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National Association of Home Builders, et al.12-30-10 | News

National Association of Home Builders, et al.

New Home Sales
Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 6.6 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units, their best pace since June, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department October 27, 2010.

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Sales of newly built homes rose in three out of four regions in September, with the Northeast posting a 3.4 percent gain, the South a 3.2 percent gain, and the Midwest a remarkable 60.6 percent gain following a big decline in August. The West posted a 9.9 percent decline in new-home sales for September.

Due to the improved sales pace, the month?EUR??,,????'?????<

Local Governments and Builders Must Work to Reduce Home Building Costs
When Elliot Eisenberg, PhD, the National Association of Home Builders?EUR??,,????'?????<

He noted the population of Lowell, Mass. increased 10 fold between 1828 and 1850, a period when the textile factories were built.

Elliot Eisenberg, PhD, senior economist, National Association of Home Builders.

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Eisenberg?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Eisenberg concurred, saying local state governments are standing in the way of building new homes, because the structure of the local governments have made those governing bodies to complicated and expensive.

Eisenberg won?EUR??,,????'?????<

Eisenberg compared housing costs in metro Atlanta?EUR??,,????'?????<

He believes it?EUR??,,????'?????<

Remodeling Index Remains Flat During Sluggish Economic Recovery
The latest National Association of Home Builders?EUR??,,????'?????<

The overall RMI combines ratings of current remodeling activity with indicators of future activity, such as calls for bids. In the third quarter, the RMI component measuring current market conditions climbed to 43.4 from 42.6 in the previous quarter. The RMI component measuring future indicators of remodeling business declined marginally, to 38.1 from 38.9 in the last quarter.

Donna Shirey, chairperson for NAHB Remodelers and owner of Shirey Contracting in the Seattle area.

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The current conditions indices for the remodeling market remained stable in three regions: Northeast 41.6 (from 41.4 in the second quarter); Midwest 44.9 (from 44.7); and South 42.3 (from 42.4). The West showed more improvement with a jump to 49.3 (up from 42.0). Major additions increased modestly to 45.8 (from 44.2), as did minor additions to 46.4 (from 45.8) and maintenance and repair to 37.1 (from 36.6).

The indices for future remodeling business stayed mostly level. Calls for bids slipped to 42.9 (from 46.2). Work committed for the next three months grew to 30.3 (from 27.9). The backlog of remodeling jobs dipped to 37.2 (from 37.7), and appointments for proposals declined to 41.9 (from 43.7).

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Standard Pacific Turns Small Profit in 2010?EUR??,,????'?????<

During a Standard Pacific third-quarter conference call on Oct. 27, 2010, company CEO Ken Campbell readjusted his prediction for when the home building market will return to a semblance of normality. He now believes it won?EUR??,,????'?????<

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Despite these negative numbers, Standard Pacific turned a slight profit for the second quarter ($4.5 million), or 2 cents per share, compared to a 10-cent loss-per-share in the same quarter of last year.

Standard Pacific can make a profit by selling just 1.5 homes a month on average in each of its communities. The company expects to increase its net community count by seven by the end of the year and boost its total count to an average of 150 compared to 130 this year. Standard builds homes in Texas (Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth), in 12 areas of California, six cities in Florida, two areas in the Carolinas, and in the Denver and Las Vegas metro areas.

The major reason for its modest profitability is that third-quarter expenses were down $7.4 million, a 17.6% reduction.

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More Small Profits?EUR??,,????'?????<

Meritage, which has built more than 60,000 homes across the southern and western United States, verifies plans to start construction within the next year in an unbuilt subdivision with more than 130 homes sites in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Lennar
Alan Jones, president of Lennar Arizona, notes that while new-home development had slowed in the months following the expiration of the home tax credit, the company is looking to maintain, and even increase, its activity in Southern Arizona.

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Lennar recently opened two new communities?EUR??,,????'?????<

KB Home
Los Angeles-based KB Home plans to build 272 houses and townhomes at the south end of Petaluma, Calif. in summer 2011. KB Home has developments in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Washington, DC.

Ryland Group
The Ryland Group, Calabasas, Calif., reported a consolidated net loss of $29.9 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a consolidated net loss of $52.5 million for the same period in 2009. Home-building revenues fell 34.6% to $206.5 million for the third quarter of 2010, compared to $315.8 million for the same period in 2009.