Buying & Selling: Toll Brothers' Bell Gets Rung

It would seem there's no end to the housing bust for this particular luxury homebuilder, as they've cut earnings forecasts yet again:

Homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) continues to feel headwinds from the weaker housing market. On Nov. 7, the company said it expects to report a 10% decline in revenue on home building during the recent quarter, as it struggles to keep customers signing -- and not canceling -- contracts for new homes. The company now plans to deliver fewer homes than earlier forecasts.

The Horsham (Pa.)-based company builds luxury homes all over the country, including states with once superheated real estate markets like California and New York. But housing market activity slowed earlier this year, after record-low interest rates had boosted lending and home buying for many years.

Not only that, it seems that consumers also know something the NAR doesn't know, judging by the recent precipitous drop in consumer borrowing:

The overall economy has lost momentum due to the housing slump. The struggling auto industry slashed jobs last month, as did companies involved in home-building, furniture makers and real-estate firms — casualties of the souring housing market.

We're at a point where realtors are living in a parallel reality, essentially. Even bullish economists and the Fed acknowledge that the full playout of the bust is far from over. When's the industry going to get on point?

Posted at November 7, 2006 05:44 PM

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It would seem there's no end to the housing bust for this particular luxury homebuilder, as they've cut earnings forecasts yet again: Homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) continues to feel headwinds from the weaker housing market. On Nov. 7, the company said it expects to report a 10% decline in revenue on home building during the recent quarter, as it struggles to keep customers signing -- and not canceling -- contracts for new homes. The company now plans to deliver fewer homes than earlier forecasts. The Horsham (Pa.)-based company builds luxury homes all over the country, including states with once superheated real estate markets like California and New York. But housing market activity slowed earlier this year, after record-low interest rates had boosted lending and home buying for many years. Not only that, it seems that consumers also know something the NAR doesn't know, judging by the recent precipitous drop in consumer borrowing: The overall economy has lost momentum due to the housing slump. The struggling auto industry slashed jobs last month, as did companies involved in home-building, furniture makers and real-estate firms — casualties of the souring housing market. We're at a point where realtors are living in a parallel reality, essentially. Even bullish economists and the Fed acknowledge that the full playout of the bust is far from over. When's the industry going to get on point?