Amazon.com (AMZN - Cramer’s Take - Stockpickr - Rating) topped Wall Street’s top- and bottom-line expectations, but investors took profits in extended trading after bidding the stock to a 52-week high in the regular session.

The stock fell to $96 in extended session trading after finishing the regular Nasdaq session at $100.82. It was the first time the stock had retaken the $100 level since December 1999, ending Tuesday’s regular session up more than 10 percent in anticipation of a blow-out quarterly scorecard.

Third Quarter Results

The online retailer said net income increased 313% to $80 million or 19 cents a share, compared with net income of $19 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales increased 41% to $3.26 billion in the third quarter, compared with $2.31 billion in third quarter 2006. Excluding the $75 million favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign-exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales grew 38% compared with third quarter 2006.

Sales of the latest Harry Potter book helped boost revenues in the third quarter at online retailer Amazon.com.

But Amazon has said it will not make a profit on the title because it offered steep discounts and free shipping.

“In our view, putting customers first is the only reliable way to create lasting value for shareowners,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon.com.

For the fourth quarter, the company said it expects net sales between $5.1 billion and $5.45 billion.

Analysts had forecast earnings of 46 cents a share on revenue of $5.12 billion.

Top 10 advice for real estate investors

1. Most real estate agents work on paid commission. Agents are not public real estate information provider.

2. Make an appointment, be on time and don’t expect an agent to drop everything to run out to show you a home.

3. Interview agents to find an agent with whom you are comfortable. Never interview two different agents from the same company.

4. Don’t call the Listing Agent if you are working with a buying agent. If you hire the listing agent to represent you, that agent will now be working under dual agency.

5. Don’t ask the open house agent questions about the seller or the seller’s motivation. Let your agent ask those questions for you.

6. Real estate agents are not CPA or Lawyer.

7. Always ask for and sign an agency agreement. It is solely a disclosure. It is not an agreement to agency.

8. Let your agent know how you want to communicate with you and how often, phone calls, fax, e-mails or by snail mail or all of the above?

9. Ask your agent to explain a form to you. It is our job. Many forms are very foreign to you, so ask for explanations until you are satisfied you understand or get advice from your lawyer.

10. If you aren’t ready to buy, you don’t need a real estate agent. Don’t waste an agent’s time if you aren’t ready to make a commitment.

Housing Takes Another Header by Seth Jayson

7 Recommendations

Think we’ve seen the worst from housing? Think again.

The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index shows that home prices are not only dropping like rocks, in many places, the rate of drop is increasing. The figures, which cover the period ending July, 2007, detail a 4.5% year-over-year drop in the index’s 10-city composite, and a 3.9% drop in the 20-city composite.

That’s the worst performance since 1991, which is why you should click that link and see the whole story. Previously hot markets like Phoenix and Tampa were among the worst tracked, but areas that sat out the bubble, like Detroit, are also suffering. Near Fool HQ, the argument I often hear about home prices never falling (because there’s reliable government spending, big influx of population, blah, blah, blah …) is shown to be a complete fiction, as D.C. area prices tumbled 7.2% year over year.

Remember, the Case-Shiller index tracks differences in sale prices for the same homes, and it screens out data that would compromise the comparisons, such as major renovations and non-arms-length sales. It looks at existing home prices in a more detailed way than the likes of the National Association of Realtors, which today reported a year-over-year increase in median prices that is directly at odds with the slow pace of sales.

It’s going to be a long time before the excesses are wrung out of this market, and I anticipate more investors getting stung. We’ve already seen that the prices of new homes are just as vulnerable in the current market. Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) recently had a well-publicized “Fire Sale,” which knocked about 20% off the price of new homes.

With foreclosures on the rise, more fire sales are likely in the existing and new home markets. I expect to see builders like Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI), Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH), Centex (NYSE: CTX), and Lennar (NYSE: LEN) resort to similar desperate moves.

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 surge after Fed rate cut by 0.5%

Stocks surged this afternoon after the Federal Reserve’s half-point interest rate cut.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 335.97 points, or 2.5%, to close at 13,739.39. The Standard and Poor’s 500 stock index rose 43.13 points, or 2.9%, to 1,519.78. The Nasdaq composite index gained 70.00 points, or 2.7%, to 2,651.66.

Stocks had risen in the morning on widespread expectations that the Fed would cut rates. There had been some worry, however, that a quarter-point rate cut would disappoint investors and spark a sell-off.

Those fears were alleviated by the Fed announcement, and stocks bounded upward immediately. Bank and brokerage stocks, which are especially sensitive to rate fluctuations, led the advance.

Investors are betting that lower interest rates will ease the recent credit crunch tied to problems with sub-prime mortgage defaults, as well as stimulate the beleaguered housing market.

In a potential economic warning sign, however, bond yields climbed after the Fed action. That’s a signal that fixed-income buyers worry that a strengthening economy could trigger inflation. The yield on the two-year Treasury bond rose to 4.49% from 4.47% on Monday.

Hopefully this Fed rate cut will lead to better Real Estate Market through Next Year.