Homebuilders are reporting stronger earnings for the second quarter as a result of increasing sales and higher home prices.
However, builders such as Lennar Corp. are stressing that the housing recovery is occurring on a very localized basis.
“While the trends are discernibly positive, stabilization and recovery are uneven across the country and even within markets,” Lennar chief executive Stuart Miller told investors and analysts during a conference call.
“We are seeing pockets of recovery develop across the country, not by region or by state, but on a very localized basis,” he said. These pockets are growing, Stuart added, while the “broader markets outside those pockets often remain weak.”
The Miami-based builder sold 3,200 homes in the second quarter, up 20% from 2Q 2011. Orders for new homes jumped by 40% to nearly 4,450, the company said.
“As the housing market improved over the last several quarters, our well-located communities and product execution has allowed us to outperform the market,” Miller said.
