The run of strong results for public builders continued as four more companies reported quarterly results during the week of Feb. 24.
Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions in the reporting period, Green Brick Partners and Landsea Homes reported record results in the fiscal fourth quarter, while LGI Homes improved margin and “made significant progress improving profitability.” Hovnanian Enterprises, which reported results for the fiscal first quarter of 2025, highlighted results at or above guidance in a difficult home building environment.
LGI Homes
LGI Homes reported fourth quarter home closings of 1,533 and full-year 2024 closings of 6,028, decreases of 12.8% and 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. The builder reported profit of $196.1 million, or $8.30 per share, for the full year and saw average sales price increase 4.2% to $365,394.
“In the face of a mixed macroeconomic backdrop, our strong finish in the fourth quarter enabled us to meet, and in many cases exceed, our strategic goals for 2024,” said LGI Homes chairman and CEO Eric Lipar. “Our near-term outlook for 2025 is tempered by our belief that the affordability challenges encountered in 2024 will continue into this year. We will continue to lean into incentives while maintaining profitability metrics in line with our historical averages, supported by a self-developed land pipeline that enables us to deliver margins at or near the top of our peer group.”
LGI Homes ended the year with 599 homes in backlog, 70,899 owned or controlled lots, and 151 active selling communities.
Hovnanian Enterprises
For the home builder’s fiscal first quarter—ended Jan. 31—Hovnanian Enterprises contracted 1,205 homes and generated profit of $28.2 million, or $3.58 per share. The builder generated home sale revenues of $778.7 million on 1,451 homes, up 12.8% from revenue of $690.6 million on 1,230 homes in the fiscal first quarter of 2024.
“Despite the challenges presented by persistently high mortgage rates and monthly sales volatility, we have experienced healthy demand for our new homes,” said chairman, president, and CEO Ara Hovnanian. “Our consolidated contracts per community were 9.6 for the first quarter of fiscal 2025, which is significantly higher than our historical average for the first quarter since 1997 of 8. All in all, despite the slower start to the spring selling season and the month-to-month volatility, we are excited about the long-term fundamentals and our lot count growth as we continue to deliver exceptional homes to our home buyers.”
Hovnanian Enterprises ended the period with a community count of 125, up 5.9% from the same period a year ago. The builder allocated $247.6 million to land and land development spending in the first quarter. At quarter’s end, Hovnanian Enterprises had 43,254 total controlled consolidated lots, up 28.8% from the same period a year ago.
Green Brick Partners
Green Brick Partners closed out the year with record fourth quarter home closing revenue ($557 million), record fourth quarter profit per share ($2.31), and record fourth quarter net new orders (878). The builder closed 1,109 homes in the quarter and 3,783 homes in the 2024 fiscal year.
“We are extremely proud to celebrate our 10th anniversary as a public home builder with record quarterly and full-year results while exceeding $2 billion in home closings revenue for the first time,” said CEO and co-founder Jim Brickman.
In the fourth quarter, incentives averaged 6.4% of sales price, up from 5.9% in the third quarter, due to rising mortgage rates. The builder’s cancellation rate remained low at 7.8%.
“We entered 2025 with a strong position for growth with total lots owned and controlled up 31.9% year over year. At the end of 2024, we had 106 active selling communities, representing 16.5% year-over-year growth. New-home starts of 4,067 for the year were up 22.2%,” Brickman said.
Landsea Homes
Landsea Homes reported record fourth quarter levels of home sales revenue ($450.6 million), closings (937) and net new-home orders (636), and record full-year levels of total revenue ($1.55 billion).
“Landsea Homes produced strong year-over-year top-line growth of 22% in the fourth quarter of 2024, driven primarily by a 41% increase in new-home deliveries,” said CEO John Ho. “For the full year of 2024, total revenues came in at a record $1.6 billion, and the company closed the highest level of new home deliveries in its history at 2,831.”
For the full year, Landsea Homes reported net new-home orders increased 35% to 2,634 homes at a monthly absorption rate of 2.8 sales per active community. The builder reported the increase in orders was primarily from significant increases in Colorado and Texas as well as 36% and 24% increases in its Arizona and Florida segments, respectively. The results were partially offset by a 35% decrease in Landsea Homes’ California segment.
The builder owned or controlled 10,944 lots at the end of 2024, representing a 4.2-year supply. Of its lots, Landsea Homes controls 56% lots and owns 44% as part of its asset-light strategy.
