ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Homes.com, a CoStar Group leading online residential marketplace, released a new report today analyzing home price trends in November, including details across major metros and house types. Price data collected to date showed moderate home price appreciation in November, with the nationwide median rising 2.4% compared to the same month last year. The median sale price of $385,000 was up $9,120 from November 2024 and continued a 10-month stretch of median prices between $375, ...

More than half (54%) of Millennials say they’d consider a 50-year mortgage, compared to just 29% of Boomers according to a survey by BadCredit.org. That makes sense, given that roughly 80% of Boomers already own a home per National Mortgage Professional. Given the controversy over President Trump’s 50-year mortgage proposal, what do proponents say? Trending Now: Real Estate Agents Explain Why You Should Never Invest in These 7 Home Features For You: How Middle-Class Earners Are Quietly Becoming Millionai ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - For the fourth quarter, consolidated pre-tax income was $1.2 billion on revenues of $9.7 billion, resulting in a pre-tax profit margin of 12.4% [5] - For the full year, consolidated pre-tax income was $4.7 billion with a pre-tax profit margin of 13.8% [5] - Net income for the quarter was $905.3 million or $3.04 per diluted share, while for the year, net income was $3.6 billion or $11.57 per diluted share on revenues of $34.3 billion [7] - The average closing sales price for the quarter was $365,600, down 1% sequentially and down 3% year over year [7] - The company generated $3.4 billion of cash from operations after making home building investments totaling $8.5 billion [6] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Home sales revenues for the fourth quarter were $8.5 billion on 23,368 homes closed [7] - Net sales orders in the fourth quarter increased 5% year over year to 20,078 homes, with order value increasing 3% to $7.3 billion [8] - The average price of net sales orders in the fourth quarter was $364,900, flat sequentially and down 3% from the prior year [8] - Rental operations generated $81 million of pre-tax income on $805 million of revenues from the sale of 1,565 single-family rental homes and 1,815 multifamily rental units [14] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The average number of active selling communities was up 1% sequentially and up 13% from the prior year [8] - The company’s home building lot position at year-end consisted of approximately 592,000 lots, with 25% owned and 75% controlled through purchase contracts [13] - In the Southeast region, particularly Florida, some markets like Jacksonville and Southwest Florida faced excess inventory issues [68] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company remains focused on capital efficiency to generate strong operating cash flows and deliver compelling returns to shareholders [6] - The strategy includes tailoring product offerings and sales incentives based on demand in each market to maximize returns [6] - The company plans to purchase approximately $2.5 billion of its common stock during fiscal 2026, in addition to paying dividends of around $500 million [19] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expects new home demand to reflect ongoing affordability constraints and cautious consumer sentiment [19] - For fiscal 2026, the company anticipates generating consolidated revenues of approximately $33.5 to $35 billion and homes closed to be in the range of 86,000 to 88,000 [19] - Management expressed a positive outlook for the housing market over the medium to long term despite current volatility and uncertainty in the economy [21] Other Important Information - The company’s return on equity was 14.6%, and return on assets was 10% [5] - The company repurchased 4.6 million shares of common stock for $689 million in the fourth quarter, totaling 30.7 million shares for $4.3 billion for the full year [17] - The company’s book value per share increased by 5% from a year ago to $82.15 [18] Q&A Session Summary Question: How to think about the walk from the 20% gross margin in Q4 to 20-20.5% in Q1? - Management indicated that the unusual impact from litigation is not expected to persist into Q1, and the guide reflects the current environment and level of incentives [24][26] Question: How quickly can the company ramp starts to meet demand? - Management acknowledged that starts were intentionally lower to align inventory and expressed confidence in their ability to respond to market demand [25][26] Question: Is the outlook for Q1 anticipating seasonal lightness in profitability? - Management expects rental operations to be softer in Q1, impacting consolidated operating margin due to lower closings volume [29][30] Question: Can you provide additional color on the Southeast region's performance? - Management noted that while some markets in Florida are struggling with inventory balance, there are still bright spots throughout the state [68] Question: What are the expectations for lot costs and stick and brick costs? - Management expects lot costs to remain sticky, but anticipates reductions in stick and brick costs as they renegotiate terms [50][51]