National builder D.R. Horton is showing how weak the new home market is as it announced a drop of 37 percent of homes ordered for the beginning of the Spring season. The average price per home also dropped 7 percent during the 1st quarter from 279 thousand to 260 thousand.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based company said it had orders for 9,983 homes, compared to 15,771 homes a year earlier. The dollar value of orders was $2.6 billion for the quarter ended March 31, down from $4.4 billion a year earlier.
“Market conditions for new home sales continue to be challenging in most of our markets as inventory levels of both new and existing homes remain high,” Chairman Donald R. Horton said in a statement. “Our cancellation rate is essentially unchanged from the prior quarter, but it remains above our historical range as we continue to see an increase in the use of sales incentives in many of our markets.”
All geographic regions declined in the fiscal second quarter. California had the greatest percentage decline, down 59% to 1,107 homes. The Southeast, South Central and Southwest regions were down 30%, 34% and 39%, respectively. The West was down 28%. The Northeast had the smallest decline, down 21% via RealEstateJournal
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