Newport Beach homebuilder William Lyon Homes Inc. reported a pickup in orders for new homes in the first quarter, though the number of closed sales lagged from a year earlier.
William Lyon Homes saw 471 orders,contracts to buy a new home,up 3% from a year earlier. Orders in California rose 20%.
The company built at 38 developments during the quarter, up from 31 a year earlier.
William Lyon’s average orders per development sites was 12.4 for the quarter, versus 13.5 for a year earlier.
Actual sales closed lagged year-ago numbers. William Lyon closed 421 sales, down from 581 a year earlier.
Nevada saw the deepest drop in closures followed by California. Arizona saw an increase.
The company’s cancellation rate for the quarter was 25%, down from 28% a year earlier.
