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Pulte Homes announced that new home orders have fallen 29 percent and cut earnings accordingly. The slowdown in the housing market has affected the nations largest new home seller.

What is amazing is that with all the information that is available that the market would tighten, that a company as large as Pulte Homes could miss the slowdown in housing. Seriously, they must have seen this coming before now and should have alerted their stockholders before they had to lower expectations to such an extent.

Pulte expects to earn $4.70 to $5 a share for the year, down from its previous forecast of $6 to $6.25 a share. Earnings in the second quarter will be 85 cents to 95 cents a share, the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based company said today in a statement.
Demand for U.S. housing is flagging at the height of what is usually the busiest time of year for real estate sales. Home- loan applications fell last week to the lowest level in four years, the Mortgage Bankers Association said yesterday. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.6 percent last week, a four-year high, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
“Current demand varies by market, but overall it continues to transition after an extended period of stronger sales,” Pulte Chief Executive Officer Richard J. Dugas said in the statement. Orders are falling because of an increase in homes on the market, more cancellations and rising interest rates, he said.
Orders in the first two months of the quarter fell to 6,477 from 9,128 in the same year-earlier period, Pulte said. The company expects to sell 44,000 to 46,000 homes this year, compared with 45,630 in 2005.  via Bloomberg.com: U.S..

Related posts:

1. Pulte Homes Reduces Workforce by 16% or 1,900 employees
2. KB Homes Expects Slowdown in 2006 Homes
3. Beazer, Ryland, Meritage, and Pulte Home Sellers Get Their Buts Kicked
4. Toll Brothers Posts 47 Percent Decline in Orders
5. Pulte Homes Estimated 2nd Quarter Charges - 740 to 770 Million