Boosted by Southern California, Irvine-based homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. reported an 18% increase in orders for new homes in July and August versus a year earlier.
Standard on Wednesday reported 2,018 new home orders, or contracts to buy homes it’s building, during the past two months.
The biggest gain came in Southern California, where orders more than doubled to 518, the company said. Standard was building and selling homes at 31 Southland developments during the period, up from 25 a year ago.
Orders in Northern California fell 42% to 156 as Standard sold in 15 developments, eight fewer than a year ago. Total California orders were up 32% to 674.
The company also reported higher orders in Florida, the Carolinas and Texas.
Orders in Arizona declined,the company has said it planned to slow operations there because it can’t build homes fast enough amid labor and material shortages.
Colorado orders were off by 13%.
Standard said its order cancellation rate for July and August was 17%, versus 19% for the same period a year earlier.
