Construction of new homes plunged last month to the lowest level on records going back nearly 50 years as U.S. builders slashed production while Wall Street nosedived.
A government report on new-home construction and building permit applications for October is forecast to show declines for the fourth straight month as the housing sector is pulled down by falling prices, weak demand and a probable recession.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Construction of new homes plunged last month to the lowest level on records going back nearly 50 years as U.S. builders slashed production while Wall Street nosedived.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A government report on new-home construction and building permit applications for October is forecast to show declines for the fourth straight month as the housing sector is pulled down by falling prices, weak demand and a probable recession.
Many public builders have acknowledged the impact of foreclosures on the housing market. An example from MDC Holdings' (MDC) recent conference call:
Every home that's foreclosed upon creates a housing unit that someone has the opportunity to buy and the short sale phenomenon that the banks are forced to do is definitely competition. The market is affected by foreclosures.
Since the housing market peaked two years ago, homebuilders have been trying to use incentives to lure buyers in. They've met with varying degrees of success, but it has certainly impacted margins all the way down.
Smaller homebuilders are folding at a rapid pace as they are unable to compete with foreclosures, lack of demand and tightwad banks. The larger public builders (that survive) are gaining market share in the void. Homebuilders must obviously scale down operations and focus on their preferred markets. Public builders may be on their way to becoming regional builders.
M/I Homes (MHO) faces the future with less debt and less land. They're banking on bigger federal tax incentives and the continued health of the mortgage securities market. Quotes from M/I Homes Q3’08 conference call:
a big problem for Chesapeake Energy (CHK) shares and others. Should be an interesting question to ask other homebuilder execs on upcoming conference calls. Centex...
Construction loans are increasingly the source of non-performing assets for regional banks, and so they are taking steps to shrink their builder loan portfolios or restrict builder access to credit lines. The possibility of a highly-leveraged, large public homebuilder failing is still a possibility.
Seeking Alpha's Housing Tracker is a collection of housing-related excerpts from various sources, grouped by topic. Feel free to post any interesting links on the subject in the comments section below.
Overview
Mortgage rates are rising, and could choke off whatever recovery is in the works for the housing market. But homebuilders with in-house financing agencies are still offering mortgages to whoever qualifies (because before they offered to those who didn't?) Homebuilders are even going so far as to hold workshops, seminars and employ counselors who work professionally with potential homebuyers to improve their credit status...
Seeking Alpha's Housing Tracker is a collection of housing-related excerpts from various sources, grouped by topic. Feel free to post any interesting links on the subject in the comments section below.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) announced results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2008. The Company reported a pre-tax loss ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio , Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) announces the following Webcast: What: M/I Homes, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2008 Earnings Webcast When: October 30 ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) announces the following Webcast: What: M/I Homes, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2008 Earnings Webcast When: October 30 ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) announced homes delivered and new contracts for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2008 and backlog ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) . With its aptly named Smart Move Event and Smart Move Mortgage, M/I is helping even more homebuyers find exactly the ...
M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) has just filed for a mixed shelf registration statement with the SEC that will give it the right to sell up to $250 million in securities. The company can sell debt ...
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Home-builder stocks were widely mixed in late-afternoon trading Thursday after more companies announced grim news in another round of quarterly reports showing deep losses.
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- M/I Homes Inc. Thursday reported a second-quarter net loss of $94.1 million, or $6.72 a share, versus a loss of $42.6 million, or $3.05 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue dropped to $141 million from $226.4 million, the Columbus, Ohio-based builder said. "Market conditions remain difficult for the home-building industry," said Chief Executive Robert Schottenstein in a prepared statement. "Demand is weak, consumer confidence is low and margins remain under pressure." M/I Homes said the latest quarter's results included a $58 million valuation allowance against deferred taxes assets, pre-tax charges of $39.9 million related to...
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Centex Corp. after Wednesday's closing bell reported a deep fiscal fourth-quarter loss as more data this week painted a bleaker outlook for the residential housing market.
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- M/I Homes Inc. Wednesday reported a first-quarter net loss of $22.2 million, or $1.58 a share, compared with net income of $2.2 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The residential builder said the results included pretax charges of $22.3 for impairments and write-offs related to land inventory. The company said new contracts in the first quarter dropped to 554 from 931 a year earlier as the housing market remained soft. Shares of M/I Homes have surged 72% so far this year.
Stocks 
Seeking Alpha's Housing Tracker is a collection of housing-related excerpts from various sources, grouped by topic. Feel free to post any interesting links on the subject in the comments section below.
