Lennar Corp, the third-biggest homebuilder in the United States, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and a decline in orders that was less severe than Wall Street had feared.
Although the recovery of the U.S. housing market appears to have stalled in many areas of the country, customer satisfaction with new-home builders has improved for a third consecutive year.
Approximately 1.8 million taxpayers claimed a total of almost $12.5 billion in first-time homebuyer credits in 2009. More than 950,000 taxpayers will be required to repay the credits.
A new program allows government agencies and their partners to have exclusive purchase rights on foreclosed homes before families, investors and the rest of the private market is allowed to bid.
The slide in U.S. home prices may have another three years to go as sellers add as many as 12 million more properties to the market. Shadow inventory is preventing prices from bottoming after a 28 percent plunge from 2006.
A trade group for bond insurers said that Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender by assets, should repurchase as much as $20 billion in home loans that were based on wrong or missing information.
Distressed loan purchaser Kondaur Capital Corp. is cautioning about housing prices falling further still. Kondaur chief executive Jon Daurio and ratings agency Moody's expect prices to fall another 20 percent.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Sept. 14 lowered its ratings for home builder Pulte Group Inc., saying the company's earnings will likely remain weak into next year due to a slower-than-expected U.S. housing recovery.
The majority of builders say they would be building and selling more homes today if funding was more readily available, according to Professional Builder's latest reader survey.
