As more top banks report muted mortgage results in their second-quarter earnings, homebuilders are about to weigh in on the discussion, recording potentially strong, steady or weak growth.
First up was Homebuilder Lennar (LEN), which reported its second-quarter earnings on June 26, posting a revenue of $1.82 billion, up from $1.43 billion a year earlier, beating analyst expectations of $1.68 billion.
However, due to a drought in first-time homebuyers, Lennar is considering expanding into building single-family homes for rent.
Lennar CEO Stuart Miller said on the homebuilder’s quarterly conference call that he does not anticipate mortgage-qualification standards to ease soon enough to bring first-time homebuyers off the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Barclays commented on Pulte Group’s (PHM) upcoming second-quarter earnings and said, “The gross margin outlook in FY14 remains positive due to the increase in use of its commonly managed plans, as well as a reduction of capitalized interest. Barclays maintained its $0.29 estimate for 2Q14, compared to the street consensus of $0.25.
Up next, D.R. Horton (DHI) is scheduled to post its earnings Wednesday morning, followed by PulteGroup Thursday morning before market open.
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