Housing in Decline

From today's Journal, new evidence that the housing market may be weaker than believed:

"D.R. Horton Inc., the nation's largest home builder by number of units, said its second-quarter orders fell 37%, an indication that the crucial spring home-selling season is proving to be weaker than many builders had hoped.

"The company said it had orders for 9,983 homes in the quarter ended March 31, compared with 15,771 homes a year earlier. The dollar value of those orders was $2.6 billion, down from $4.4 billion a year earlier...

"Orders in all geographic regions declined in the fiscal second quarter. California posted the sharpest drop, declining 59% to 1,107 homes. Orders in the Southeast fell 30%, in the South Central region orders dropped 34% and in the Southwest slid 39%. The West was down 28%. The Northeast had the smallest decline, down 21%.

Horton, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the latest builder to report that the usually strong spring-selling season has gotten off to a slow start. Its deteriorating orders come amid a tightening of mortgage-lending standards and a softening of home prices in many markets.

Last week, Dominion Homes Inc. reported a 54% drop in homes sold during the first quarter. The Dublin, Ohio, company sold 218 homes in the first quarter, for a total sales value of $43.5 million, down from 475 homes, or $89.3 million, a year earlier."