DALLAS — Centex Corp. said Friday that its home sales fell 13 percent in its latest quarter and it will charge nearly $1 billion against earnings to write down the value of land and other holdings in another sign of the housing slump.
The Dallas-based homebuilder also expects its wholly owned financial-services affiliate to report a provision of $60 million for higher losses due to the tightening in the mortgage and credit markets.
Its shares fell $1.38, or 4.69 percent, to close at $28.05 Friday.
Homebuilders are struggling with a downturn in the housing and mortgage markets. Builders report that fewer would-be buyers are able to get mortgages, and the glut of unsold homes is being made worse by speculators who bought houses in recent years putting them back on the market.
Centex said preliminary results show net sales dropped to 5,953 units in its second fiscal quarter and that it closed on 7,350 units, down 14 percent from the year-ago period.
Its backlog decreased 38 percent to 9,633 units.
The homebuilder, with operations in 25 states, is scheduled to report financial results on Oct. 23.
