Builder Magazine: Housing Data

Paulson Buys Stock in William Lyon Homes

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:29:55 EST

The Wall Street hedge fund spends $30 million on the California builder's stock.

10 Real Estate Markets to Watch in 2012

Tue, 7 Feb 2012 10:15:39 EST

Based on analysis of housing, economic, and demographic data for metro areas nationwide, these markets are showing signs of strength in several key metrics.

Housing Investors Boost Demand

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 02:05:15 EST

Investor purchases are helping to clear out much of the distressed and oversupply of existing housing.

Starts: November/December 2011

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 02:23:19 EST

David Weekley Homes reenters the Phoenix market with the acquisition of the bulk of local builder T.W. Lewis' lots. Plus, a look at the markets where the biggest builders' volume and share might not add up to good operating leverage.

On the Call: KB Home

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:11:57 EST

KB Home's impressive 40% year-over-year order growth during its fiscal third quarter had industry analysts during a related earnings call Friday asking what the company was doing right to achieve those gains even as its profitability slipped. (Click

Pending Home Sales Dip in August

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:29:04 EST

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) took a turn downward in August, falling 1.2% to 88.6 from 89.7 in July but remained 7.7% ahead of August 2010. The Realtor group said the decline was due to "mixed" regional results, driven down by a decline in the Northeast, where a hurricane knocked out the last weekend of the month for home shoppers. However, the West and Midwest also showed declines.

Mortgage Applications Rise, Purchases Up

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:46:47 EST

Applications for home mortgages rose sharply last week, with the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index jumping 9.3%, seasonally adjusted, from a week earlier, the MBA said Wednesday. The gain was driven primarily by refinancings, with the Refinance Index up 11.2% from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2.6%; unadjusted, it was up 2.2% and up 0.1% from the same week a year ago.

Home Prices Up for 4th Month

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:15:22 EST

Single-family home prices notched their fourth straight month of increases in July, moving up 0.9% across the 20 major markets measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices released Tuesday morning. The 10- and 20-City Composite Indices were each up 0.9% in July over June, with 17 of the 20 MSAs recording positive monthly increases.

August New-Home Sales Slip from July, Ahead Y-O-Y

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:12:11 EST

Sales of new single-family homes slipeed 2.3% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000 in August, the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Monday. The rate was 6.1% ahead of August 2010 and met the Wall Street estimate. Prices fell as well.

Ninth-Circuit Court Allows Suit Against Big Builders to Proceed

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:28:25 EST

A three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals late Wednesday allowed a class-action suit against eight large home builders over the impact of risky mortgage lending on homeowners in planned communities to proceed. A district court judge had earlier dismissed the suit, ruling that the homeowners who filed the suit lacked standing to file it. The appeals court reversed that ruling. The suit names Centex Homes (now PulteGroup), D.R. Horton, M.D.C. Holdings, Lennar Corp., Beazer Homes, Shea Homes, the Ryland Group, Standard Pacific Homes and several subsidiary mortgage companies.

KB Loss Widens, Orders Up 40%

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:11:39 EST

KB Home, Los Angeles (NYSE:KBH) on Friday reported a net loss of $9.6 million (-$.13 per diluted share) for its fiscal third quarter ended August 31. The results, which included $1.2 million in impairments, a $7.5 million reversal of warranty claims charges and a $2.5 million charge to deferred tax assets, compared with a loss of $1.4 million (-$.02 per share) in the prior-year quarter, which included $3.5 million in impairments and a $3 million charge to tax assets. The results beat analyst expectations for a loss of 19 cents per share.

Home Sales Jump 7.7% in August

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:11:42 EST

Sales of existing single-family, coop and condominium homes rose 7.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million in August from an upwardly revised 4.67 million in July, 18.6% higher than the pace of August 2010 and well ahead of the 4.75 million pace expected by Wall Street. Single-family home sales rose 8.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million, 20.2% above the 3.72 million pace of August 2010. The national median existing-home price, however, dropped 5.1% year-over year to $168,300. Distressed homes accounted for 31% of sales in August, up from 29% in July but down from 34% in August 2010.

Mortgage Applications Edge Upward

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:46:50 EST

Applications for mortgage loans increased 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis last week from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Associations weekly report on its Market Composite Index, MBA said Wednesday. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 25.2% compared with the previous week, which included Labor Day. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4.7%; unadjusted it was up 17.1%.

August Housing Starts, Permits Mixed

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:28:55 EST

New-home construction fell to a three-month low in August, driven down by big drops in the multifamily sector, the often volatile Northeast and in single-family building in the Midwest. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000, 5.0% below the revised July estimate of 601,000 and is 5.8% below the August 2010 rate of 606,000. The margins for error on the estimates were plus or minus 10.6% and 12%, respectively, both relatively high. Wall Street was expecting starts to come in at 590,000.

On the Call: Lennar Corp.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:12:25 EST

With the release of its third quarter results, Lennar closed on its sixth consecutive quarter of profit. All three of the company's operating units--home building, financial services, and its distressed asset division Rialto--contributed positively to the bottom line, each working in synergy with the others to offer good returns to the balance sheet at every step of the delivery process from the sourcing land deals through the closing of homes. However, continuing reductions in mortgage liquidity remain a constant threat to the company's ability to execute efficiently on all levels.

Builder Confidence Edges Down

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:13:21 EST

Builders grew slightly more glum in September despite record low mortgage rates and evidence from several big public builders that sales and prices appear to have stabilized. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for September dropped one point from August to a reading of 14, marking the sixth consecutive month that the index has been range bound between 13 and 16, NAHB said Monday.

Lennar Remains Profitable, Orders Rise 11%

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:14:10 EST

Lennar Corp., Miami (NYSE:LEN) early Monday reported a net profit of $20.7 million, $0.11 per diluted share, for its fiscal third quarter ended August 31. The results, which included a mark-to-market charge to the company's Rialto land unit of $10.1 million, compared to earnings of $30.0 million,$0.16 per diluted share, in Q3 2010. The profit matched analyst estimates.

California Home Sales Rise in August

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:11:51 EST

Sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California jumped 8.6% from July to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 497,390, up 10.2% from August of last year, the California Association of Realtors reported Thursday. The median price rose modestly to its highest level of 2011.

Mortgage Applications Increase, Rates at Record Lows

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:22:56 EST

Mortgage activity as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite index increased 6.3% last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, which included an adjustment for Labor Day, from a week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 15.4%. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 7.0% from the prior week but fell 16.2% unadjusted and was 7.2% below the same week a year earlier.

Hovnanian Narrows Loss, Beats Estimates

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:51:08 EST

Hovnanian Enterprises, Red Bank, N.J. (NYSE:HOV) on Wednesday after market close reported a net loss of $50.9 million (-$0.47 per share) for its fiscal third quarter ended July 31. The loss compared with a loss of $72.9 million, (-$0.92 per share) for the comparable quarter in 2010. The loss included impairments and charges of $11.4 million, compared with $49.0 million in last year's quarter. Analysts were expecting a loss of 51 cents per share, without impairments.