Denton Tx New Homes

New Home Sales Jump 7 Percent In April But Momentum Is Fading

The Census Bureau reported new home sales in April which rose 7 percent compared to the same time a year ago. Sales (contract signings) for April posted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 673,000 units. This was close to expectations, but interestingly the April figure represented a rather large 7 percent drop from revised March numbers. The sales numbers for the previous three months were revised higher. The median price of a new home rose in April to $342,200, while the average price of a new home contracted in April rose to $393700. This [...]

Home Builder Confidence Not Confirmed By Housing Starts & Permits Data

This week the National Association of Home Builders reported improved confidence and business conditions among new home builders. With the big drop in mortgage interest rates, builders have been enjoying solid sales so far in 2019. NAHB chairman, Greg Ugalde, even said as much... “Builders are busy catching up after a wet winter and many characterize sales as solid, driven by improved demand and ongoing low overall supply...However, affordability challenges persist and remain a big impediment to stronger sales.” With mortgage rates just above 4 percent, the year-over-year interest rate comparisons are very favorable for [...]

New Home Sales Improve On Lower Rates, Big Drop In Prices

According to the Census Bureau new home sales for March posted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 692,000, a 3 percent increase from the same time last year and 4.5 percent better than February sales numbers. Apparently the big drop in mortgage interest rates continued to provide some lift to the new home market in March. This confirms what we were seeing in the DFW market last month as new home sales outperformed the resale market. The supply of new homes stood at 5.0 months in March, up from 4.5 months a year ago. [...]

Denton County TX New Home Sales Rebound With Lower Rates

New home sales in Denton County rebounded in February as lower rates helped to push some prospective buyers off the fence. New home prices in the Denton area are still a bit sluggish as the shift toward more affordable new home inventory continues so far in 2019. This can be seen in the lower average new home prices and stagnant price per square foot.  So far at least, new home buyers in the Denton area are willing to sacrifice some space in order to keep overall prices down. New home builders are trying to match [...]

Hunter Ranch Cole Ranch Development Presented To Denton City Council

The Denton City Council received a detailed presentation from Hillwood and Stratford Land representatives during Tuesday work session. The proposed master-planned community of Hunter Ranch and Cole Ranch would encompass roughly 6000 acres and bring 15,000 new homes to the City of Denton, boosting Denton's housing stock by nearly 50 percent if the project were to be approved. A central question at the Denton City Council meeting was whether or not a special financing district or MMD (Municipal Management District) is the best path for the city to partner with developers Hillwood Communities and Stratford [...]

Lennar Homes Misses Q4 Sales & Order Estimates, KB Net Order Value Declines 21%

Lennar Homes posted higher revenue and income for the fourth quarter of 2018, but new home sales and orders for Lennar missed analyst estimates. Accounting for Lennar's absorption of CalAtlantic the company's 14,154 home sales still fell short of analyst estimates for 14,485. The bigger concern for Lennar is likely the 5 percent miss on orders which came in at 10,611 instead of the analyst estimate of 11,774. Lennar's gross margin on home sales for the quarter fell from 22.4% to 21.4% Operating margin softened to 13.5% Revenues for the quarter were bolstered by a [...]

October New Home Sales Collapse, Near Three-Year Low

The Census Bureau numbers for October new home sales posted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 544,000 units. This was way below expectations of a 575,000 print, and near a three-year low. As I have been detailing for much of the year, much of that "pent-up demand" that you hear real estate industry mouthpieces talking about is a giant work of fiction, a tired marketing ploy that the media, economists and Realtors have been using in attempt to justify grossly inflated home prices across the U.S. Well, it appears the cat is officially [...]

Higher Prices, Shrinking Homes – Denton County’s New Underwater Borrowers Found In HUD Annual Report

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fiscal Year 2018 report to Congress is filled with useful information on the state of the U.S. mortgage market. Contained within the 2018 annual report we can see where the latest crop of underwater borrowers are hiding in Denton County Texas. As the size of new homes continues to shrink, particularly for entry-level buyers, prices increases have begun to moderate or even decline in many areas. This poses a big problem for unsuspecting home buyers who have been roped into the housing market at the cycle peak with [...]

Beazer Homes Soars On Short Squeeze, Share Repurchase Plan

Beazer Homes shares soared roughly 30 percent in a single day after the Atlanta-based homebuilder reported fourth quarter and full fiscal year results on Tuesday. From the reaction of the stock yesterday, you would think Beazer had patented a new home construction process or something else miraculous. Obviously something was thrilling investors, because it wasn't demand for Beazer homes in the fourth quarter, which fell according to the company's press release. According to Beazer, unit orders during the fourth quarter fell 0.8 percent to 1305 homes. Beazer's homebuilding revenues rose 14 percent for the fourth [...]

High Prices, Higher Rates Stall Dallas Fort Worth New Home Market

High prices and higher rates are hammering the Dallas-Fort Worth new home market. Starts from new home builders are now expected to increase by only a few hundred homes next year. I am not surprised. I covered this development a few days ago in my post on DR Horton's fourth quarter results, but a recent piece in the Dallas Morning News citing an industry insider/expert highlights the failure of local media to report on what is actually happening. My October housing market report for the DFW area explains why the correction in the local real estate [...]

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