KB Home has brutal first quarter.

[dilligaf]

just when the MSM is touting the "turn around" of the new home construction market we get this,

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Shares of residential construction companies were under pressure Friday after KB Home reported a sharp drop in new orders, raising worries about the all-important spring selling season.


KB Home said new orders fell 8% in the first quarter, driven by sharp declines in the Southwest and West. It also reported an increase in the cancellation rate of new orders, which rose to 36% in the quarter.


full article,
http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/23/mark...ders/index.htm

[Hermantribe]

there's a very true saying: You only buy one KB home. I know this is true from experience. I had to fight to 1.) get things like the dining room chandelier installed, and 2.) get broken things fixed. Never again!

[dilligaf]

Originally Posted by Hermantribe

there's a very true saying: You only buy one KB home. I know this is true from experience. I had to fight to 1.) get things like the dining room chandelier installed, and 2.) get broken things fixed. Never again!

that could be said for the top 10 home builders in the united states..they got to the top by volume selling garbage..

nevertheless,this is a very real market indicator..

[Earl Sinclair]

Wow, we actually had a pretty good experience with a new KB condominium. Everything worked when we moved in, they repaired a flaw in the wood floor, as well as a tile in the kitchen.

The only thing that was whacked was the filter for the central AC was a custom size, and therefore very hard to find.

That was in the early 90s, though.

Earl

[TXBSAFH]

My father was a home builder and carpenter, he taught his sons the trades. Back about 5 or so years ago my wife and I were looking at new homes. We looked a some KB homes, they were IMHO poorly constructed trash. I would not ever buy a KB home.

[Remember_The_Alamo]

Spent some time, the late 1990's thru 2005 working in the housing market in the Houston Texas area. 99% of all the trades appeared to be illegal aliens. The crew doing the forms (foundation), framers, shortcut rafters at the ridge and hip ridges, partition walls not square to the exterior walls door and window rough openings to small or large etc... drywallers leaving large amounts of garbage in the walls and enclosed areas at the stairwells, not leaving adequate expansion space at the openings for movement because of our climate on and on and on...

I'm not saying these were "bad" people, I understand they want a better life, but damn it come here legally, learn the trade properly and quit working at slave wages driving the earning power of citizens down the crapper.

[dilligaf]

a sub contractor does the quality level of work that the BUILDER demands.. i have been in construction for over 30 years now and i am not willing to put the blame at the feet of subs, regardless of their nationality..

its the BUILDERS, who dictate the quality of craftsmanship,the speed in which the job is completed and the quality of materials used..

beyond that remember, all this workmanship still meets CODE..

[Remember_The_Alamo]

Remember CORRUPTION is everywhere. People who sign-off on a job are not always honest.

The sub-contractor that has no pride or commitment to maintaining his reputation as a quality provider deserves to go out of business. I refused many jobs when the builder wanted me to provide sub-par work, my own code of ethics prevented me from doing damage to the potential home owner. I know how I would feel for settling for less than the best that the alloted budget allowed for.

[Yoda]

Everything is just fine. We are told so by the media and the administration. So, this bad quarter must be due to .....corporate greed. Yes, that must be it. Therefore, we must order that company to report its true profit, so it can pay its fair share. Maybe a government program to buy some KB homes with tax money so that things look better. Yeah, maybe Congressman Frank can get right on that.....

[dilligaf]

Originally Posted by Remember_The_Alamo

Remember CORRUPTION is everywhere. People who sign-off on a job are not always honest.

i agree..

The sub-contractor that has no pride or commitment to maintaining his reputation as a quality provider deserves to go out of business.

true enough, but reality is, the ones who are cheapest and fastest,quality or not are generally the ones who stay busy..

I refused many jobs when the builder wanted me to provide sub-par work, my own code of ethics prevented me from doing damage to the potential home owner.

which is exactly what i stated, the BUILDERS are ultimately the ones responsible for a crap built home.. you have a right to refuse the job, but joe the meth head or pablo the illegal will be there to do the job the builder wants at the price he is willing to pay..