Housing stocks tumbled Thursday after industry data showed foreclosure rates reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter and pending home sales remained sluggish.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said the proportion of all mortgages that slipped into foreclosure reached 0.83 percent, beating the previous high of 0.78 percent set in the third quarter 2007.
An increase in foreclosures leads to more homes on the market as banks repossess houses. There already exists a glut of unsold homes on the market, which is forcing builders to slash prices. That is cutting into profit margins
Also Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes held at 85.9, the same reading as December and just short of a revised record low of 85.8 in August, at the start of the worldwide credit squeeze. The reading was 19.6 percent below year-ago levels.
Most homebuilders shed more than 5 percent Thursday, compounding losses from earlier in the week. The following is a list of major builders and how their stock fared Thursday:
_ D.R. Horton Inc. fell $1.11, or 7.8 percent, to $13.15.
_ Pulte Homes Inc. dropped 93 cents, or 7.1 percent, to $12.19.
_ KB Home shed $1.01, or 4.4 percent, to $22.05.
_ Centex Corp. lost $1.66, or 7.5 percent, to $20.62.
_ Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. declined 99 cents, or 10.9 percent, to $8.09.
_ Toll Brothers Inc. fell $1.36, or 6.4 percent, to $19.90.
_ Ryland Group Inc. fell $1.76, or 6.2 percent, to $26.54.
_ Standard Pacific Corp. lost 52 cents, or 12 percent, to $3.83.
_ Lennar Corp. gave up 82 cents, or 4.9 percent, to $16.05.
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