D.R. Horton 2Q Orders Off 37%

Fort Worth, TX, April 10, 2007–D.R. Horton said 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.

Cancellation rate for the second quarter was 32 percent.

“Our cancellation rate is essentially unchanged from the prior quarter, but it remains above our historical range as we continue to see an increase in the use of sales incentives in many of our markets,” Donald Horton said.

He said inventory levels of new and existing homes remain high, as market conditions remain challenging.

The company saw declines in every region, but experienced the largest quarterly drop in California, where orders fell 59 percent to 1,107 homes from 2,697 in the prior year. Orders in the Southwest fell 39 percent.

Home orders in the Northeast declined the least, falling 21 percent to 1,564 homes from 1,990 a year earlier.