Fort Worth, TX, January 9, 2007--D.R. Horton Inc.'s sales orders for new homes fell 23% during the first quarter from a year earlier, the company said Tuesday.
The drop comes as home builders facing higher buyer cancellations in midst of a housing slowdown offer more inducements to sell houses. The company said net sales orders for the quarter ended December 31 dropped to 8,771 homes from 11,463 in the year-ago period. The value of the orders fell to $2.92 billion from $3.17 billion.
D.R. Horton also said its cancellation rate for the quarter was 33%, down from 40% in the fourth quarter.
"Although our cancellation rate decreased we continue to experience higher than normal cancellation rates and an increased use of sales incentives in many of our markets," chairman Donald Horton said in a prepared statement.
One analyst had predicted D.R. Horton's orders fell 18% in the first quarter, pulling back from a 25% decline seen during the fourth quarter.
D.R. Horton, which saw its shares lose about 26% in 2006, is slated to release full quarterly financial results on January 23.
