Taylor Wimpey, the U.K.-based parent company of U.S. home builder Taylor Morrison, was able to narrow its losses in 2009, both in Great Britain and North America.
The company's North American operations, which include Canada, lost $46 million last year, though that loss would have been a gain of $72.4 million if not for $118.4 million in impairments.
Taylor Morrison closed 3,347 homes in the United States in 2009, down 20.5% from 4,212 in 2008. The company's Canadian home builder, Monarch, actually sold more houses in 2009 than 2008, 1,408 up from 1,209. The Canadian home building market hasn't experienced the same downturn the U.S. market has had.
The average home sales price declined 12.4% during the year, from $291,000 to $255,000, in the United States.
New orders in North America, however, were up to 3,216 from 2,789 total, up 5% in the United States and 19% in Canada.
"We are encouraged by the period of prolonged stability of our North American markets, which now extends to almost 12 months," the company said in the results news release.
The company has said it's in the land market. Last year, it bought close to as many lots as it sold. It bought 3,723 lots in the second half of 2009, focusing on Arizona, California, and Florida. At year-end, it had 18,428 lots in the United States compared with 18,488 in 2008. Of that, 9,372 are finished, 4,743 are under development, and 5,313 are raw land.
