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February 12, 2010

Four Major Homebuilders Report Increased Orders

Three of the nation’s largest homebuilders recently announced profits in the last quarter of 2009 with a fourth recording a loss. More important, all four reported increases in orders. D.R. Horton posted its first quarterly profit in almost three years with net income of $192 million compared to a $62 million loss for the same period in the previous year. The builder’s net sales orders increased 45% to 4,037 homes for the quarter ending Dec. 31 compared to 2,777 homes for the same quarter in 2008. Also reporting profits were Beazer Homes ($44.5 million) and Meritage Homes ($43 million). Beazer’s net orders increased 36.6% in the final quarter of 2009 compared to the previous year, and Meritage’s net orders were up 24%. Pulte Homes reported a net loss of $117 million for the quarter compared to a net loss of $338 million the previous year. Pulte’s fourth quarter net new home orders, including those of recently acquired Centex operations, increased 113% to 3,748 homes compared with prior year orders of 1,763 homes.  

The improved profit-loss picture was partly attributable to federal tax legislation enacted in November that allowed net operating losses to be carried back up to five years to offset prior years’ taxable income.

In other housing news, the National Association of Home Builders recently projected 697,000 U.S. starts in 2010, which would represent a 25.9% increase over 2009. Hanley Wood Market Intelligence forecasts the most active markets will be Houston; Dallas/Fort Worth; Austin, Texas; San Antonio; Denver; Washington, D.C.; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles; Chicago; and metropolitan New York.

The U.S. Census Bureau will release its report on January housing permits and starts next week.

SPC Represented at MBMDA Trade Show

The Mid South Building Material Dealers Association (MBMDA) held its 2010 trade show and meetings February 4-6 at the Imperial Palace Resort in Biloxi, Miss.  Russell Richardson, SFPA’s director of industrial markets, represented the Southern Pine Council at the show, distributing SPC publications and answering questions from show attendees.  One area of interest was a recent rise in lumber prices.  “I explained the wet wintry weather and production downtime are contributing to the uptick in prices,” he said. Russell also received several compliments from users of SPC publications. One attendee commented, “SPC guides are great. When a customer has questions, you can just show him the charts in the guide. They are technical, but also user friendly.” For more information on the MBMDA show, contact Russell at 504/443-4464, ext.239, or by e-mail at rrichardson@sfpa.org.

Welcoming a New Member

SFPA welcomes UCT Forestry of Stuart, Fla., as a new Associate member. UCT Forestry is an operating unit of UCT Coatings Inc., which has been in operation for 10 years. The Forestry group provides the Opti-Max Sawing and Guide Pad System to primary lumber mills seeking to increase recovery, minimize downtime and enhance grade-out. Engineering support and bottom-line profit improvement of sawmill operations are the key benefits of the system. Dennis Hanlon will represent the company in the association. He can be reached at dhanlon@uctcoatings.com, on his cell phone at 561/352-3497, or at his office at 772/872-7126.  For more information about the company and its products, visit www.uctforestry.com. 

Pair of Wood Solutions Fairs Scheduled Next Week

Two Wood Solutions Fairs are coming up next week, and those who manufacture, sell or distribute wood products are invited to attend free of charge. Wood Solutions Fairs were created to provide information about nonresidential wood construction to architects, engineers, builders, building designers, building officials, construction managers, developers, students and professors. The one-day seminar will be held Feb. 16 at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta and Feb. 18 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C. Attendees will be able to choose from a slate of 15 speakers and topics. Richard Kleiner, SFPA’s director of treated markets, will make a presentation about raised floor foundations, offering technical details and case studies that will be of interest to architects, engineers and builders. His presentation will also include the latest information on using pressure-treated wood. In addition, Richard will provide information about raised floor foundations and wood decks from an exhibit at the fair. Click here for more information and to register.

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