From Yahoo Finance: 2025-03-20 18:04:00

Lennar Corp’s first-quarter profit drops due to high mortgage rates and house prices, causing shares to fall 4%. Co-CEO Stuart Miller cites challenges with interest rates and limited affordable homes affecting consumers’ ability to buy. Average sales price declined to $408,000, with home sales gross margins below forecast at 18.7%.

The lack of affordable entry-level housing in the U.S. economy continues to be a major issue, pushing potential first-time homebuyers out of the market. Homebuilders are offering incentives like interest rate buydowns to attract buyers and prevent inventory buildup, affecting their margins.

Lennar reported a quarterly profit of $1.96 per share, down from $2.57 last year due to losses on technology investments. Revenue for the first quarter was $7.6 billion, a 5% increase from the previous year, surpassing analyst estimates. The company delivered 17,834 homes in the first quarter, up from 16,798 units last year.

Read more: Lennar posts lower quarterly profit on sustained market weakness