Historically home builder stocks have a low PE ratio, even during the last few years of this recent mania. But there is good reason for this, they get roundly clobbered during the enviable busts that follow in this cyclical industry. Imagine Procter and Gamble announcing soap sales were off 30% to 45%...unthinkable! Where did the "demand" go again??? lol... OWP
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Sto...E608-4DEA-8E5E-02197A921780}&siteid=mktw&dist
"Toll Brothers has some numbers out. âToll Brothers, the Horsham, Pa.-based luxury home builder, said the value of signed contracts declined 29% in the quarter ended April 30. Toll Brothers also cut its estimate of home deliveries for the year, as speculative buyers quit the market and ordinary demand slackens on concerns about the direction of house prices.â
âToll Brothers Inc. on Friday cut its forecast for the number of homes it expects to sell in fiscal 2006, as quarterly orders fell 32 percent.
It was the third time since November that Toll slashed its forecast for the number of homes it expected to sell in the year.â
ââI think the Street was looking for weakness, just not this weak,â said (analyst) John Tomlinson.â
âThe decline in orders reflects softening demand and a build up of homes on the market, especially by speculators who are unloading their investments as their anticipated profit evaporates.â
âOrders fell sharply in Tollâs biggest market, the Mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, where they were off 45 percent.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/real_estate/article/0,1299,DRMN_414_4675068,00.html
âThe number of unsold homes on the Denver-area market hit a record 29,045 in April, according to reports released Thursday. Rising foreclosures were the driving force for the skyrocketing inventory, which is 19.2 percent higher than a year ago, experts said.â
âBuyer representatives are telling (realtor) Ed Jalowsky that about half the homes priced under $250,000 are either in foreclosure, are owned outright by a lender or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or are selling for less than the amount owed on the mortgage.â
âJalowsky blames rising payments on adjustable-rate mortgages, which are squeezing home owners.â
ââThe logjam of homes is increasing each month,â said (realtor) Steve McGuire in Highlands Ranch. âIt is similar to back in the 1980s when we had a high number of foreclosures. The market was impacted greatly.â In Denver said he urges potential sellers to be realistic about the price they can get or expect to spend a long time on the market.â
ââForeclosures definitely are having an impact,â said McGuire.â
âCompetition from foreclosures will drive down prices in the lower- end market, ultimately causing more homes to end up in foreclosure, Jalowsky said. âIt is a real shame,â said. âItâs a battlefield out there for homes under $200,000. I just hope the blood flow will slow.ââ