No. 1 homebuilder Lennar posts larger-than-expected loss.

Lennar (LEN) the No. 1 homebuilder posted loss bigger than expected and sees sharp drop in new orders and deliveries as it cuts staff, plans more layoffs. Shares of Lennar (LEN) lost 7 percent in pre-market trading following the report.

In a further sign of trouble for the battered housing and homebuilding markets, the nation’s No. 1 homebuilder in terms of revenue, Lennar posted a net loss of $513.9 million, or $3.25 per diluted share, down from the net earnings of $206.7 million, or $1.30 per diluted share, in the year-earlier period.

The builder said it delivered 7,636 homes in the period, down 41 percent from a year earlier, while new orders plunged 48 percent to 5,804. It also saw its cancellation rate rise to 32 percent of orders.

“It is already well documented that the housing market has continued to deteriorate throughout our third quarter,” said a statement from CEO Stuart Miller. “Heavy discounting by builders, and now the existing home market as well, has continued to drive pricing downward. Consumer confidence in housing has remained low, while the mortgage market has continued to redefine itself, creating higher cancellation rates.”

The problems in homebuilding are not unique to Lennar. No. 5 KB Home (KBH) is forecast to report a loss Thursday. No. 3 Centex (CTX) reported losses far bigger than Wall Street had expected, while No. 6 Pulte Homes (PHM) have reported losses for the last two quarters and analysts project losses for at least the next year.

Lennar Corp. Home Page
Centex Homes web site
Pulte Homes web site

Stocks of Calif. homebuilder Standard Pacific shed 10.8 percent; analysts predict more bad news for the sector.
Housing stocks down - Sep. 24, 2007

Housing stocks posted sharp losses Monday ahead of sector data and two major earnings reports scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday.

Standard Pacific Corp (Charts). led the losses, shedding 87 cents, or 10.8 percent, to $7.23 in midday trading.

Investors sold the stock lower after the California homebuilder said it would stop paying a quarterly dividend and instead use the estimated $10 million a year to pay down debt.

The company also said it was issuing $100 million in convertible debt in a move to refinance existing obligations.

Meanwhile, existing home sales data for August is due Tuesday.

Bank of America analyst Daniel Oppenheim expects a 3 percent decline. He also expects inventory levels will rise sharply, meaning further price cuts are likely.

Also Tuesday, Lennar Corp (LEN). reports fiscal third-quarter earnings. Analysts expect the company to post a loss on major charges to write down the value of inventory.

Lennar shares hit a 52-week low of $24.43 Monday, and were off 56 cents to $24.76 in midday trading.

On Thursday, an industry group reports data on sales of new homes — which directly reflects homebuilder results.

Oppenheim expects an 8 percent decline because of tightness in the credit markets that made it difficult to get a loan.

KB Home (KBH) reports quarterly results later that day.

Wall Street anticipates a loss of 75 cents per share, also because of impairment charges.

KB shares slid 70 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $26.57 in midday trading.

Video: Microsoft Virtual Earth demo by Stephen Lawler

Microsoft’s Stephen Lawler gives a whirlwind tour of Virtual Earth, moving up, down and through its hyperreal cityscapes with dazzlingly fluidity, a remarkable feat that requires staggering amounts of data to bring into focus. Google might still be ahead of the game, but even in beta, Virtual Earth shows incredible promise. Microsoft’s visions for the product — as a provider of real-time weather and traffic data, or a realistic backdrop for game developers and IM conversations, or virtual ad space — all seem well within the limits of possibility.

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Video: BumpTop desktop demo.

BumpTop, a fresh user interface that takes the usual desktop metaphor to a glorious, 3D extreme. In this physics-driven universe, important files finally get the weight they deserve via an oddly satisfying resizing feature, and the drudgery of file organization becomes a freewheeling playground full of crumpled documents and clipping-covered “walls.”

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Video: Jeff Han of Perceptive Pixel: Unveiling the genius of multi-touch interface design

Who is Jeff Han?

After years of research on touch-driven computer displays, Jeff Han has created a simple, multi-touch, multi-user screen interface that just might herald the end of the point-and-click era. Han launched a startup called Perceptive Pixel.

Jeff Han’s intuitive “interface-free” computer displays — controlled by the touch of fingertips — will change forever the way you think about computers. His prototype drafting table-cum-touch display, developed at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He moved photos by fingertip — as if they were paper on a desk — flicking them across the screen and zooming in and out by pinching two fingers together, as well as a Google Earth-like map that he tilted and flew over with simple moves.

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