D.R. Horton Inc., the nation's largest homebuilder by deliveries, said Tuesday its second-quarter sales orders fell 37 percent, led by even steeper declines in California and the Southwest.
We continue to sell more homes than any other builder, even though the spring selling season has not gotten off to its usual strong start," Chairman Donald R. Horton said in a statement.
Net sales orders for the quarter ended March 31 totaled 9,983 homes, down from 15,771 homes during the prior-year quarter. The value of the orders dropped to $2.6 billion from $4.4 billion in the previous year.
Net sales orders for the first six months fell to $4.9 billion, or 18,754 homes, from $7.5 billion, or 27,234 homes during the same period in fiscal 2006.
These are some very substantial drops in sales -- as in, "we're not even close to seeing a bottom in the housing market" kind of drop.
Also note the Spring selling season is not going as well as anticipated. This indicates demand is decreasing.
The CEO made no mention of tightening credit standards in his statements. If tighter standards aren't included, then we have a problem -- a big problem -- going forward.
