Just last week, after KB Home (NYSE:KBH) posted a healthy 27.4% spike in stateside orders for new homes during its May quarter, we wondered when the housing boom would ever come to an end. Between cheap financing and builder pricing elasticity, it has been one massive party over the years. But now -- way in the back -- a faint voice is saying, "Last call, folks!"
Who said that? You work your way past the spiked punch bowl and the potato chip-speckled dip. The Twister mat is still slippery from the baby oil. There, slumped on the floor, you see Dominion Homes (NASDAQ:DHOM). He looks like he's about to hurl.
"I don't feel too well," he says.
Believe it. The unhappy home maker reports that its home sales were off by 35% over the past two months. It's going to miss its targets, obviously. And it's not just a downtick in new unit sales, but cancellations of earlier orders, too.
What's troubling here is that just a month ago the company was bragging about its backlog of orders and projecting a second half of the year even better than the first. Why was the company so cheery when it already knew that April sales were in the dumps? Good question.
Still, before you shake your head and hail a cab for the housing sector, take a moment to relish the disparity. Just because Dominion Homes was the latest to report doesn't mean that it's the definitive word on the sector. After all, KB's stellar results were put up during the same April and May months.
It looks like the sector is starting to realize what the Big Bad Wolf has known all along -- not all homes are built the same. The strong are getting stronger. The weak are passing out on the couch. Consolidation will continue. Last night, Lennar (NYSE:LEN) announced that it would be acquiring Classic American Homes. Don't be surprised if someone decides to drive Dominion home.
As leading builders like D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI) and Pulte Homes (NYSE:PHM) continue to grow faster than the industry as a whole, the difference between the designated drivers and the staggering stumblers will continue to grow. The party isn't over. The list of those invited to stay just got shorter.
Have you checked out our Home Center lately? Are you planning on making a move or gearing up to remodel your present digs? All this and more -- in the Building/Maintaining a Home discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz thinks every house should be a home. He does not own shares in any companies mentioned in this story.
