.

The seller in both deals was the Bayou Development Corp.

Meritage Homes of Colorado is a division of Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE:MTH), a Scottsdale, Arizona-based company. Meritage Homes is the ninth-largest public homebuilder in the United States based on homes closed in 2011.

Meritage started building in Colorado in 2006, and it recently has made a major move into Boulder County. The company is the third-largest residential developer in the Denver and Northern Colorado Region, Colorado division president Chris Presley said at the recent Boulder Valley Real Estate Conference.

In August, Meritage closed on a $7.38 million deal for 121 lots on 38.3 acres in Longmont. The company also is developing the Erie Commons community in Erie.

Also in mid-November, Ryland Homes Inc. purchased $1.1 million for 38 lots in Lafayette's Coal Creek Village subdivision. The company plans to make additional purchases as it builds out that community, Colorado division president Dan Nickless said.