Brookfield Homes reported yesterday that it will take a net charge against income of about $1.05 to $1.24 per share for the fourth quarter of 2007 to account for fourth-quarter housing and land inventory writedowns in the range of $50 to $60 million.
"Housing market conditions remained challenging this past quarter as a result of continued high levels of inventories for resale and new homes for sale, low home buyer confidence, and tightening lending standards resulting in deteriorating affordability," said the company in its preliminary earnings press release.
The builder said continued softness in the housing market caused new-home orders to drop 50 percent for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31. New-home orders fell to 104 from 209 in the same quarter the year before. Overall, Brookfield's net new orders for the year were 735 units, a drop of 225 units, or 23.4 percent, compared to calendar year 2006.
Brookfield will hold its year-end conference call on Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. eastern time.
