News
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.
The Company noted that, as anticipated, the July total was down from the extraordinarily strong orders in July 2000, which were up 18% from July 1999. The lower orders reported today generally are attributable to temporary circumstances in several markets, including the Company's home base of Colorado where an overall slowdown in the new home market has occurred.
July
2001 2000
Orders for Homes, net
Colorado 179 249
California 146 188
Arizona 183 183
Nevada 48 82
Northern Virginia/Suburban Maryland 46 77
Total 602 779
MDC has received orders for 5,302 homes for the seven months ended July 31, 2001, 5% higher than the 5,068 home orders received for the same period in 2000.
Home orders were lower in Virginia and Nevada in July 2001, compared with July 2000, primarily resulting from a temporary reduction in the number of active subdivisions in these markets. The Company anticipates opening five and three new subdivisions, respectively, in these markets in the next 90 days. In Northern California, four new subdivision grand openings produced an average of 14 orders per subdivision in July 2000, creating a difficult comparison to the five net orders per subdivision in July 2001.
Home orders in Colorado were lower in July 2001, compared with July 2000, primarily due to (1) competition from an increasing resale home inventory; and (2) a slower market for new homes in the Denver metropolitan area and northern Colorado, compared with the unseasonably strong demand of the 2000 summer months. In addition, the Company has 16 active subdivisions in Denver and northern Colorado that are selling out of trailers with models under construction, contributing to a lower absorption pace. The Company anticipates that over 40 new model homes will be opened in these subdivisions before the end of the year.
MDC, whose subsidiaries build homes under the name "Richmond American Homes," is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. The Company's wholly owned subsidiary HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation provides mortgage financing primarily for MDC's home buyers. MDC is a major regional homebuilder with a significant presence in some of the country's best housing markets. Richmond American Homes is the largest homebuilder in metropolitan Denver; among the top five homebuilders in northern Virginia, Phoenix, Tucson and Colorado Springs; and among the top ten homebuilders in suburban Maryland, Las Vegas, Southern California and Northern California.
Certain statements in this release, including those related to closings, revenues and earnings, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, (1) general economic and business conditions; (2) interest rate changes; (3) the relative stability of debt and equity markets; (4) competition; (5) the availability and cost of land and other raw materials used by the Company in its homebuilding operations; (6) demographic changes; (7) shortages and the cost of labor; (8) weather related slowdowns; (9) the availability of public utilities in certain markets; (10) slow growth initiatives; (11) building moratoria; (12) governmental regulation, including the interpretation of tax, labor and environmental laws; (13) changes in consumer confidence and preferences; (14) required accounting changes; and (15) other factors over which the Company has little or no control.
SOURCE: M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.
Contact: Paris G. Reece III, Chief Financial Officer of M.D.C. Holdings,
Inc., +1-303-804-7706,
Associates, Inc., +1-212-843-8007,
Holdings, Inc.
Website: https://www.richmondamerican.com/
