by Calculated Risk on 9/24/2013 02:56:00 PM

From housing economist Tom Lawler:

Lennar Corporation reported that net home orders in the quarter ended August 31, 2013 totaled 4,785, up 14.0% from the comparable quarter of 2012, at an average net order price of about $316,750, up 16% from a year ago. Home deliveries totaled 4,990 last quarter, up 36.5% from the comparable quarter of 2012, at an average sales price of $291,000, up 12.8% from a year ago. Sales discounts as a % of purchase price averaged 6.0% last quarter, down from 9.2% in the comparable quarter of 2012. The company’s sales cancellation rate, expressed as a % of gross orders, was 18% last quarter, up from 18% from a year ago. The company’s order backlog at the end of August totaled 5,958, up 32.0% from last August.

KB Homes reported that net home orders totaled 1,736 in the quarter ended August 31, 2013, down 8.6% from the comparable quarter of 2012, at an average net order price of about $304,650, up 16% from a year ago. Home deliveries totaled 1,825 last quarter, up 6.1% from the comparable quarter of 2012, at an average sales price of $299,100, up 22.0% from a year ago. The company’s sales cancellation rate, expressed as a % of gross orders, was 33% last quarter, up 29% from a year ago. The company’s order backlog at the end of August totaled 3,039, down 3.3% from last August.

Here are some quarterly net orders numbers for three large builders (note: Hovnanian’s fiscal quarters end in April and July, but it shows monthly net orders numbers through August in its last presentation).

	Net Home Orders, 3 Months Ending:
	8/31/2013	8/31/2012	% Change	5/31/2013	5/31/2012	% Change
Lennar Corp.	4,785	4,198	14.0%	5,705	4,481	27.3%
KB Home	1,736	1,900	-8.6%	2,162	2,049	5.5%
Hovnanian Ent.	1,487	1,519	-2.1%	1,862	1,753	6.2%
Total	8,008	7,617	5.1%	9,729	8,283	17.5%