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The Company is engaged in the sale of new and used motor vehicles and related products and services, including vehicle service, … View More
There was more gloomy news about the state of housing as home builder 
KB Home reported dismal results and pending sales of existing homes fell in November.
But the National Association of Realtors indicated that an improvement was on the horizon.
KB Home's fourth-quarter loss swelled beyond analysts' expectations as the company took impairment and abandonment charges and the housing market continued to slump.
For the period ending November 30, the company reported a net loss of $772.7 million, or $9.99 per share, compared with a net loss of $49.6 million or 64 cents per share, in the quarter a year earlier.
Revenue totaled $2.07 billion, down from $3.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. This decline reflected a 22 percent decrease in new home deliveries as well as a 12 percent discount in the average selling price.
On average, analysts expected a loss of $1.08 a share on revenue of $1.77 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
The N.A.R. reported a larger-than-expected 2.6 percent drop in pending sales of homes—when a contract has been signed but the purchase has not closed—in November.
But the trade group forecast sales to hold steady and then trend upward as 2008 progresses.
"A meaningful recovery in existing-home sales could occur as early as this spring, or it may be further delayed toward late 2008," said the group's chief economist, Lawrence Yun. He cited job creation and strengthening pending home sales in the second part of 2007 as indicators that a recovery is in the works.
The N.A.R. expects existing-home sales for 2007 to total 5.66 million, a 12.7 percent drop from 2006, and then edge up to 5.70 million in 2008, reaching 5.91 million in 2009.
Yet KB Home was singing a less optimistic tune, predicting that the excess home inventories, increased foreclosures, and turmoil in the mortgage and credit markets that plagued 2007 are likely to continue.
"The challenging market conditions we experienced through the first three quarters of 2007 continued during the fourth quarter," said its president and chief executive, Jeffrey Mezger, who predicted that 2008 would be another challenging year for the housing industry.
For 2007 overall, KB Home posted a loss of $1.41 billion, compared with a profit of $392.9 million the previous year.
On the bright side, Mezger noted that in 2007 KB Homes made positive progress on debt levels and cash flow, reducing debt by $759 million and increasing its cash balance by $625 million.
KB Home reported dismal results and pending sales of existing homes fell in November. But the National Association of Realtors indicated that an improvement was on the horizon.
KB Home's fourth-quarter loss swelled beyond analysts' expectations as the company took impairment and abandonment charges and the housing market continued to slump.
For the period ending November 30, the company reported a net loss of $772.7 million, or $9.99 per share, compared with a net loss of $49.6 million or 64 cents per share, in the quarter a year earlier.
Revenue totaled $2.07 billion, down from $3.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006. This decline reflected a 22 percent decrease in new home deliveries as well as a 12 percent discount in the average selling price.
On average, analysts expected a loss of $1.08 a share on revenue of $1.77 billion, according to Thomson Financial.
The N.A.R. reported a larger-than-expected 2.6 percent drop in pending sales of homes—when a contract has been signed but the purchase has not closed—in November.
But the trade group forecast sales to hold steady and then trend upward as 2008 progresses.
"A meaningful recovery in existing-home sales could occur as early as this spring, or it may be further delayed toward late 2008," said the group's chief economist, Lawrence Yun. He cited job creation and strengthening pending home sales in the second part of 2007 as indicators that a recovery is in the works.
The N.A.R. expects existing-home sales for 2007 to total 5.66 million, a 12.7 percent drop from 2006, and then edge up to 5.70 million in 2008, reaching 5.91 million in 2009.
Yet KB Home was singing a less optimistic tune, predicting that the excess home inventories, increased foreclosures, and turmoil in the mortgage and credit markets that plagued 2007 are likely to continue.
"The challenging market conditions we experienced through the first three quarters of 2007 continued during the fourth quarter," said its president and chief executive, Jeffrey Mezger, who predicted that 2008 would be another challenging year for the housing industry.
For 2007 overall, KB Home posted a loss of $1.41 billion, compared with a profit of $392.9 million the previous year.
On the bright side, Mezger noted that in 2007 KB Homes made positive progress on debt levels and cash flow, reducing debt by $759 million and increasing its cash balance by $625 million.
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