The few new houses that are selling are often niche projects. In Fountain Valley in Orange County, Far West Industries sold out a 54-home development, with many houses priced over $1 million, in three months.
Far West senior vice president Scott Lissoy said the project worked because there was little available land for new homes in Fountain Valley and demand was strong for the area's high-performing school district.
Lissoy said that, because he grew up in the area, he was confident there would be enough buyers for the development when his company acquired the land in 2006, even as the housing market was cooling.
"I understood there was very, very limited opportunity for new home construction," within the school district, he said. At the same time, Lissoy believed there was pent-up demand from families in nearby areas such as Garden Grove and Westminster who wished to trade-up.
In the Inland Empire, however, the company has had to slash prices to sell its houses and has slowed new construction.
Lissoy said the Santa Ana-based company was now focused on buying discounted land abandoned by others and holding it until the market recovered. Far West recently purchased 300 lots in north Indio from another builder. "We bought them to hold until the market stabilizes," he said.
When might that be?
"I do not know when we can even talk about a recovery," Lissoy said.
The National Assn. of Home Builders index of builder confidence hit a record low this month after rising earlier this year. July's index score of 16 on a 100-point scale was the lowest since the index began in 1985.
Ryland reported its earnings after the close of regular trading, where its shares gained $1.16 to $26.50.
The company said it lost $5.70 a share, compared with a loss of $1.25 a share for the same period last year. Revenue fell 34% to $487.9 million.
Ryland shares fell below $25 in after-hours trading. Company executives will discuss earnings in a conference call with analysts today.
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peter.hong@latimes.com
