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New-home sales soared in June from the previous month, the third increase in a row and supplying fresh evidence the housing market is beginning to recover from its long crisis.

 

Sales of single-family homes increased by 11.0% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 compared to the prior month, the Commerce Department said Monday. Though, year-over-year, new-home sales were 21.3% lower than the level in June 2008.

 

The median price for a new home was $206,200 in June, down 12.0% from $234,300 in June 2008. On a monthly basis, the price fell from May 2009's $219,000.

 

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected June sales to climb just 2.3% to 350,000.

 

The increase was the fourth in six months, as buyers take advantage of falling prices. It appears new-home sales reached a bottom in January, at a level of 329,000, and that the market is beginning to recover slowly. The level of 384,000 in June was the highest since 390,000 last November.

 

Home construction unexpectedly rose in June, the government said July 17. Housing starts increased 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted 582,000 annual rate compared to the prior month. The starts data also showed building permits surged, and single-family starts made their biggest climb in four years.

 

May new-home sales rose 2.4% to an annual rate to 346,000, Monday's data showed. Originally, the government said May sales fell, sliding 0.6% to 342,000. April sales climbed 1.8%.

 

Reported by Wall Street Journal (07/28/09)

 

   

 

Citing untenable market conditions, homebuilder C.P. Morgan Homes Inc. announced it is closing its doors and ceasing operations effective Feb. 27, 2009. One of Central Indiana's most dominant builders of single-family homes for more than two decades, the Morgan firm said the collapse of the real estate industry "makes it impossible for us to serve our customers effectively and remain viable." "This is one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make," said Charles P. Morgan, company founder and chairman. "With home prices dropping precipitously, resulting in millions of foreclosures, we believe our industry will be in trouble for many months to come. Unfortunately, I believe it's a crisis that will swallow up many companies like ours all accross the nation." Morgan said all homes under construction have been completed. Applicable warranties on all Morgan homes will continue to be honored by a residential warranty company as outlined in each homeowner's warranty manual. Calling the housing crisis "the worst catastrophe I've seen in my lifetime" Morgan said the company did everything possible to prevent this from happening and could not have anticipated this as little as six months ago. In its 26 year existence, the company built more than 25,000 homes in some 200 Indianapolis and Lafayette, Ind., neighborhoods in addition to the Charlotte and Piedmont Triad areas of North Carolina. C.P. Morgan Company Press Release

Standard Pacific Corp. and TOUSA Inc., confirmed they are "engaged in preliminary discussions and the exchange of information . . . regarding a possible transaction," according to statements released by both companies.

 

TOUSA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, two months after it was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange. It reached a reorganization agreement with creditors in October that presumably includes the potential merger, although neither company is calling it a done deal.

 

Industry insiders say the common link between TOUSA and Standard Pacific is private equity firm MatlinPatterson Global Advisers, which specializes in revitalizing distressed companies. The equity firm is the largest shareholder in Standard Pacific and one of TOUSA's major creditors.

 

Standard Pacific, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, announced Thursday that it had named MatlinPatterson partner Ken Campbell as its new president and chief executive officer, with founder Jeffrey Peterson stepping aside but staying on as a director of the company.

Reported by Arizona Republic (12/23/2008)

WCI Communities Inc. has named a new chief financial officer who will come to the luxury home builder in December from an Arizona-based company.

 

Russell Devendorf will become a senior vice president for the Bonita Springs-based WCI, which is under federal bankruptcy protection. He was vice president of finance at Meritage Homes Corp. in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is a certified public accountant and certified treasury professional.

 

Before joining Meritage, the 35-year-old worked with Hollywood, Fla.-based home builder TOUSA Inc., where he held several financial and accounting management positions during a six-year period, most recently as vice president and treasurer.

 

Devendorf also was a senior auditor at Ernst & Young, LLP, in the company's real estate practice.

Reported by The Herald Tribune (11/12/2008)

Venerable Irvine builder SunCal Cos. said Thursday that it would seek federal bankruptcy protection for two of its premier planned residential developments in Southern California -- including a 45-story luxury Westside tower on one of the region's most valuable pieces of land.

 

Faced with the loss of a major investor and a collapse in the demand for new homes, the company plans to file today for Chapter 11 protection for its proposed skyscraper at 10000 Santa Monica Blvd. -- designed by renowned French architect Jean Nouvel and the subject of a battle over the land two years ago that involved Donald Trump.

 

SunCal on Thursday also filed for protection for Marblehead, a 313-home planned community on a coastal plateau in San Clemente that has been the subject of controversy for decades.

 

The bankruptcies come against a backdrop of trouble for the privately held SunCal, which along with other builders is facing crushing financial difficulties.

 

LandSource Communities Development, the parent company of the developer building the 21,000-home Newhall Ranch community near Santa Clarita, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June. Utah-based Woodside Homes Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

Reported by Los Angeles Times (11/14/2008)

KB Home said Friday its third-quarter loss quadrupled from a year-ago period, missing Wall Street's expectations as revenue plunged by 56 percent amid falling sales and home prices.

 

Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger said weak demand for new homes — half of the company's homebuyers backed out of their contracts in the quarter — and falling home values don't appear likely to improve significantly in the near term. He also blamed rising foreclosures and tight lending standards for the company's poor results.

Reported by Associated Press (9/26/2008)

U.S. builders broke ground in August on the fewest new homes in 17 years, signaling the worst housing recession in a generation will continue to weigh on growth in coming months, economists said before a report today. Housing starts fell 1.6 percent in August to an annual rate of 950,000, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 74 economists. Building permits, a sign sign of future construction, probably fell 1 percent to a 928,000 pace.

 

Builders will probably keep scaling back as stricter lending and record foreclosures swell the number of properties on the market. The housing and credit meltdowns that led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. may continue to subtract from economic growth for the rest of the year and into next.

 

Reported by Bloomberg News (9/17/2008)

U.S. home builders grew more confident about their business in early September, with builder sentiment rising for the first time in seven months, a national industry trade group reported Tuesday.

 

The builders' sentiment index rose to 18 in September, from a record low 16 in August, the National Association of Home Builders said. Still, the index shows that barely one in five builders is optimistic.

 

Economists expected the index to rise to 17 in September. The index peaked at 72 in June 2005. It was at 20 a year ago.

 

                   Reported by Wall Street Journal Market Watch (9/16/2008)

The Directory of Texas Builders and Developers This is the first in a series of regional directories we are currently developing. The directory will cover the major homebuilders, commercial developers along with land developers in the state of Texas. We’ll give you the same detailed contact information you have come to expect from our National Builders Directory, but on a regional level. The directory will cover the major homebuilders in the state that are not covered in our National Directory, along with the major office, industrial, retail, warehouse and other commercial developers. In addition, we will include information on the large land developers in the state. Complete the form below to receive more information about this directory.